Effect of Participation in Relay Sports on the Quality of Work Life and Job Performance of Relief Workers with the Mediating Role of Professional Ethics: A Case Study of Hogam Competitions in Mazandaran Province, Iran

INTRODUCTION: Today, the importance of paying attention to human resources for the growth and development of relief organizations, such as the Red Crescent, emergency services, and fire stations, has been considered a key priority at the decisions and activities of the managers of these organizations. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of participation in relay sports on the quality of work life and job performance of relief forces with the mediating role of professional ethics in Mazandaran Province, Iran. METHODS: The present applied study was conducted based on a descriptive-survey approach. The statistical population of the study consisted of all relief forces, including firefighters, Red Crescent rescuers, and emergency service staff, (with unknown sample size) who participated in the Hogam relay sport. The research sample included ۱۶۸ members of the above-mentioned forces who participated in an event related to the Hogam sport in Mazandaran Province, ۲۰۱۸. The samples were selected using the non-random convenience sampling method; regarding this, all participants in the mentioned event were entered into the research. The required data were collected using questionnaires, namely the Walton Quality of Work Life Questionnaire, Paterson Job Performance Questionnaire, Sports Questionnaire (developed by Taji et al., ۲۰۱۰), and Standard Professional Ethics Questionnaire (designed by Kadozir, ۲۰۰۲). FINDINGS: The results showed that participation in Hogam sport had a significant effect on job performance and quality of work life of relief workers with the mediating role of professional ethics. Therefore, it can be said that addressing this sport, which has its specific nature compared to other sports, can have a significant impact on the quality of  work life and job performance of employees, which will be doubled by the observance of professional ethics. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the managers of these organizations can take steps to implicitly and explicitly institutionalize professional ethics by addressing ethical complaints of employees and implementing programs of strengthening ethics in employees to improve the quality of employees' work life.