SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Psychiatry, 16 March 2023

Sec. Public Mental Health

Volume 14 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1139260

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

  • 1. Section of Occupational Health, Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy

  • 2. School of Medicine, UniCamillus-Saint Camillus International University of Health Sciences, Rome, Italy

  • 3. Leadership in Medicine Research Center, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy

  • 4. Center for Global Health Research and Studies, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy

  • 5. Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy

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Abstract

Introduction:

The 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.

Methods:

Following 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.

Results:

The 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.

Discussion:

Task-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.

1. Introduction

The COVID-19 Pandemic has been ongoing since 2020, with a significant negative impact on workers’ health worldwide, not just limited to physical wellbeing, but also affecting psychological wellbeing (14). COVID-19 has had an impact on occupational health both directly and indirectly. The direct impact was having to manage the contagion risk in the workplace and returning to work post COVID-19 (4), as well as the emerging problems related to long COVID-19 syndrome that are currently still being evaluated (5). The indirect effect of COVID-19 on the workplace has been on the organizational measures adopted to reduce its impact, remote working being the primary solution for many companies to reduce contagion risk; remote working has been itself an important source of psychological distress for workers worldwide (6).

1.1. Burnout definition

Burnout is defined as a psychological condition characterized by tiredness, cynicism, and ineffectiveness at work, which affects how employees perceive themselves and others at work (7). Although the condition of the worker suffering from burnout is quite widespread and easily recognizable, there is no agreement among researchers about the criteria to be used for risk assessment (8). In research on burnout both unidimensional and multidimensional models are used. The unidimensional models only have one dimension, exhaustion. Some unidimensional models make a distinction between psychological and physical exhaustion, although exhaustion as a single factor is used to perform burnout measurements (9). Exhaustion is defined as the fatigue experienced by workers, caused by the chronic depletion of their emotional resources, leading to the emotional withdrawal of the employee from their job, worsening their health status, and work performances (10). The multidimensional models of burnout have three primary components: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment (11). Depersonalization is defined as the progressive dehumanization of the workers’ clients, leading to the perception that the clients deserve the troubles they have (10). This aspect of burnout is correlated to the progressive emotional exhaustion (as defined above) of the worker, which leads to reduced empathy. Both depersonalization and emotional exhaustion positively correlate with burnout, meaning that high scores of these components translate into a high burnout level (11). Personal accomplishment is defined as the satisfaction perceived by the workers in regards to their job performances (10). This dimension negatively correlates with burnout, with high personal accomplishment meaning lower burnout levels (11).

1.2. Burnout assessment tools

Many tools have been developed to measure burnout objectively in workers: the first questionnaire was developed in 1981 by Maslach et al. (10), but many other instruments are now available and validated. Among the most popular, there are the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, the Bergen Burnout Inventory, the Professional Quality of Life, the Burnout Assessment Tool (9, 1214).

1.3. Burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated a large number of studies on workers’ mental health, and many of these have reported a high prevalence of burnout (15, 16). Longitudinal studies, with the comparison between data collected before the pandemic and subsequent observations, are currently few (17). An umbrella review of studies conducted during pandemics has shown that during such outbreaks healthcare workers suffer from high burnout rates, but the prevalence rates observed are like those recorded outside the pandemic in healthcare sectors with high stress (18). Repeated cross-sectional studies measuring burnout levels at the start of the pandemic have observed a reduction in prevalence over time (19, 20), especially in cases in which interventions to support workers have been adopted (21). As burnout became more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, a review was performed to assess which behaviors in healthcare workers resulted in the lowest burnout scores: social and emotional support, physical activity, physical self-care, and emotional and physical distancing from work were the most effective coping strategies in healthcare personnel (22).

1.4. Coping definition and coping styles

The extent of the effects that appear in workers could be related to the type of response they implement against stress factors. Coping is defined as an “organizational construct” referring to the multitude of actions and behaviors that a person can use in order to deal with psychological distress (stress, anxiety, and burnout) (23). Classifying coping mechanisms has proved to be a difficult task, because people can react to stressors very differently, and there is no limited set of behaviors or beliefs that can be used to cope with stress (23). Coping is described by different styles, and can be either problem-focused, emotion-focused or avoidance-focused. Problem-focused coping means acting on the source of the psychological distress using an active approach; emotion-focused coping means managing the emotional response to the psychological stressor (24); avoidance-focused coping, can occur when the individual tries to ignore the stressor through social support or through distracting activities (25). If the coping strategies adopted by the individual are ineffective in attenuating work-related stress, the psychological distress can progressively led to burnout (26). For example, problem-focused coping strategies in situations where the problem cannot be solved or in chronic situations can lead to ineffective coping (27), on the other hand, emotion-focused coping strategies that lead the individual to dethatch themselves from the issue can be just as ineffective (28).

