Effectiveness of a psychoeducational group intervention to reduce public institution call center employee burnout: A pilot study

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study examines the effectiveness of a psychoeducational group intervention program consisting of psychoeducation sessions and group exercises based on psychodrama warm-up activities resulting from the needs of public sector call center agents in the workplace. Forty municipality call center employees from two municipalities (intervention and control groups) completed pre- and post-test measures before and after the intervention program. A follow-up session for the intervention group took place one month after the completion of the intervention sessions. The intervention group showed significant pre-to-post-test short-term effects such as reduced depersonalization, increased mental well-being, psychological resilience, personal accomplishment, group atmosphere, and group cohesion. On the other hand, no significant difference was noted in the control group from pre- to post-test, except for the decrease in the group atmosphere scores. Group atmosphere and group cohesion scores remained significantly increased after one-month follow-up measures compared to the pre-test in the intervention group.