Protective Factors Against Burnout for Sex Workers

Reports estimate 1 to 2 million sex workers in the United States, and literature highlights sex workers experiencing stigma, violence, and risk in their financial, physical, and mental health. Using job demands-resource theory, this study assessed vocational experiences of sex workers in the U.S. and its impact on burnout by examining if job resources and personal resources moderate by weakening the positive relationship between job demands and burnout. This study conceptualized personal resources as Machiavellianism, rendering the trait as a protective factor against vocational adversaries. Participants (N = 255) were recruited through social media. Participants were U.S. sex workers who were at least 18 years old, worked as a sex worker for at least a year and were not victims of sex trafficking. Moderation analyses were conducted using Model 1 in the SPSS PROCESS Version 4.2 macro. Results indicated neither job resources nor personal resources (Machiavellianism) moderated the relationship between job demands and burnout. However, exploratory analyses found that higher levels of perceived safety were associated with lower burnout levels. Furthermore, older age and being less involved in work outside of sex work was associated with lower levels of burnout among sex workers. Results of this study underscores the complex nature of the vocational experience of sex workers and highlight the need for continued research into occupation-specific factors that can mitigate burnout, as well as incorporating consideration toward individual factors of the sex worker themselves (e.g., their perception of the job). Such investigation can identify factors within the occupation that can prevent or reduce levels of burnout among sex workers. This study can inform clinicians and vocational therapists/counselors with clients who are or interested in becoming a sex worker in assessing characteristics of the occupation that can be perceived as positive or can expected to be negative, thus allowing prevention of burnout while supporting mental well-being.