1.5. Coping assessment tools

Due to the heterogeneity of coping strategies and styles, many different tools have been developed and validated to assess coping in workers (according to our review of the literature, the most relevant are the Cybernetic Coping Scale, the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced or COPE Inventory, the Brief-COPE, the Perceived Ability to Cope with Trauma scale, the Simplified Coping Style questionnaire, the Trait Coping Style Questionnaire, the Brief Resilient Coping Scale, the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations) (25, 2934).

The individual’s ability to avoid developing burnout is related not only to the work environment and occupational stressors, but also to the worker’s coping skills. During the COVID-19 pandemic burnout levels and its incidence have been rising in workers worldwide, therefore many coping strategies have been adopted by employees to reduce the negative psychological impact of the pandemic.

1.6. Aim of the review

Since the relationship between burnout and coping strategies is still being investigated in scientific literature, and given the higher burnout prevalence in employees during the current pandemic, the aim of this systematic review was to assess the correlation between burnout and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in workers.

2. Materials and methods

The systematic review was performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statements (35). Three databases were selected due to their relevance in the medical and biomedical fields: PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Scopus (36).

A query was developed following the PICO model, establishing the Population (P) as workers, the Intervention (I) as measuring coping and/or coping strategies in workers, and the Outcome (O) as burnout. Comparison (C) was not applicable due to the aim of the performed review. The query used to perform the bibliographic search was comprised as follows: burnout AND coping AND workers.

The research was restricted to articles investigating coping mechanism adopted by workers suffering from – or trying to prevent – burnout, during the COVID-19 pandemic, published from the onset of the pandemic (December 2019) up to October 2022, when the last search was performed; manuscripts in English were included in the review. Studies that did not use validated questionnaires or used semi-structured interviews (mixed method research) to measure coping or burnout, and studies that were not performed on workers were excluded. Non-research articles (wrong publication type, i.e.,: commentaries, letters, and editorials), secondary studies (review and meta-analyses), and manuscripts written in language other than English were also excluded. We also excluded studies from time periods prior to the pandemic but published within the past 2 years.

After retrieving the articles from all the selected databases, duplicate removal and the initial screening by title and abstract was performed through the website Rayyan (37), which allowed for articles to be screened by the three researchers independently, following triple blind methodology, in order to reduce selection bias.

A quality assessment was performed for the included studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) (38).

Data was extracted and reported in an Excel sheet and results were presented quantitatively.

3. Results

The initial systematic search resulted in 3,413 records found across the three databases (PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, and Scopus). After removing 1,530 duplicates, 1,883 manuscripts resulted eligible for screening. The screening by title and abstract resulted in a total of 1,850 excluded articles (see Figure 1 for exclusion motivations). The remaining 33 articles were screened by full text; all the articles were successfully retrieved. A total of 18 articles were excluded based on full text (see Figure 1 for exclusion motivations), leaving 15 studies to be included in this systematic review (Table 1) (3953).

