The Cost of "Having It All": A Narrative Synthesis of Systematic Causes Of Burnout in Working Mothers

Résumé fourni par la source

Modern society has promoted gender equality and created more opportunities for women with children to participate in the labour market. Working mothers, who participate in the workforce while actively managing family responsibilities, however, often face the challenging "double shift" between professional careers and family care. If burnout, in the traditional sense, is conceptualised as physical and mental fatigue within the scope of work, then working mothers face double the pressure. This narrative review synthesises recent studies to evaluate the specific aetiology, distinct structural dimensions, and systemic drivers of burnout in working mothers. It will contribute to a holistic understanding of the struggles they face and suggest preventative measures and interventions .Driving from the Conservation of Resources (CoR) Theory (Hobfoll, 1989) and the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model (Demerouti et al., 2001), our review includes publications focusing on the topic of burnout syndrome in working mothers and containing information on its causes, severity, and extent, risk factors, symptoms, and intervention strategies. This review categorises the causes of maternal burnout across four systemic levels: macro-systemic (societal and cultural pressures), meso-systemic (organisational and workplace environment), micro-systemic (domestic and relational dynamics), and individual. Burnout in working mothers is not merely an individual pathology or a lack of personal resilience, but a predictable systemic consequence of the mismatch between socio-cultural requirements and institutional resources. To mitigate this public health crisis, structural interventions are needed, including equitable redistribution of domestic labour, organisational flexibility, and robust social policy support.

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