How “dirty” workers could hold the secret to avoid professional exhaustion

The worker of the City of New York Sanitation Department of New York cans in a garbage truck. (Photo of Brandonkleinphoto on Shutterstock)

Cincinnati – Garbage collectors, prison guards and exotic dancers share more than societal disdain for their professions. New research reveals that the employees of these so-called “dirty work” who are less concerned with the way others see them experimenting lower levels emotional exhaustion and maintain greater satisfaction with their work and their lives overall.

A study published in the Journal of Management & Organization have found that self -awareness acts as a moderator to determine the strength of workers from the stigmatized professions feel the pressure of their work. The results show that “the employees with a higher self -awareness bring back greater emotional exhaustion, while those who have a lower self -awareness experience less emotional exhaustion”. In other words, worrying less about the external judgment does not make stress disappear, but it does it weaken The negative impact of well-being stigma.

Research highlights an important nuance: all dirty workers are not affected in the same way. The differences in personality, in this case, the levels of public self -consciousness shape the way in which stigma results in professional exhaustion.

Which is considered a “dirty work”

The sociologist Everett Hughes first invented the term “dirty work” in 1958 to describe the professions “physically, socially and morally tainted”.

• Physical strain: Jobs that involve exposure to dirt, dirt or dangerous conditions, such as those of mines or waste management.
• Social defilement: Roles that involve working with stigmatized individuals, such as correctional agents or psychiatry attendants.
• Moral defilement: Occupations related to activities, society considers immoral or sinner, such as exotic dancers, lawyers for bodily injuries or debt collectors.

These jobs are essential to the functioning of society, but the people who execute them are often faced with general judgment and exclusion. Previous research shows that professional stigmatization can cause higher renewal intentions, withdrawal behavior and a reduced perception of the service of work.

Research behind the results

The researchers Sodiq O. Babatunde, Scott Dust and Ben Fagan of the University of Cincinnati interviewed 234 participants who identified themselves as working in dirty professions. The majority worked in health care (85.5%), with smaller groups in police and prison work (1.7%), administrative and logistics (7.3%), legal advocacy (1.7%) and other areas (3.8%).

Participants were on average 41 years, 67%were women and the most identified as white (87%), with Asians (5.6%), black / African-American (5.1%), Hispanics (1.3%) and other history (1%). On average, they declared almost 11 years of experience in their professions.

The study used validated psychological scales to measure dirty work, emotional exhaustion, self -awareness and satisfaction with regard to life, career and work. Investigations were carried out two times four weeks apart.

How self -awareness changes the equation

Researchers have defined self -awareness as “the consciousness and concern of an individual of the way in which they are perceived by others, in particular in social contexts”. The people of self-awareness continuously treat external comments on themselves and often adjust their behavior to align themselves with perceived social standards.

The results showed a clear scheme: dirty work was positively associated with emotional exhaustion, which in turn had a negative impact on labor satisfaction, professional satisfaction and life satisfaction. But self -awareness has considerably moderated these relationships.

The study explains: “This suggests that individuals with higher self -awareness spend more emotional resources to present themselves in a way that aligns with societal standards, leading to increased emotional exhaustion. Conversely, employees with lower self -awareness are less likely to manage emotional exhaustion, because they are less inclined to allocate additional emotional resources to manage the perceptions of society. ”

Above all, additional analyzes have shown that the moderation effect was only significant for socially tainted work (roles involving stigmatized individuals), not for physical or moral defilement. And during sex control, the moderation effect “falls slightly from the traditional level of meaning”, although the conditional effects have remained significant.

This study was conducted in the United States and the United Kingdom, two individualistic cultures where people generally give less weight to the opinions of others. The authors note that “individuals in collectivist cultures, such as those of Asia and Africa, are more likely to consider environmental and societal perceptions”. This could mean that self -awareness plays an even stronger role in these contexts.

What it means for workers and employers

For workers in stigmatized professions, research suggests that the development of strategies to reduce over-reception with external judgment can help stamp against exhaustion and protect satisfaction.

For employers, the results indicate organizational interventions. Researchers recommend “providing employees with psychological adaptation strategies thanks to coaching, training and empowerment initiatives to better manage job demands and effectively allocate their resources”. They also emphasize that organizations should “help employees crop how they perceive the societal views of their profession, which could reduce the emotional assessment associated with dirty work”.

By reshaping how these roles are assessed within organizations, employers can help protect the well-being of their workers and work satisfaction.