FIGURE 1

TABLE 1

ReferencesCountryType of workersData gathering periodMean age of workers (SD)Sample sizeMale workers (%)Female workers (%)
Lungulescu et al. (39)RomaniaHealthcare workers1 Nov–15 Dec 202130.09 ( ± 3.81)12227 (22.1%)95 (77.87%)
Crescenzo et al. (40)ItalyPsychologistsMar-May 202040.95 ( ± 8.98)46877 (16.5%391 (83.5%)
Vancappel et al. (41)FranceHealthcare workers24 Mar – 28 Jun 202039.24 ( ± 11.13)1,010172 (17.0%)838 (83.0%)
Michela et al. (42)ItalyHealthcare workersFeb-Mar 202143.85 ( ± 10.75)1,009351 (34.8%)658 (65.2%)
Di Monte et al. (43)ItalyHealthcare workers10 Mar–18 May 202055.13 ( ± 11.40)10237 (36.3%)64 (62.7%)
Köse et al. (44)TurkeyHealthcare workersApr-Jun 202027.80 ( ± 7.48)12918 (13.5%)111 (86.05%)
Zhang et al. (45)ChinaHealthcare workers1 Mar–8 Mar 2020median age 33 years (IQR 28,39)946276 (29.2%)670 (70.8%)
Liu et al. (46)ChinaHealthcare workers9 Feb–11 Feb 202020–29: 198; 30–39: 406; 40–49: 191; ≥ 50: 85880279 (31.7%)601 (68.3%)
Pang et al. (47)SabahHealthcare workers1 Dec 2020–30 Apr 2021134 (89.3%) < 40 years; 16 (10.7%) ≥ 40 years:15033 (22.0%)117 (78.0%)
Fteropoulli et al. (48)CyprusHealthcare workers25 May–27 Oct 202036.86 ( ± 8.93)1,071289 (27.0%)782 (73.0%)
AlJhani et al. (49)Saudi ArabiaHealthcare workersJul–Sep 202060.5% were age group 22–35 years40397 (24.1%)306 (75.9%)
Fonseca et al. (50)PortugalHealthcare workersNR38.54 ( ± 5.37)11161 (55.0%)50 (45.0%)
Finuf et al. (51)USAHealthcare workers22 Sep–31 Oct 202044.1 years ( ± 13.1)447 (16.3%)37 (83.7%)
Sumner et al. (52)UK and IrelandFrontline workers31 Mar–15 May 20201,305196 (13.3%)1109 (86.7%)
Miller et al. (53)USAHealthcare workersNov 202034 (range 20–63)200152 (76.0%)48 (24.0%)

Extraction table with main characteristics of population studied.

Out of the fifteen included studies, three were conducted in Italy (20.0%) (40, 42, 43), two in China (13.3%) (45, 46), two in USA (13.3%) (51, 53), one each (6.7%) in the following countries: Cyprus (48), France (41), Portugal (50), Romania (39), Sabah (47), Saudi Arabia (49), Turkey (44), UK and Ireland (52). Thirteen studies were conducted on healthcare workers (86.6%) (39, 4151, 53), one on frontline workers (6.7%) (52), and one on psychologists (6.7%) (40). Concerning sample size, one study (6.7%) had a sample ≤ 100 (51), six (40.0%) had a sample size between 101 and 200 (39, 43, 44, 47, 50, 53), two (13.3%) had a sample size between 201 and 500 (40, 49), two (13.3%) between 501 and 1,000 (45, 46), and four (26.6%) had a sample size ≥ 1,000 (41, 42, 48, 52). Most included studies (n = 13, 86.6%) included a majority of female workers (3949, 51, 52), and only two studies (13.3%) included a majority of male workers (50, 53).

All studies had a cross-sectional epidemiological design.

The most used burnout assessment questionnaire was the Maslach Burnout Inventory, used in 8 (53.3%) of the 15 included studies (3946), followed by the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory used in three studies (20.0%) (4749), the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory was used in two (13.3%) studies (50, 51), and the Bergen Burnout Inventory (52) and Professional Quality of Life questionnaires (53) were used in one (6.7%) study each. Concerning coping assessment tools, the Brief-COPE was used in 6 studies (40.0%) (41, 4750, 53), the COPE in two (13.3%) (39, 40), the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations in two (13.3%) (42, 43), the Perceived Ability to Cope with Trauma scale (44), the Simplified Coping Style questionnaire (45), the Trait Coping Style Questionnaire (46), the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (52), and the Cybernetic Coping Scale (51) were used in one study each (6.7%) (Table 2).

