Burnout Among Academicians: a Review of Antecedent and Protective Factors of Burnout in University Teaching Faculties
Academic burnout; Faculty well-being; Higher education; Protective factors; Risk factors; Systematic review
The producers and intermediaries of knowledge are teachers. In addition to their teaching duties, faculty have another responsibility to generate new knowledge through scientific research. Teaching faculties in such a multi-tasking environment may feel equally stressed in their job as those in other highly demanding roles. Such unaddressed work-related stresses would at times increase burnout among faculty members. Hence, it is a pressing need to understand the causes of burnout among teaching staff. This systematic review aims to provide evidence-based recommendations to all stakeholders in education by summarising the academic publications on the determinants of academic burnout. In addition, the study also aimed to identify protective factors against burnout among university teaching faculties. To achieve this goal, a literature search was conducted using the PRISMA-P 2015 methodology, encompassing studies of empirical research published between January 2010 and October 2025. The search yielded 2,731 records, of which 24 studies were selected after undergoing several rounds of screening to meet the study criteria. Based on the results, excessive workloads, pressure to publish, lack of support, low pay, and negative cognitive styles were identified as key risk factors for academic burnout. Protective variables such as strong individual qualities, perceived supervisor support, psychological capital, and self-efficacy were frequently identified as effective in reducing burnout. This concludes that there are complex interrelationships between institutional stressors and personal susceptibility that contribute to academic burnout among university faculty members. The findings provide valuable information for policymakers, teachers, and researchers who are struggling to reconcile the requirement to publish with the duty to teach in modern institutions of higher learning. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.
Springer Science and Business Media B.V.
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https://doi.org/10.1007/s42087-026-00586-2 https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105037554354?origin=resultslist
Vasudevan S.R., Department of Psychology, School of Psychological Sciences, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India; V. M A., Department of Psychology, School of Psychological Sciences, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India