Emotional self-efficacy and workplace psychological health in emergency dispatchers

Abstract

Purpose

The main purpose of this research is to establish the relationships between emotional self-efficacy and workplace psychological health for emergency dispatchers.

Design/methodology/approach

A correlational design was used to validate results of the study. Between December 2018 and February 2019, a secure online questionnaire was sent to dispatchers through four emergency call centers. Participation was voluntary. A total of 257 emergency dispatchers participated in this study. Gilbert et al.’s (2011) scale of workplace psychological health and Deschênes et al.’s (2019) scale of emotional self-efficacy were used. Multiple linear regression and Pearson's correlation tests were run using the SPSS 25 program in order to establish relationships between the two variables.

Findings

A total of three emotional competencies positively affect workplace psychological well-being (PWB), i.e. self-efficacy beliefs on managing one's own emotions, on managing other people' emotions and on using one's own emotions. As regards to psychological distress (PD), it is negatively correlated to self-efficacy beliefs on managing and using one's own emotions.

Research limitations/implications

One of the study's theoretical contributions is to broaden the scientific knowledge of emergency service dispatching, in addition to opening up a new field of study in workplace people management.

Practical implications

These scientific findings therefore show the importance of emotional self-efficacy in the workplace. The manager or the dispatch leader should focus on developing the following three emotional skills: self-efficacy in managing emotions, managing the emotions felt by others and using emotions. Training allowing the development of these emotional skills should be considered and would be beneficial for emergency dispatchers to maximize their well-being at work.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other study has focused on emergency dispatchers and included the emotional self-efficacy and workplace mental health variables.

Citation

Huard, C., Deschênes, A.-A. and Rioux, C.-A. (2021), "Emotional self-efficacy and workplace psychological health in emergency dispatchers", International Journal of Emergency Services, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 276-287. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJES-03-2020-0011