TABLE 2

ReferencesBurnout questionnaireCoping questionnaireCorrelation between Burnout and copingValueSignificance
Lungulescu et al. (39)Maslach Burnout InventoryCOPEBurnout and Active approach−0.51<0.001
Burnout and Planning−0.46<0.001
Burnout and Deletion of Concurrent Activities−0.13NS
Burnout and Restraint0.01NS
Burnout and use of Social-instrumental Support−0.16NS
Burnout and use of Social-emotional Support−0.11NS
Burnout and Positive interpretation−0.47<0.001
Burnout and Acceptance−0.20<0.05
Burnout and Religious approach0.09NS
Burnout and Denial0.34<0.001
Burnout and Expressing Emotions0.35<0.001
Burnout and Mental Deactivation0.35<0.001
Burnout and Behavioral Deactivation0.64<0.001
Burnout and Substance Abuse0.15NS
Crescenzo et al. (40)Maslach Burnout InventoryCOPEEmotional Exhaustion and Avoidance strategies0.39<0.01
Emotional Exhaustion and Trascendental Orientation0.03NS
Emotional Exhaustion and Positive Attitude−0.32<0.01
Emotional Exhaustion and Social Support0.01NS
Emotional Exhaustion and Orientation to the Problem−0.09<0.05
Depersonalization and Avoidance strategies0.40<0.01
Depersonalization and Transcendental Orientation0.01NS
Depersonalization and Positive Attitude−0.29<0.01
Depersonalization and Social Support−0.13<0.01
Depersonalization and Orientation to the Problem−0.05NS
Personal Realization and Avoidance strategies−0.37<0.01
Personal Realization and Transcendental Orientation−0.01NS
Personal Realization and Positive Attitude0.42<0.01
Personal Realization and Social Support0.14<0.01
Personal Realization and Orientation to the Problem0.17<0.01
Vancappel et al. (41)Maslach Burnout InventoryBrief COPEExhaustion and Active coping−0.11<0.01
Exhaustion and Planning−0.08<0.05
Exhaustion and Instrumental Support0.05NS
Exhaustion and Emotional Support0.17<0.01
Exhaustion and Emotional Expression0.03NS
Exhaustion and Positive Reinterpretation−0.23<0.01
Exhaustion and Acceptance−0.25<0.01
Exhaustion and Denial0.23<0.01
Exhaustion and Blame0.21<0.01
Exhaustion and Humor−0.16<0.01
Exhaustion and Religion0.03NS
Exhaustion and Distraction−0.20NS
Exhaustion and Substance use0.20<0.01
Exhaustion and Behavioral Disengagement0.31<0.01
Depersonalization and Active coping−0.10<0.01
Depersonalization and Planning−0.08<0.01
Depersonalization and Instrumental Support0.01NS
Depersonalization and Emotional Support0.06NS
Depersonalization and Emotional Expression−0.03NS
Depersonalization and Positive Reinterpretation−0.12<0.01
Depersonalization and Acceptance−0.20<0.01
Depersonalization and Denial0.21<0.01
Depersonalization and Blame0.18<0.01
Depersonalization and Humor−0.01NS
Depersonalization and Religion−0.05NS
Depersonalization and Distraction0.02NS
Depersonalization and Substance use0.17<0.01
Depersonalization and Behavioral Disengagement0.27<0.01
Accomplishment and Active coping0.32<0.01
Accomplishment and Planning0.28<0.01
Accomplishment and Instrumental Support0.16<0.01
Accomplishment and Emotional Support0.08<0.01
Accomplishment and Emotional Expression0.14<0.01
Accomplishment and Positive Reinterpretation0.26<0.01
Accomplishment and Acceptance0.29<0.01
Accomplishment and Denial−0.09<0.01
Accomplishment and Blame−0.03NS
Accomplishment and Humor0.13<0.01
Accomplishment and Religion0.07<0.05
Accomplishment and Distraction0.11NS
Accomplishment and Substance use−0.03<0.01
Accomplishment and Behavioral Disengagement−0.21<0.01
Michela et al. (42)Maslach Burnout InventoryCoping Inventory for Stressful SituationsEmotional Exhaustion and Task-oriented Coping−0.30<0.01
Emotional Exhaustion and Emotion-oriented Coping0.50<0.01
Emotional Exhaustion and Avoidance-Oriented Coping−0.13<0.05
Depersonalization and Task-oriented Coping−0.32<0.01
Depersonalization and Emotion-oriented Coping0.39<0.01
Depersonalization and Avoidance-Oriented Coping−0.05NS
Personal Accomplishment and Task-oriented Coping0.46<0.01
Personal Accomplishment and Emotion-oriented Coping−0.37<0.01
Personal Accomplishment and Avoidance-Oriented Coping0.14<0.01
Di Monte et al. (43)Maslach Burnout InventoryCoping Inventory for Stressful SituationsEmotional Exhaustion and Emotion-oriented Coping0.50<0.001
Emotional Exhaustion and Task-oriented Coping−0.25<0.05
Emotional Exhaustion and Avoidance-Oriented Coping0.04NS
Depersonalization and Emotion-oriented Coping0.52<0.001
Depersonalization and Task-oriented Coping−0.22<0.05
Depersonalization and Avoidance-Oriented Coping0.23<0.05
Personal Accomplishment and Emotion-oriented Coping−0.31<0.001
Personal Accomplishment and Task-oriented Coping0.59<0.001
Personal Accomplishment and Avoidance-Oriented Coping0.14NS
Köse et al. (44)Maslach Burnout InventoryPerceived Ability to Cope with Trauma scaleEmotional Exhaustion and Forward Focus−0.34<0.01
Emotional Exhaustion and Trauma Focus0.96NS
Emotional Exhaustion and Flexibility0.05NS
Depersonalization and Forward Focus−0.22<0.05
