Work stress and burnout among young public health workers: a mechanism-based analysis of emotional labor and organizational support

Background Burnout is an increasing concern in public health, particularly among young workers entering frontline roles with limited experience and high early workload pressure. Methods We surveyed 410 young public health workers, including newly hired employees and volunteers in township clinics. Standardized measures assessed job demands, emotional labor, emotional exhaustion, and burnout. Structural equation modeling and bootstrap mediation analysis were conducted, and group comparisons examined differences by employment status. Results Job demands were strongly associated with emotional exhaustion (β = 0.477, p < 0.001) but were not significantly related to emotional labor (β = 0.026, p = 0.607). Emotional labor was positively associated with emotional exhaustion (β = 0.512, p < 0.001). Emotional exhaustion showed the