Investigating sustainable employee well-being: A decade of research on burnout studies

Abstract

Job burnout is a state of physical and mental exhaustion that occurs as a result of long-term negative feelings that are developed at work and affect individuals of various professions (Penttinen et al., 2021; Dike et al., 2021). Given the growing interest in job burnout and the extensive body of literature dedicated to identifying its contributing factors, this research aims to systematically review empirical burnout research to identify and organize the myriad causes of burnout. The objective is to facilitate a more streamlined approach to its study and to enhance the ability to manage, control, and mitigate burnout symptoms, ultimately promoting and sustaining employees’ mental health. Therefore, a systematic literature review of burnout articles published on the Web of Science (WoS) and American Psychological Association (APA) PsycNET databases over the last decade (2012–2022) was conducted. Thematic analysis was employed to identify, classify, and categorize the factors contributing to burnout. The research findings indicate that while the conventional perspective portrays burnout as a work-specific syndrome and workplace factors are often considered the primary indicators of burnout, the research findings suggest that burnout is a complex phenomenon that is influenced by various factors at the personal, job-related, organizational, and social life levels. The relationship between these factors and burnout can overlap, with some factors acting as protective mechanisms and others as risk factors. Understanding these factors can help in developing strategies and intervention mechanisms to prevent or mitigate burnout in the workplace, ultimately promoting and sustaining employees’ mental health.