Perspectivas de Enfrentamento do Burnout: Memória de Trabalho e Percepção de Tempo

Abstract

The dynamics of interpersonal relationships, the quantity of classes and activities, and the responsibilities in higher education can lead to chronic stress, emotional overload, and mental and physical exhaustion. These symptoms are characteristic of burnout, resulting in significant impairments not only in academic performance but also in the physical and mental health of university students. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between burnout symptoms, coping strategies, working memory, and time perception (temporal awareness and ability to estimate time intervals). For this purpose, one hundred and fifty-five university students (111 female), with a mean age of 24.4 years (SD = 6.88), responded to the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT), the Brief-COPE, and the time awareness scale, and also performed experimental tasks to measure working memory (Corsi blocks) and estimate time intervals (Brief Estimate of Seconds Test, BEST). The results revealed a sample at high risk of developing burnout, with the severity of symptoms associated with coping strategies, i.e., the higher the risk of burnout, the greater the use of low-efficiency strategies (emotion-focused coping and avoidance). Moreover, it was found that the group with higher levels of burnout performed worse in the working memory task than the group with lower levels of burnout, but temporal estimates did not differ between these groups, except for the verbal prospective task. Finally, the data show that participants constantly feel time pressure. These results reveal that burnout symptoms are at concerning levels in university students, and it is essential to investigate their behavioral and cognitive markers. Advancing this research agenda has the potential to assist in planning effective measures to mitigate and prevent the damage caused by burnout on physical and mental health in higher education.