Emotional exhaustion and fear of COVID‐19 in geriatric facilities during the COVID‐19 pandemic

OBJECTIVE: Since the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic, healthcare workers, especially those employed in hospital settings, have been exposed to a variety of stressors in the workplace. The aim of this study was to explore the Emotional Exhaustion (EE) of workers in geriatric facilities during the COVID‐19 crisis. We accordingly sought to investigate the short‐term impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic in terms of the EE experienced by workers in geriatric facilities, and to examine the manner in which psychosocial conditions and fear of COVID‐19 in the workplace have affected EE. METHODS: Surveys were administered in the midst of the COVID‐19 crisis (October to December 2020). The study included 118 French healthcare workers with a mean age of 35.61 ± 0.73 recruited in geriatric facilities. We assessed EE, psychosocial conditions (e.g., demands at work, health and well‐being, etc.) and fear of COVID‐19 in the workplace. RESULTS: The analysis yielded two main outcomes. First, 34.75% workers (41) reported severe levels of EE. Second, demands at work and the fear of COVD‐19 increased EE. Health and well‐being were, however, demonstrated to protect against EE. DISCUSSION: Furthermore, fear of COVID‐19 was shown to contribute significantly to EE healthcare workers in geriatric facilities. It is likely that Covid‐19 indirectly contributes to EE by influencing demands at work.