Job Burnout: A Deep-Rooted Issue in Ever-Changing Workplaces

Dear colleagues,

Job burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed (WHO, 2019). The feeling of exhaustion or energy depletion is considered the “core dimension” of this syndrome. However, other symptoms include cynicism, reduced professional efficacy, disillusion, or a sense of guilt. Professionals working directly with clients, patients, or other recipients are the occupational categories that are the most prone to developing this syndrome.

Since the early 1980s, research on burnout has been growing exponentially, and a large corpus of empirical evidence has been gained regarding its antecedents and outcomes across various occupations and work settings. Despite this, further research on this topic is needed. The continuing transformations at economic, social, and demographic levels are determining the emergence of new psychosocial factors that may affect the development of this syndrome and, in turn, intensify its possible ramifications on individual and organizational health (EU-OSHA, 2019). In this evolving scenario, scholars are called to constantly advance research in order to identify new areas of burnout risk and protecting factors among specific organizational settings as well as to update well-established theoretical models developed to understand the burnout phenomenon.

Based on this premise, for this Special Issue of IJERPH, we invite authors to submit quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method studies or literature reviews (e.g., meta-analysis, systematic review) that may advance the body of knowledge on the topic of burnout. Examples of research topics include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

• Psychosocial risk factors for burnout in relation to specific new and emerging issues (e.g., aging, job demands intensification, job insecurity, workplace violence, work–life balance, the pandemic covid-19);
• The roles of socio-demographic, personal, health-, and work-related factors in the development of burnout;
• The identification of mediators and or moderators in the relationship between work-related psychosocial factors and burnout;
• The prevalence of burnout among specific occupations and work settings. 

References

World Health Organization (2019). International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems (11th ed.). https://icd.who.int/.

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (2019). Third European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks (ESENER 3). EU-OSHA Publication Office, Bilbao (ES). https://osha.europa.eu/en/facts-and-figures/esener.

Dr. Sara Viotti
Dr. Anthony Montgomery
Dr. Guidetti Gloria
Dr. Igor Portoghese
Guest Editors

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