Predictors of Occupational Burnout: A Systematic Review

Abstract

We aimed to review occupational burnout predictors, considering their type, effect size and role (protective versus harmful), and the overall evidence of their importance. MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Embase were searched from January 1990 to August 2018 for longitudinal studies examining any predictor of occupational burnout among workers. We arranged predictors in four families and 13 subfamilies of homogenous constructs. The plots of z-scores per predictor type enabled graphical discrimination of the effects. The vote-counting and binomial test enabled discrimination of the effect direction. The size of the effect was estimated using Cohen’s formula. The risk of bias and the overall evidence were assessed using the MEVORECH and GRADE methods, respectively. Eighty-five studies examining 261 predictors were included. We found a moderate quality of evidence for the harmful effects of the job demands subfamily (six predictors), and negative job attitudes, with effect sizes from small to medium. We also found a moderate quality of evidence for the protective effect of adaptive coping (small effect sizes) and leisure (small to medium effect sizes). Preventive interventions for occupational burnout might benefit from intervening on the established predictors regarding reducing job demands and negative job attitudes and promoting adaptive coping and leisure.

Does Exposure to High Job Demands, Low Decision Authority, or Workplace Violence Mediate the Association between Employment in the Health and Social Care Industry and Register-Based Sickness Absence? A Longitudinal Study of a Swedish Cohort

“…High job demands and poor decision authority are risk factors for a number of ill-health outcomes. For example, in systematic reviews, high job demands [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ] and poor decision authority [ 9 , 12 , 13 ] are associated with increased risks of common mental disorders, which are the most common diagnoses behind sickness absences in Sweden [ 14 ]. High demands and poor job control or decision authority are also directly associated with increased risks of sickness absence in general working populations [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ], specifically within health and social care [ 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”

Mental Health Promotion and Intervention in Occupational Settings: Protocol for a Pilot Study of the MENTUPP Intervention

“…The material includes online information packages, videos, pre-recorded roleplays, animated scenarios showing case studies, short quizzes, reflection exercises, breathing and mindfulness exercises, and practical stress management exercises. Research shows that having coping strategies may prevent occupational burnout [ 16 ]. The Hub is designed to give tailored content to the construction sector, the healthcare sector, and the ICT sector with examples typically experienced within the sectors and presented in videos and animated scenarios by workers from each of the sectors.…”

“…In a systematic review of predictors for burnout, job demands, lack of job resources, lack of social support, social hindrance, poor organisational commitment, high work-family conflict, and poor communication may have harmful effects on occupational burnout [ 16 ]. Research has consistently shown that people in specific occupational sectors—construction and health—have mental health problems and an elevated risk of suicide, jointly representing up to 49% of male suicides and 26% of female suicides [ 17 ].…”

Worker Stress, Burnout, and Wellbeing Before and During the COVID-19 Restrictions in the United Kingdom

“…Workers who experience low pleasure and activation may experience occupational burnout, a state characterised by physical and emotional exhaustion and by disconnectedness. A recent meta-analysis by Shoman et al (2021) highlights excessive job demands and negative work attitudes as key predictors of occupational burnout. There is also evidence that workers from particular sectors (e.g., teachers) are more likely to experience burnout and that training courses and policies aimed at boosting workers’ internal resources and abilities to cope with work-related stress and emotional demands (adaptive coping strategies) may render them less susceptible to burnout ( Pishghadam et al, 2021 ; Shoman et al, 2021 ).…”