Depersonalization and Trauma Focus0.18<0.05
Depersonalization and Flexibility0.15NS
Personal Failure and Forward Focus−0.37<0.01
Personal Failure and Trauma Focus−0.05NS
Personal Failure and Flexibility−0.10NS
Zhang et al. (45)Maslach Burnout Inventory (Exhaustion subscale only)Simplified Coping Style QuestionnaireExhaustion and Adaptive CopingOR 0.47 (0.35−0.62)<0.001
Exhaustion and Maladaptive CopingOR 3.28 (2.42−4.45)<0.001
Liu et al. (46)Maslach Burnout InventoryTrait Coping Style QuestionnaireEmotional Exhaustion and Negative coping styleOR 1.99 (1.21−3.26)0.007
Depersonalization and Negative coping styleOR 3.47 (2.54−4.73)<0.001
Reduced Personal Accomplishments and Negative coping styleOR 1.82 (1.35−2.45)<0.001
Pang et al. (47)Copenhagen Burnout InventoryBrief COPEProblem-focused coping and Personal-related burnout−0.07NS
Problem-focused coping and Work-related burnout−0.21<0.01
Problem-focused coping and Client-related burnout−0.26<0.01
Emotion-focused coping and Personal-related burnout0.13NS
Emotion-focused coping and Work-related burnout−0.03NS
Emotion-focused coping and Client-related burnout−0.10NS
Avoidance coping and Personal-related burnout0.38<0.01
Avoidance coping and Work-related burnout0.21<0.05
Avoidance coping and Client-related burnout0.12NS
Fteropoulli et al. (48)Copenhagen Burnout InventoryBrief COPEOccupational Burnout and Approach coping--
Occupational Burnout and Support-seeking coping−0.03NS (0.269)
Occupational Burnout and Avoidance coping0.27<0.001
AlJhani et al. (49)Copenhagen Burnout InventoryBrief COPEPersonal Burnout and Adaptive coping subscales−0.12<0.05
Personal Burnout and Instrumental support−0.12<0.05
Personal Burnout and Emotional support−0.10<0.05
Personal Burnout and Active coping0.14<0.01
Personal Burnout and Planning−0.05NS
Personal Burnout and Positive reframing−0.10<0.05
Personal Burnout and Acceptance−0.06NS
Personal Burnout and Humor−0.09NS
Personal Burnout and Religion−0.04NS
Personal Burnout and Maladaptive coping subscales−0.04NS
Personal Burnout and Self-distraction−0.08NS
Personal Burnout and Denial−0.06NS
Personal Burnout and Self-blaming0.07NS
Personal Burnout and Behavioral disengagement0.06NS
Personal Burnout and Venting−0.05NS
Personal Burnout and Substance use−0.09NS
Work-related Burnout and Adaptive coping subscales−0.11<0.05
Work-related Burnout and Instrumental support−0.09NS
Work-related Burnout and Emotional support−0.11<0.05
Work-related Burnout and Active coping−0.20<0.01
Work-related Burnout and Planning−0.06NS
Work-related Burnout and Positive reframing−0.10<0.05
Work-related Burnout and Acceptance−0.07NS
Work-related Burnout and Humor−0.04NS
Work-related Burnout and Religion−0.05NS
Work-related Burnout and Maladaptive coping subscales−0.01NS
Work-related Burnout and elf-distraction−0.11<0.05
Work-related Burnout and Denial-.05NS
Work-related Burnout and Self-blaming0.14<0.01
Work-related Burnout and Behavioral disengagement0.06NS
Work-related Burnout and Venting−0.03NS
Work-related Burnout and Substance use−0.04NS
Client-related Burnout and Adaptive coping subscales−0.16<0.01
Client-related Burnout and Instrumental support−0.09NS
Client-related Burnout and Emotional support−0.07NS
Client-related Burnout and Active coping−0.24<0.01
Client-related Burnout and Planning−0.06NS
Client-related Burnout and Positive reframing−0.17<0.01
Client-related Burnout and Acceptance−0.13<0.05
Client-related Burnout and Humor−0.04NS
Client-related Burnout and Religion−0.17NS
Client-related Burnout and Maladaptive coping subscales0.02NS
Client-related Burnout and Self-distraction−0.13<0.05
Client-related Burnout and Denial−0.01NS
Client-related Burnout and Self-blaming0.18<0.01
Client-related Burnout and Behavioral disengagement0.06NS
Client-related Burnout and Venting−0.04NS
Client-related Burnout and Substance use−0.01NS
Fonseca et al. (50)Oldenburg Burnout InventoryBrief COPECognitive reappraisal and Burnout−0.10NS (0.305)
Expressive suppression and Burnout0.45<0.001
Problem focused coping and Burnout−0.17NS (0.096)
Emotion-focused coping and Burnout−0.14NS (0.202)
Dysfunctional coping and Burnout0.52<0.001
Finuf et al. (51)Oldenburg Burnout InventoryCybernetic Coping ScaleSymptom Reduction and Disengagement−0.15NS
Devaluation strategies and Disengagement−0.31<0.05
Avoidance strategies and Disengagement0.71<0.001
Change Situation and Disengagement−0.11NS
Accommodation strategies and Disengagement0.14NS
Symptom Reduction and Exhaustion−0.19NS
Devaluation strategies and Exhaustion−0.24NS
Avoidance strategies and Exhaustion0.12NS
Change Situation and Exhaustion−0.13NS
Accommodation strategies and Exhaustion0.28NS
Sumner et al. (52)Bergen Burnout InventoryBrief Resilient Coping ScaleBurnout and resilient coping−0.01NS
Miller et al. (53)Professional Quality of LifeBrief COPEBurnout and behavioral disengagement3.17<0.001
Burnout and humor1.56<0.01

