Connaissances actuelles des causes du burnout, importance et relations des différentes variables mises en jeu : une revue critique de la littérature

Abstract

Objectives

Burnout is a new phenomenon that has been the subject of considerable research in recent years, however, the multitude of its causes make it a complex object of study. This review aims to identify the most studied cases of burnout and the role of their interrelations in the development of burnout. This inventory will suggest new avenues of research and constitute a tool for professionals to use for the implementation of innovative and ambitious policies to enhance the quality of life in the workplace. The 11^th edition of the International Classification of Diseases has updated the definition of burnout by taking up Maslach's work, which defines burnout as emotional exhaustion, cynicism and a decline in work-related personal achievement. However, this definition is far from being a consensus and such studies are problematic due to the complexity created by the large number of causes of burnout. Therefore, the aim of this study is to present an overview of the different causes of burnout in order to determine: (a) what are the most and least studied causes of burnout (b) what links exist between these causes and how they can explain the occurrence of burnout, (c) what is the impact of sociodemographic variables in the occurrence of burnout.

Materials and methods

For this purpose, a systematic review of the literature was carried out. The bibliography review has been ongoing since 2014 using data from PsycInfo. The selection criteria for the articles were as follows: The article had to deal with the causes of burnout at work (work demands, work resources, personal resources, personal demands, personality, socio-demographic characteristics). We excluded studies dealing with the physical, social and psychological consequences of burnout, the impact of burnout on the quality of work, other types of burnout (school burnout, associative burnout, in athletes), methods to reduce burnout, and the distinction or comparison between burnout and depression. A total of 119 articles were selected according to predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Results

The results show that work demands are the most studied in the literature and demographic characteristics the least studied. While a few variables have been studied many times and show consistent links with burnout, not all of them have been studied. All the demands studied except emotional and mental demands show a positive relationship with burnout and all the resources demonstrate a negative relationship with the exception of social support. For these variables, the work context influences their effect on burnout. Social support can thus lead to the propagation of negative or positive emotions according to the context. Moreover, the study of the interrelationships between the variables shows that the effect of an antecedent on burnout is often dependent on a more global work and individual context. For example, for family-work conflicts, the temporal load increases the effect of the family-work conflict on burnout, while the feeling of personal effectiveness decreases it.

Conclusion

The study of mediation and moderation processes can help to understand these sometimes inconsistent links. Therefore, understanding the effect of one variable on burnout without considering the overall work context is particularly complex. The plurality and interaction of the burnout antecedents mean that the impact of some variables on burnout is unstable. However, it also allows for a multitude of possibilities for the prevention of burnout. Further analysis of these processes and of sociodemographic characteristics is still essential in order to have a better understanding of the burnout phenomenon.