Interventions to alleviate burnout symptoms and to support return to work among employees with burnout: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Burnout has adverse health and work-related outcomes but there is no consensus how to treat it. We systematically reviewed controlled studies evaluating the effects of individually- and occupationally-focused interventions on burnout symptoms or work status among workers suffering from burnout. Of 4430 potential abstracts, 14 studies reporting the effects of 18 interventions fulfilled the pre-set criteria. Fourteen interventions were individually-focused and four had combined individual and occupational approaches. The specific contents of the interventions varied considerably and the results were mixed. Meta-analysis of four individually-focused RCT interventions did not present effects on exhaustion and cynicism. Meta-analysis on the effect of combined interventions or on return to work could not be conducted. Tackling burnout needs more systematic intervention development and evaluation. The evaluation of interventions would benefit from consensus on definition and assessment of burnout.