Entrepreneurial burnout:Effects of organisational resources variables and mediation via engagement

The mental health of entrepreneurs is the subject of many research studies. Burnout, in particular, is a major problem for these professionals. The aim of this article is to test the influence of variables related to organisational resources on burnout, particularly social and interpersonal relations, psychosocial safety climate (in an innovative context), rewards and engagement on burnout. A total of 118 French entrepreneurs completed a self-administered questionnaire. All the entrepreneurs had registered the statutes of their startups for over a year and were not in the survival phase, as defined by Frese and Gielnik (2023). The online questionnaire consisted of five scales and seven demographic questions. Cronbach's α for the study scales indicated satisfactory internal consistency for all scales. The findings showed that entrepreneurs' burnout levels decreased with balanced social and interpersonal relationships (selected and ad hoc), a sustainable psychosocial climate of security and an organised reward system, whereas it increased with a lack of social and interpersonal relationships, an insecure psychosocial climate and low reward levels. The results of the mediation analyses suggest that work engagement and over-engagement performed a total mediating role between an insecure psychosocial climate and burnout. Furthermore, it appears that overcommitment may also partially contribute to the mediation between social and interpersonal relations, the reward system, and burnout. The study's findings have also practical implications. For example, we suggested that the incubator should provide affiliated entrepreneurs with connections adapted to their needs as part of their entrepreneurial journey. Indeed, the incubator serves as a relational facilitator due to the scope of its ecosystem. However, it is important to raise entrepreneurs' awareness and protect them from excessive monitoring and evaluation activities carried out by multiple stakeholders, with different and sometimes conflicting interests. However, excessive exposure can lead to burnout. ***