Research Associate and Lecturer, Psychology, Sociology and Professional Counseling Faculty, Webster University, Switzerland.
Assistant Professor of Occupational Health Psychology, Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom.
Disasters. 2018 Oct;42(4):619-634. doi: 10.1111/disa.12278. Epub 2018 Mar 13.
There is a paucity of research on the subjective stress-related experiences of humanitarian aid workers. Most evaluations of stress among these individuals focus on trauma and related conditions or adopt a quantitative approach. This interview-based study explored how 58 humanitarian aid workers employed by a United Nations-aligned organisation perceived the transactional stress process. The thematic analysis revealed eight main topics of interest: an emergency culture was found where most employees felt compelled to offer an immediate response to humanitarian needs; employees identified strongly with humanitarian goals and reported a high level of engagement; the rewards of humanitarian work were perceived as motivating and meaningful; constant change and urgent demands resulted in work overload; and managing work-life boundaries and receiving positive support from colleagues and managers helped to buffer perceived stress, work overload, and negative health outcomes. The practical implications of the results are discussed and suggestions made in the light of current research and stress theory.
关于人道主义援助工作者主观应激相关体验的研究甚少。大多数对这些人压力的评估都集中在创伤及相关疾病上，或者采用定量方法。本基于访谈的研究探索了 58 名受雇于一个与联合国结盟的组织的人道主义援助工作者如何看待交易性应激过程。主题分析揭示了 8 个主要的感兴趣的主题：发现了一种紧急文化，大多数员工感到不得不对人道主义需求做出即时反应；员工强烈认同人道主义目标，并报告了高度的投入度；人道主义工作的回报被认为是有激励和有意义的；不断的变化和紧急的需求导致了工作超负荷；管理工作与生活的界限，并得到同事和经理的积极支持，有助于缓冲感知压力、工作超负荷和负面健康结果。根据当前的研究和应激理论，讨论了结果的实际意义，并提出了建议。