Extraction table with main results for each included study; studies are ordered based on burnout assessment questionnaire (most frequently used to least), coping questionnaire (most frequently used to least), and newest to oldest.

A quality evaluation was performed on the included studies, using the NOS (38); all the included studies were at least at a good quality level on the scale (six points or higher) (Table 3).

TABLE 3

ReferencesSelectionComparabilityOutcomeTotal score
Lungulescu et al. (39)4228
Crescenzo et al. (40)3126
Vancappel et al. (41)3126
Michela et al. (42)4127
Di Monte et al. (43)3227
Köse et al. (44)2226
Zhang et al. (45)4228
Liu et al. (46)3227
Pang et al. (47)4228
Fteropoulli et al. (48)4228
AlJhani et al. (49)4228
Fonseca et al. (50)3126
Finuf et al. (51)3126
Sumner et al. (52)3227
Miller et al. (53)4127

Quality assessment of included studies through Newcastle-Ottawa scale.

Results are presented in different sections based on burnout model, first unidimensional and then multidimensional. For studies using a multidimensional burnout model, results are divided based on coping style (task-, emotion- or avoidance-oriented coping) when investigated, or adaptive/maladaptive coping style. For each paragraph, protective factors (negative correlation) are reported first, and predictive factors (positive correlation) are reported after.

3.1. Unidimensional burnout models and coping

Concerning protective factors, Lungulescu et al. (39) highlighted that that active approach coping and positive interpretation were protective factors for burnout (p < 0.001). Pang et al. (47) highlighted problem-focused coping as a protective factor for work- and client-related burnout (p < 0.01); AlJhani et al. (49) found that active coping and self-distraction were protective for work- and client-related burnout (p < 0.01), and positive reframing was a protective factor for personal (p < 0.05), work- (p < 0.05) and client-related burnout (p < 0.01); furthermore, this study reported that adaptive coping subscales were negatively correlated to personal, work- and client-related burnout (p < 0.05, p < 0.05, and p < 0.01, respectively).

In regards to burnout predictive factors, Lungulescu et al. (39) highlighted that expressing emotions, as well as both mental and behavioral deactivation, are predictive factors of burnout (p < 0.001). Vancappel et al. (41) highlighted that emotional expression was predictive of burnout (p < 0.01). Pang et al. (47) reported avoidance coping as a predictor of personal- (p < 0.01) and work-related burnout (p < 0.05). Fteropoulli et al. (48) reported avoidance coping as a predictive factor for occupational burnout (p < 0.001). AlJhani et al. (49) found that active coping was predictive of burnout (p < 0.01). Fonseca et al. (50) reported that dysfunctional coping was predictive of burnout (p < 0.001). Miller et al. (53) highlighted behavioral disengagement as predictive of burnout (p < 0.001).

3.2. Burnout dimensions and task-oriented coping

Four of the included studies highlighted a statistically significant correlation between task-oriented coping and burnout dimensions (4043).

