Coping with burnout and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on workers’ mental health: A systematic review

Abstract

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the psychological wellbeing of workers worldwide. Certain coping styles may increase burnout risk. To investigate the relationship between burnout and coping styles, a systematic review was performed.MethodsFollowing the PRISMA statements, three databases were screened up until October 2022, including research articles written in English language and investigating the relationship between burnout and coping strategies in workers. The quality of articles was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.ResultsThe initial search resulted in 3,413 records, 15 of which were included in this review. Most studies were performed on healthcare workers (n = 13, 86.6%) and included a majority of female workers (n = 13, 86.7%). The most used burnout assessment questionnaire was the Maslach Burnout Inventory (n = 8, 53.3%), and the most used coping assessment tool was the Brief-COPE (n = 6, 40.0%). Task-related coping was a protective factor for burnout in all four studies investigating its correlation with burnout dimensions. Two of the four studies investigating emotion-oriented coping found that it was protective while the other two found that it was predictive of burnout. All five studies investigating avoidance-oriented coping and burnout dimensions found that this coping style was predictive of burnout.DiscussionTask-oriented and adaptive coping were protective for burnout, avoidance-oriented, and maladaptive coping were predictive factors of burnout. Mixed results were highlighted concerning emotion-oriented coping, suggesting that different outcomes of this coping style may depend on gender, with women relying more on it than men. In conclusion, further research is needed to investigate the effect of coping styles in individuals, and how these correlates with their unique characteristics. Training workers about appropriate coping styles to adopt may be essential to enact prevention strategies to reduce burnout incidence in workers.

Psychological well-being of healthcare workers during COVID-19 in a mental health institution

“…While it is clear avoidant coping style would be correlated with poorer psychological wellbeing, the evidence for relationship between emotion-focused coping style and wellbeing has been mixed [ 52 ]. Our results, however, supports that emotion-focused coping (specifically emotional support) has a protective effect (i.e., higher well-being), a finding consistent with Eisenbeck et al’s [ 53 ] analysis of data from 30 countries reporting adaptive coping, including emotional and instrumental support, was related to better wellbeing and fewer depressive symptoms.…”

On the path to recovery: traumatic stress research during the COVID-19 pandemic 2021–2023

“…Not surprisingly, therefore, studies, including in this Special Issue (Greene et al, 2021 ; Patel et al, 2023 ), have documented how healthcare workers, especially those on the front-line caring for patients with severe coronavirus infections, have reported a plethora of psychological problems (e.g., anxiety, depression, somatisation, obsession/compulsions, insomnia) (Greene et al, 2021 ), primary and secondary traumatic stress symptoms (Greene et al, 2021 ; Hegarty et al, 2022 ), burnout (Alkhamees et al, 2023 ; Long et al, 2023 ; Rossi et al, 2023 ), and severe impairment and danger due to addiction and suicidality (Patel et al, 2023 ; Ryan et al, 2023 ; Uvais, 2021 ). Almost half of a sample of front-line healthcare workers assessed by structured interview during the pandemic met criteria for PTSD, and nearly 40% for major depressive disorder, with pandemic-related traumatic stressors appearing directly related to depression and to exacerbate the effects of pre-pandemic trauma exposure when PTSD occurred (Wild et al, 2022 ).…”

“…In a paper published in this Special Issue, focus groups with healthcare workers, physicians, nurses, midwives, and allied health professionals of under-represented ethnocultural backgrounds in that same mid-pandemic time period identified fear of infection, traumatic grief due to exposure to patients’ suffering and deaths, guilt due to potentially infecting loved ones, and extreme work hours and workloads as critical contributors to mental health problems (Qureshi et al, 2022 ). Although the intensity and inescapability of these potentially traumatic conditions has greatly diminished as the prevalence and severity of coronavirus infection has waned, the long-term impact of months of exposure to multiple extreme stressors on front-line healthcare workers’ mental and physical health (Melnyk et al, 2023 ), and occupational burnout (Rossi et al, 2023 ) warrant careful surveillance.…”

Perceptions of COVID-19 during and after the Omicron outbreak among healthcare personnel in Indonesia

“…Excessive caution, prolonged working hours, and substantial workload have contributed to a high prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression among HCP ( 15 ). A high prevalence of psychological distress, leading to burnout, may occur if the coping mechanisms undertaken by HCP are ineffective ( 16 , 17 ).…”