Coach Burnout: A Scoping Review

Abstract

35Coaches' experiences of burnout and stress have been popular topics for research within sport 36 psychology, particularly over the last decade. The purpose of this scoping review was to provide 37 an up-to-date and critical review of the coaching burnout literature, consolidate research 38 findings, assess current methodological and conceptual trends, and identify avenues for research 39 in this area. Five electronic databases were used to conduct the literature search up to September 40 30 th , 2017 (PsycINFO, Web of Science, PubMed, SPORTDiscus, ORIA, Google Scholar). 41 Initially, 65 papers, reviews, and books chapter were identified, but through an iterative process 42 (Arksey & O'Malley, 2005), 45 peer-reviewed, published articles satisfied the inclusion criteria, 43 and the data from these studies was charted. Findings indicated that coach burnout literature is 44 explored from a number of different theoretical perspectives, and shortcomings were identified 45 regarding constructs and concepts used, and research quality. Based on consolidated findings, 46 key challenges are identified, and recommendations for future research are suggested. 47 Recommendations include the use of designs that fully capture the enduring nature of the 48 burnout experience, further consideration being given to the measurement of coach burnout, and 49 further research exploring the clinical treatment and prevention of burnout in coaching contexts.50 51

Impact of Job Insecurity on Psychological Well- and Ill-Being among High Performance Coaches

“…Thus, job insecurity is a normalized, integral part of this profession [ 93 ]. Consequently, HPC research has paid attention to stress, burnout, and mental health [ 5 ] but job insecurity has received limited attention. A recent study from Spain, including a large coach population ( N = 1481) representing different levels, found that insecurity over working conditions and emotional demands was significantly elevated as compared with reference values of the Spanish general work force [ 94 ].…”

“…High performance coaches (HPCs) report a combination of frequently occurring stressors within the personal, organizational, and competitive domains [ 3 , 4 ]. Consequently, it has been suggested that being an HPC is an all-consuming and demanding profession without clear boundaries, which can ultimately be detrimental to their mental health [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. The increasingly competitive and evaluative nature of elite sport fosters performance expectations that are associated with harsh scrutiny, criticism, and job insecurity [ 7 ].…”

“…Typically, demands accumulate from constant performance pressure, an extensive travel schedule, long and irregular work hours, team selections, decisions, and multiple roles and responsibilities [ 8 , 9 ]. Altogether, these stressors and demands can lead to various negative consequences for coaches’ psychological health, such as work-home interference, a sense of isolation in the coaching role, and psychophysiological outcomes such as sleep disturbance, changes in mood, and burnout [ 5 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”

“…However, most of the attention in these articles was directed towards athletes. Moreover, issues related to poor mental health among coaches have so far been limited to burnout and maladaptive stress-related symptoms [ 5 , 19 ]. It is noteworthy that these negative outcomes are related to the concepts of ill-being and mental illness [ 20 , 21 ], which represent the darker side of mental health.…”

Elite Football Coaches Experiences and Sensemaking about Being Fired: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

“…This is especially relevant for bigger team sports such as football, which also involve thousands (sometimes millions) of engaged and passionate fans, media, stakeholders, and sponsors. Indeed, high performance coaching in general is a profession that is vulnerable to mental health problems [3] and in particular football [4][5][6].…”