Vancappel et al. (41), Crescenzo et al. (40), Di Trani et al. (42), and Di Monte et al. (43), highlighted that task-oriented coping was a protective factor for exhaustion dimension (p < 0.01, p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.05, respectively), while only Vancappel et al. (41), Di Trani et al. (42) and Di Monte et al. (43) found a statistically significant correlation between depersonalization and task-oriented coping (p < 0.01, p < 0.01, and p < 0.05, respectively).

These four studies highlighted that task-oriented coping was a predictive factor of personal accomplishment (p < 0.01, p < 0.01, p < 0.01, and p < 0.001, respectively) (4043).

3.3. Burnout dimensions and emotion-oriented coping

Four of the included studies reported a statistically significant correlation between emotion-oriented coping and burnout dimensions (4043).

Two (Crescenzo et al and Vancappel et al) found that emotion-oriented coping was a protective factor for emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (p < 0.01 for both) (40, 41). The other two studies (Di Trani et al and Di Monte et al) found emotion-oriented coping to be negatively correlated with personal accomplishment (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively) (42, 43).

Crescenzo et al. (40) and Vancappel et al. (41) highlighted emotion-oriented coping as a predictive factor for personal accomplishment (p < 0.01 for both). The other two studies (Di Trani et al and Di Monte et al) found a positive correlation with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively) (42, 43).

3.4. Burnout dimensions and avoidance-oriented coping

Five studies investigated the correlation between avoidance-oriented coping and burnout (4043, 51).

In regards to protective factors, Crescenzo et al. (40) found that avoidance strategies were negatively correlated with personal accomplishment (p < 0.01), while Di Trani et al. (42) highlighted that avoidance-oriented coping was a protective factor for emotional exhaustion (p < 0.05). Vancappel et al. (41) reported that behavioral disengagement was predictive of accomplishment (p < 0.01).

Concerning predictive factors, Crescenzo et al. (40) found that avoidance strategies positively correlated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (p < 0.01). Di Monte et al. (43) also reported a positive correlation between depersonalization and avoidance-oriented coping (p < 0.05). Di Trani et al. (42) highlighted that avoidance-oriented coping correlated and positively with personal accomplishment (p < 0.01). Vancappel et al. (41) also reported behavioral disengagement as predictive of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (p < 0.01). Finuf et al. (51) highlighted avoidance strategies as predictive of disengagement (p < 0.05).

3.5. Burnout dimensions and adaptive/maladaptive coping

Two studies investigated the correlation between burnout and adaptive or maladaptive coping strategies (45, 46).

Zhang et al. (45) reported that individuals using adaptive coping were less at risk of developing exhaustion [OR 0.47, CI (0.35–0.62), p < 0.001], while individuals using maladaptive coping strategies were more at risk of developing exhaustion [OR 3.28, CI (2.42–4.45), p < 0.001]. Liu et al. (46) highlighted that a negative coping style posed participant at risk of developing emotional exhaustion [OR 1.99, CI (1.21–3.26), p = 0.007], depersonalization [OR 3.47, CI (2.54–4.73), p < 0.001], and reduced personal accomplishment [OR 1.82, CI (1.35–2.45), p < 0.001].

4. Discussion

The systematic analysis of studies on the coping strategies adopted by workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the levels of burnout associated with them, allowed us to observe some significant associations. All studies investigating task-oriented coping strategies observed that they were associated with low levels of burnout, so seeming an effective way of reducing it. Task-oriented coping could act as a protective factor toward emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, as well as a predictor of personal accomplishment. Task-oriented coping allows the individual to deal with the problem directly, facing the issue in a healthy manner that contributes to mitigate the stressor and reduce or prevent burnout. This is coherent with scientific literature, as task-oriented coping has been showcased to be an effective approach to reduce stress during the COVID-19 pandemic (54). Interestingly, task-oriented coping has been shown to be more commonly adopted in the general population during the earlier pandemic stages, although its effectiveness did not decrease in time (55). The effectiveness of a coping style focused on problem solving appears even more important when considering that the three of the studies included in this review which investigated this relationship were performed on healthcare workers and one on psychologists. The ability of healthcare workers to deal with burnout by managing the problem or task acting as a stressor may play a fundamental role in healthy coping and in reducing burnout levels, allowing healthcare workers to keep caring for others during highly stressful times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

