Psychologists emphasize that people employed in social service organizations are vulnerable to chronic stress and burnout syndrome caused by a close and unsatisfied interpersonal relationship. However, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a feeling of diminished personal accomplishment can be attributed to other external factors. One of them is poor living and occupational conditions. According to a report by OECD, the healthcare system in Poland is the worst among the member countries. The aim of the present study was to define the relationship between occupational burnout and the rating of the Polish healthcare system among the medical staff. The study included 224 participants. The Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Dehumanized Behavior and the Głębocka and Rużyczka scale of Behavioral Indicators of Patient's Dehumanization were applied. The evaluations of the healthcare system were also collected. The results demonstrate that physicians were the group of most emotionally exhausted and, simultaneously, most life-satisfied persons, while nurses presented the highest level of dehumanization and the lowest level of satisfaction from life achievements. Only did physicians evaluate the healthcare system as a relatively good one. They were also more tolerant of latent dehumanization. A relationship between the dimensions of burnout and the evaluation of healthcare system were observed. The emotionally exhausted or prone to dehumanization persons were more likely to evaluate the Polish healthcare system negatively.
Keywords: Dehumanization; Depersonalization; Emotional exhaustion; Mood contagion; Nurses; Physicians.