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Global Health Econ Sustain Job satisfaction and burnout in the catering industry

2.3. Tools the work, working conditions, communication within the

In this study, the participants completed the electronic company, and relationship with their partners, which were
questionnaires that were administered to them remotely. rated by the participants on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree)
Consequently, the data were collected using online to 6 (strongly agree).
questionnaires from individuals who were Facebook users 2.4. Research procedure
and employed in the catering industry. The safety, physical
integrity, and well-being of the participants were not This research work was approved by the Ethics Committee
compromised. The first part of the questionnaire regarding of the SCG College under Protocol Number TER2023138.
the demographic characteristics consisted of four questions There was no issue that raised ethical issues. All participants
related to gender, age, educational level, and years of work received an informed consent form, which also contained
experience. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), the purpose of the research. The data will be retained by
created in 1979 by Goldberg (1979), mainly assesses the the researchers and may be used in the future for studies
mental health of individuals. The GHQ-12, which is one approved by the aforementioned agency. Participation in
of the most widely used questionnaires to measure anxiety, the study was voluntary and not coerced or pressured. In
was tested and found to be reliable in the catering industry, the event that a participant wished to withdraw from the
specifically among a group of Irish chefs (Murray- study after completing the questionnaire, they could return
Gibbons & Gibbons, 2007). Reliability was measured using with a relevant request by forwarding the identification
Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, which was found to be 0.89. code requested before completing the questionnaire.
The GHQ-12 is a self-report questionnaire applicable The participants were required to read the consent form
to both diseased and healthy populations and has been before answering the questionnaire. They were informed
proven to be highly reliable. Each item is scored on a four- that the purpose of this research was to investigate job
point scale (“1” = Not at all, “2” = Not more than usual, satisfaction and its impact on the general health of
“3” = Rather more than usual, and “4” = Much more than people working in the catering industry. It is important
usual), providing a total score of 12 or 36, based on the to note that the investigation also included work-related
chosen scoring method. A high score is indicative of poor burnout. This information was initially withheld to ensure
health. Maslach’s burnout questionnaire consists of three unbiased results, as disclosing burnout in advance might
dimensions, which correspond to emotional exhaustion, have influenced responses by revealing specific working
personal accomplishment, and employee depersonalization. conditions. Participants were given the freedom to
The score for each question ranges from 0 (never happens withdraw their data by the rules of ethics.
to me) to 6 (happens to me every day). Questions 5, 10, 2.5. Data analysis
11, 15, and 22 are related to depersonalization, questions
4, 7, 9, 12, 17, 18, 19 and 21 are related to personal The data were collected, coded, and then statistically
achievements, and the remaining questions are related processed to confirm or reject the raised research hypotheses.
to emotional exhaustion. The construct validity of the Initially, the data were entered into spreadsheets (Microsoft
questionnaire was examined through principal factor Excel) through Microsoft Forms, and finally, were entered
analysis with replications and varimax rotation. Reliability into the Jamovi program, where the answers were coded,
coefficients were based on samples that were not used and the statistical analysis of the data was carried out (The
in the item selections to avoid any inappropriateness jamovi project, 2019). First, the reliability of the variables
of reliability. Internal consistency was assessed with was checked. Regarding demographic characteristics, a one-
Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Reliability coefficients for the way ANOVA parametric test was conducted to demonstrate
subscales range from 0.71 – 0.90 (Maslach et al., 1997). the differences in terms of age and years of work experience.
The questionnaire was translated into Greek (Papadatou Then, inductive statistical correlation was used to analyze
et al., 1994). Similarly, the job satisfaction questionnaire the data. Linear regression analysis was also performed to
was also translated into Greek, and its reliability and investigate the correlation of job satisfaction and work-related
psychometric properties were verified (Tsounis & Sarafis, burnout with general health. However, according to the
2018). Internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alpha central limit theorem, a sample of more than 30 individuals
coefficient) was calculated for each subscale and for the is considered significantly large. Therefore, parametric tests
total scale. All subscales were above the minimum value of were performed as part of the statistical analysis.
0.50, with the exception of two above 0.70. The total scale 3. Results
was 0.91 (Spector, 1985). It includes dimensions pertaining
to the salary, additional benefits, promotion opportunities, A one-way ANOVA for independent samples was
extraordinary rewards, recognition of the effort, nature of conducted to investigate the impact of age on job

Volume 2 Issue 1 (2024) 4 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.1852