Behind The Camera: An Examination of Burnout and Help-seeking Among Set Workers in Turkey

Abstract

Background: Set workers are employed on television, movie, and advertising production sets. Set work in Turkey has been labeled a ‘hazardous occupation’ (Bekçi, 2015) owing to the tremendous job demands employees face, including long hours and the lack of financial security and organizational structure. Objective: This study examined the predictors of burnout while referring to Lazarus and Folkman’s (1984) concept of problem-focused coping to interpret the potential role of help-seeking in protecting against job demands. Methods: Non-random convenience sampling generated a sample of 432 participants representing a diverse range of set work experiences. Results: There were three main findings. 1. Greater job demands predicted burnout. 2. Participant background characteristics (e.g., gender, family status, children) partially predicted burnout, with gender exhibiting the greatest influence. 3. Help-seeking was minimally associated with burnout. Conclusions: We interpret the findings in the context of Turkish cultural and social dynamics that may minimize or exacerbate employee well-being and their experience of burnout.