Abstract
Stress is a multidimensional and multifaceted phenomenon that reflects and conditions individual and organizational quality of life. However, given specific work contexts in which there are disproportionate demands, lack or reduced support from the organizational structure, dull treatment of employees, lack of recognition, and the existence of a conflictual environment, it leads to relatively high levels of organizational stress. In turn, burnout arises from the crisis in relationships with work. Its main manifestations are emotional and physical exhaustion, cynicism, and professional ineffectiveness, arising from feelings of exhaustion, energy depletion, increased apathy with work, reduced effectiveness, and negativism with the professional routine. In this follow-up, a bibliometric analysis between 1980 and 2022 was conducted to explore the most relevant authors, documents, and journals, the trends identified in the publications, and the collaborations between countries in the field of study.
TopIntroduction
Cannon (1929) was the first to refer to stress and characterized it as a set of forces and stimuli that cause pressure or an effort on the individual. Such incentives may consist of psychological factors that may be represented in physical factors. This was later referred to by Selye (1936) – “the father of stress research,” as an alarm mechanism of the organism of any being to a negative stimulus (Tan & Yip, 2018, p. 170). Although stress is multidimensional and multidisciplinary, it has not always obtained consensus within the scientific community (Lu et al., 2021). Due to many different theoretical definitions of this concept, it is currently referred to as a stressor or a response to a stressful event or stimuli (Lu et al., 2021).
In an increasingly globalized and fast-paced world where we are constantly in contact and connected to the network, organizational stress has taken on a critical role in society (Haque et al., 2020). Organizational changes are recurrent and cause increased stress levels (Shelton et al., 2020). Organizations are also taking greater care and attention to individuals' welfare and quality of personal and organizational life, as they are associated with greater motivation and intent to stay in the organizations, greater productivity and efficiency, and a reduction in absenteeism, turnover, and occupational diseases. The relevance and importance of this work come in evaluating whether scientific work follows the trends of organizational reality. Considering that the literature mentions several risks from the worker’s and the organization's perspectives, it is essential to analyze how scientific research has contributed to it.
Burnout is a universal phenomenon, currently representing a growing concern for individuals, organizations, and society. This disease has a direct impact on the health and well-being of individuals, which consequently impacts organizations in a negative perspective, such as inefficiency in the performance of functions, loss of motivation in the workplace, and increased employee costs due to absenteeism and turnover, among others (Tziner et al., 2015; Moczydłowska, 2016).
As a result, it becomes significant to examine how researchers have contributed to this subject through bibliometric analysis. Following the literature review to identify possible gaps in the literature, it is concluded through the Scopus database search that no studies are a bibliometric literature review researching the concept of organizational stress and burnout. After considering the research question, “Which authors, documents, journals, and countries contribute significantly to state of the art in the area of organizational stress and burnout?” it was established that the objectives are based on defining and understanding the publication’s evolution, the most relevant authors, documents and journals, the trends identified in the publications, and the collaborations between countries. Therefore, this chapter will resort to the bibliometric analysis of the topic throughout the Scopus database between 1980 and 2022.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Depression: It is a mental illness characterized by a generalized feeling of emptiness and negativity on the part of the individual, affecting how the person feels, acts, and thinks through mood fluctuations depending on the challenges the person faces or social withdrawal.
Burnout: Professional disease. It is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and decreased personal and professional fulfillment, with consequent ineffectiveness in these domains.
Mental Health: It refers to the positive state of well-being in which the individual develops their abilities, can cope with the everyday stresses of life, can work and be productive, and can contribute to the community in which they are inserted.
Distress: Represents bad stress resulting from a negative way of acting when faced with a stressful situation or emotion.
Organizational Stress: Perceptual problems result from the inability to cope with sources of pressure at work, resulting in problems with physical and mental health and job satisfaction, affecting the individual and the organization.
Anxiety: Consists of an emotion that is natural to any individual; it is usually characterized by feelings of doubt and insecurity that lead the individual to feel restless about a situation or feeling and can be verified by physical manifestations such as increased heartbeat, difficulty breathing, and trembling.
Physical Consequences: Physical repercussions of damage from high organizational stress and subsequently burnout are experienced by an individual.
Eustress: Represents good stress resulting from a positive way of dealing with a stressful situation or emotion.
Exhaustion: Feeling of high physical and emotional wear and tear derived from excessive use of one's inner strengths.