Burnout, workplace social support, and sense of belonging among employees in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC: a systematic review of prevalence and evidence gaps

Background Burnout, low workplace social support and reduced sense of belonging represent a growing occupational challenge across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, with direct consequences for employee wellbeing and organisational performance. No systematic review has synthesised the prevalence of these challenges among GCC employees, nor examined whether organisational-level interventions to address them have been implemented. This review aimed to: (1) estimate the prevalence of burnout; (2) estimate the prevalence of low workplace social support and reduced sense of belonging; and (3) identify implemented organisational-level interventions among employees in GCC countries. Methods A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Four databases (Web of Science, ProQuest, PubMed, ScienceDirect) were searched for studies published January 2014–28 July 2025. Included studies were appraised using the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Prevalence Studies. Workplace factors were coded using a 14-category Job Demands–Resources framework adapted from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine work system factors model. Narrative synthesis was employed given heterogeneity across instruments and populations. Results Thirty-five studies met eligibility criteria, comprising 18,352 participants. The literature was predominantly from Saudi Arabia (94.3% conducted solely in Saudi Arabia) and the healthcare sector (97.1%), with one aviation study. Burnout prevalence varied substantially by composite definition and instrument: studies using the strict three-dimension criterion reported 3.5%–77.4%, while those using the at least one subscale criterion reported 67.5%–99.6%. At the subscale level, high emotional exhaustion reached 88.7%. “Workload and staffing pressures” and “organisational culture and work environment” were the most consistently identified workplace factors, appearing in 25 (71.4%) and 17 (48.6%) of 35 studies respectively. No study reported a prevalence estimate for low workplace social support using a validated instrument, and sense of belonging was not measured in any included study. No implemented organisational-level intervention was identified. Conclusion This review reveals a substantial burnout burden among GCC employees alongside critical evidence gaps: no prevalence estimates for low workplace social support, no validated measurement of sense of belonging, and no evaluated organisational interventions. Findings are directly relevant to national workforce strategies including Saudi Vision 2030, and highlight an urgent need for sector-diverse research, standardised burnout measurement, and the design and evaluation of evidence-based, systems-level workplace wellbeing interventions across GCC countries.