Maintaining Volunteer Commitment to Local Watershed Initiatives

Australia's Landcare program is advanced as a successful international example of local watershed groups and governments working together to improve natural resource management. One of the aspects considered critical in the success of watershed groups is engaging widespread participation. This paper draws on two regional surveys that explored burnout, or loss of engagement, among Landcare participants in the state of Victoria using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Survey findings indicated that a large proportion of respondents were experiencing high burnout in terms of low personal accomplishment and suggested that there was potential for burnout to increase. The authors suggest that the expectations of watershed groups must be based around a realistic assessment of the capacity for volunteer groups to deliver improved environmental and social outcomes.     

Stress,burnout and diminished safety behaviors: An argument for Total Worker Health® approaches in the fire service

Introduction: Firefighting is stressful work, which can result in burnout. Burnout is a safety concern as it can negatively impact safety outcomes. These impacts are not fully understood within the fire service. Further, the fire service needs support that safety strategies are needed to protect and promote the health and wellbeing of firefighters. Methods: Structural equation modeling was completed to examine a hypothesized model that linked stress and burnout to diminished safety behavior outcomes among a sample of career firefighters. Results: Findings support a full mediation model. Firefighter stress perceptions were positively associated with burnout and burnout was negatively associated with safety compliance behavior, personal protective equipment behavior, safe work practices, and safety citizenship behavior. Conclusions: These results illustrate the negative impact of health impairment on firefighter safety behaviors. Practical Applications: These outcomes suggest that interventions aimed at protecting and promotion firefighter health are needed. Total Worker Health® (TWH) approaches may provide the framework for these interventions.