Investigation of job stress, communication skills and empathy levels of disaster professionals involved in sportive activities according to various variables

Aim: This study aimed to investigate job stress, communication skills and empathy levels of disaster professionals working in sportive activities according to various variables. Methods: A total of 222 search and rescue volunteer rescue personnel, 199 of whom were male and 23 of whom were female, were included in the study. In order to determine the demographic status of the participants, frequency analysis, Independent Sample T-Test was applied in the comparison of job stress, communication skills and empathy levels according to age, gender, marital status and educational status variables; One-Way ANOVA analysis was applied in the comparison according to age variable; Tukey Test was applied to find out from which groups the difference originated, and Pearson Correlation Test was applied to determine the relationship between variables and significance level (p<0.05) was taken. Result: When the participants' job stress, communication skills and empathy levels were examined according to marital status, a statistically significant difference was found in the egocentric tendency sub-dimension. When the job stress, communication skills and empathy levels of the participants were analysed according to their educational status, a statistically significant difference was found in the total score of stress and communication skills sub-dimensions. When the job stress, communication skills and empathy levels of the participants were examined according to their gender and age status, no statistically significant difference was found, there was no significant relationship between stress and empathy levels, while a significant relationship was found between communication skills and stress. Conclusion: In the study, it was seen that single participants were more self-centred than married participants, at the same time, according to the educational status of the participants, there was a significant difference in favour of the participants with a university degree in stress total scores, and in communication total scores, high school graduates had a significantly higher average than university graduates. As a result; it can be said that search and rescue personnel involved in sportive activities coping with stress, using communication skills effectively and having high levels of empathy can play a critical role in achieving success. Keywords: Search and Rescue, Empathy Level, Communication Skills, Job Stress