Emotional Labour, Job Satisfaction, and Burnout in Medical Technicians: Insights from the Korea Veterans Health Service

Background Previous research on emotional labour, job satisfaction, and burnout in hospitals has primarily focused on nurses or treated medical technicians as a single occupational group. However, recognising the diverse experiences within different medical technician roles necessitates a more nuanced analysis. This study aims to determine the correlation among emotional labour, job satisfaction, and burnout in medical technicians and provide foundational data for human resource management. Methods Participants included 570 medical technologists, radiology technologists, physical therapists, and dental hygienists working in six hospitals under the Korea Veterans Health Service in July 2022. A standardised self-administered questionnaire was used, with 290 participants responding, yielding a response rate of 50.9%. In Model I, burnout was the dependent variable, while emotional labour, job satisfaction, and subjective health status were the independent variables. Model II considered participants’ sociodemographic characteristics and factors influencing their current job choice or potential job changes, building on Model I. Results Factors influencing burnout varied across medical technician occupations. In Model II, burnout was significantly affected by medical technologists’ job satisfaction (B=-0.203, P  = 0.014), radiology technologists’ emotional labour (B = 0.546, P  = 0.024), physical therapists’ emotional labour (B = 0.466, P  < 0.001) and subjective health status (B = 3.234, P  = 0.029), and dental hygienists’ subjective health status (B = 5.788, P  = 0.030). These results highlight the need for tailored management strategies and further research. Conclusion Given the variation in factors significantly affecting burnout among occupational groups, tailored interventions, and detailed research specific to each group are necessary.