The purpose of the present review was to provide an up-to-date summary of the burnout-in-sport literature. The last published reviews were in 1989 (Fender) and 1990 (Dale & Weinberg). In order to appreciate the status of current knowledge and understanding and to identify potential future directions, the authors conducted a synthesis of published work using a systematic-review methodology. Findings comprised 3 sections: sample characteristics, correlates, and research designs and data collection. A total of 58 published studies were assessed, most of which focused on athletes (n = 27) and coaches (n = 23). Correlates were grouped into psychological, demographic, and situational factors and were summarized as positively, negatively, indeterminate, and nonassociated with burnout. Self-report measures and cross-sectional designs have dominated research. The authors conclude by summarizing the key findings in the literature and highlighting the gaps that could be filled by future research.Burnout in the sport setting was first investigated by Caccese and Mayerberg (1984) in a study of coach burnout. Similar to many concepts in sport psychology, the original conceptualization occurred outside sport, in this case in the work domain. Herbert Freudenberger (1974) is generally considered the founding father with his study on staff burnout among volunteers at a New York drug rehabilitation clinic. Around the same time, however, Christina Maslach, a social-psychology researcher, also began to coin the term to describe a gradual process of exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced commitment among poverty lawyers. Maslach's work has continued to be instrumental in shaping the development of research in the field, and the more practitioner-based approach established by Freudenberger has forged a second tradition focused on the assessment, prevention, and treatment of the syndrome (Schaufeli & Buunk, 2003).In both the professional and sport settings the concept of burnout has been enormously popular and readily taken up. The media have been instrumental in popularizing the concept through (in the case of sport) sensational accounts of the dramatic demise of high-profile sports stars and the decline of young prodigies who fail to fulfill their potential. It has become a colloquialism in the sport community and among the wider fan base (Raedeke, 1997;Vealey, Armstrong, Comar, & Greenleaf, 1998). Use of the term burnout also conjures powerful visual images, but, despite the vividness of such images, there remains much debate as to the definition and measurement of burnout in the sport setting (Raedeke & Smith, 2001). Research on coaches and other sport practitioners has long employed the widely accepted conceptualization of burnout by Maslach and Jackson (1984). From this standpoint, burnout comprises three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced performance accomplishment. Issues concerning the appropriateness of this conceptualization for use among athlete populations have led to the development of an athlete-...

This study investigated the relationship between organizational stressors in sport and athlete burnout and involved a cross-cultural comparison of English and Japanese soccer players. Ninety-eight male players completed the Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (Raedeke & Smith, 2001) to determine levels of perceived burnout. Based on data reported in previous research, and the thresholds developed by Hodge, Lonsdale, and Ng (2008), 22 of the players were identified as exhibiting higher levels of perceived burnout. Nine members of this subsample (4 English and 5 Japanese players) were subsequently interviewed to explore the relationship between their experiences of burnout and the organizational stressors they encountered. Results revealed multiple demands linked to the dimensions of athlete burnout and identified specific organizational-related issues that players associated with the incidence of burnout. Cultural differences between English and Japanese players in terms of the prevalence and organizational stressors associated with burnout were also identified, with the main differences being the relationship with senior teammates and the coaching style.

The aim of this study was to examine elite youth athletes' views on parental involvement in training, competition, and at home. Eight canoeists were interviewed up to four times and completed written diaries over a 6-week period. Results indicated that parents were generally deemed to have a positive influence through domain specific and cross-domain behaviors.Positive behaviors included parents focusing on their children's holistic development at home, motivational and constructive evaluation at training, and limiting demands on athletes through

The struggle of the human spirit to fulfil potential and accomplish excellence in the competitive and challenging environments of high performance is at the heart of sport and performance psychology. However, a lurking negative consequence of an individual's effortful striving is the possibility of burnout. The concept originated in the health care domain as a syndrome that scholars and practitioners believe results from chronic exposure to stress. It is characterized by three key dimensions: exhaustion, inefficacy, and cynicism. Since its inception, the concept of burnout has been transposed across a range of social contexts, with a growing literature that has examined burnout specifically among athletes and coaches. This chapter seeks to compare the sport psychology and professional burnout literatures to provide an overview of how to recognize, avoid, and reduce and remove burnout. Burnout intervention approaches have shifted from mitigating burnout to enhancing “engagement,” which is its conceptual opposite (i.e., energy, efficacy, and involvement). Consequently, the concept of engagement is explored and proposed as an important intervention strategy to consider for those working with performers across domains. The chapter concludes with a summary and look at future directions in this field.

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Laing O’Rourke, like all other construction businesses, was confronted with a raft of challenges at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. This paper describes the approach adopted across the business to transform its focus on wellbeing and improve people’s energy levels. It focused on three Hs: being more human, hybrid working, and home complementing work, not competing. The approach has supported better wellbeing and performance by focusing on the type of work that needed to be done and how it is done. Removing the focus on where work was done has led to greater personal sustainability for project delivery teams and the functional colleagues who support them.

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