This review found mixed evidence of the relationship between emotion-oriented coping and burnout. Considering the four studies correlating burnout dimensions and emotional-oriented coping, two highlighted that this coping style was effective in preventing emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and predicting personal accomplishment, while the other two showcased the opposite. The samples of these four studies do not differ much; the first two considered psychologists and healthcare workers, respectively, the other two considered healthcare workers. Mean ages were also similar (around 40 years for the first three studies, and higher for the fourth at 55.13 years old). A higher prevalence of the female gender (83%) has been reported in the studies that considered emotional-oriented coping as effective in preventing burnout, if compared with a lower female percentage (65.2% and 62.7%) in the other studies. Literature indicates that emotion-oriented coping is a strategy more frequently adopted by women (56, 57), and with more favorable outcomes than those observed in men (58). Subsequent studies may clarify the gender differences between coping strategies and the relative effectiveness of the different strategies in the two sexes. To date, we can conclude that emotional-oriented coping is not always effective in burnout prevention.

Avoidance-oriented coping style was associated with burnout and probably acted as a predictive factor for emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, reducing personal accomplishment. As reported in previous studies, avoidant behavior seems to be ineffective in preventing burnout (59), and can worsen it when the stressor cannot be removed from the working life (60, 61).

Consistently with the findings from this literature review, adaptive coping has been correlated with lower levels of burnout (62, 63). Also the association between psychological distress and maladaptive coping has been reported in previous studies (64).

This study had some strength and limitations. The systematic design allowed for a structured search through scientific literature regarding the topic presented. However, the interpretation of the studies reported above must be cautious, because all the studies found were of the cross-sectional type and this prevents inferring about the causality of the reported phenomena. Consequently, the reported associations should not be interpreted as conclusive evidence of causality. If, in fact, it is reasonable to believe that the state of burnout is a consequence of strategies to contrast stress implemented by the worker in the past, the cross-sectional nature of the studies did not allow us to exclude the inverse hypothesis, that is, that it was the burnout condition to induce a particular coping strategy. Furthermore, during the COVID-19 pandemic workers reported higher stress and burnout levels due to remote working and factors associated with it, and this may have acted as a confounding factor in the review (6).

In conclusion, task-oriented coping and adaptive coping appeared to be effective ways to deal with burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic, while emotion-oriented coping has different outcomes that may depend on gender. Avoidance-oriented coping and maladaptive coping are often associated with high levels of burnout and could be predictors.

Coping strategies are mostly used restoratively; it would be interesting to implement coping as a tool to prevent burnout. Burnout prevention through coping strategies has been highlighted by existing scientific literature as an essential tool, which needs further investigation and improvement (65). This systematic review highlights that incorrect coping styles are associated with burnout and can enhance it (4043), but further research is needed to investigate the effect of different coping styles to reduce burnout incidence. It is essential to develop and implement effective coping strategies as a preventive measure to ensure the mental and physical wellbeing of workers. Furthermore, workplace information and prevention programs may be needed to instruct workers on the best coping mechanisms to enact in order to effectively prevent burnout; this review offers a starting point to identify and improve effective coping strategies to workers at risk for burnout. It is essential to instruct employee, especially those working in a stressful working environment, about the best coping strategies that can help mitigate their psychological risks and improve their mental health.

In line with the results of this systematic review, further research is needed to investigate how different coping styles affect burnout in workers, and especially how coping strategies can affect the work climate and result in a stressful work environment.

Effective coping strategies have been highlighted in this review to be instrumental to mitigate burnout, but it is essential to investigate the role of coping styles and strategies in the prevention of mental distress, to be able to act before the stressors become detrimental for the workers, and enact effective preventive measures for mental health in workers.

Statements

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in this study are included in this article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Author contributions

IB: conceptualization. MG: methodology. MR and IB: investigation and writing—original draft. IB, MG, PS, UM, and NM: writing—review and editing. IB, PS, and UM: supervision. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Summary

Keywords

burnout, coping, COVID-19, occupational health, workers

Citation

Rossi MF, Gualano MR, Magnavita N, Moscato U, Santoro PE and Borrelli I (2023) Coping with burnout and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on workers’ mental health: A systematic review. Front. Psychiatry 14:1139260. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1139260

Received

06 January 2023

Accepted

28 February 2023

Published

16 March 2023

Volume

14 - 2023

Edited by

Stefan Gutwinski, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Germany

Reviewed by

Marion Trousselard, Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées (IRBA), France; Mohsen Khosravi, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Updates

Copyright

*Correspondence: Umberto Moscato,

†These authors share senior authorship

This article was submitted to Public Mental Health, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry

Disclaimer

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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