Disaster restoration estimators operate in an inherently stressful niche of the construction industry. Their work often demands being on call and working long hours under stressful and dangerous conditions following fires, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and a variety of other events that are catastrophic to structures. The purpose of this article is to explore findings from a recent study (Avila, Rapp, & Dunbar, 2021) that examined employee burnout in the disaster restoration industry. Among several things, the study discovered restoration estimators experience higher levels of cynicism and are more susceptible to burnout from their work than the general population and among other roles in the restoration industry. Cynicism reflects feelings of indifference and a distant attitude toward work; it represents dysfunctional coping with job strains (Maslach & Leiter, 1997).
In order to advance this work, the researchers isolated the data and conducted a t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to further analyze (1) the cynicism of restoration estimators compared to the general population and (2) whether the average cynicism scores varied by position within the restoration industry. The goal was to verify the validity of the initial findings then reach out to industry leaders for thoughts on why this is happening and what can be done to mitigate the effects of cynicism for restoration industry estimators. The hope is that this article represents an unprecedented collaboration among academics and industry executives for improving the lives of restoration industry professionals.