EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION WORK–LIFE BALANCE AND BURNOUT CRUCIALLY CONCERN THE WORK ENVIRONMENT AND RELATIONSHIPS

Abstract

So important to every health practitioner and person involved in health systems, this volume of the journal devotes all four issues to the topic of work–life balance and burnout, applying specifically a person- and people-centered approach. The first issue of the volume addresses this topic by considering international perspectives on health care systems, risk factors for burnout in physicians, a sociological perspective on burnout, and the concept of well-being. All four of these articles underscore the crucial role of the work environment and relationships, rather than locating burnout and work–life balance as a solitary characteristic of an individual. In health systems, the work environment and relationships have not been addressed adequately in a person- and people-centered way, considering the high prevalence rates of burnout worldwide. The work environment and relationships, highlighted by the second article’s empirical examination of risk factors for burnout among 2,486 participants, are about the fostering of cooperation, empathy, and shared values. Congruently, the sociological reflection of the third article identifies burnout as a particular social configuration, which is interrelated with the dynamic intersubjective features of well-being highlighted in the fourth article.