Analysis of burnout in entrepreneurship: an empirical study of SME leaders.

Summary Entrepreneurs are confronted with professional stressors that can affect their professional capacities through the development of burnout. However, they are not included in studies on psychosocial risks, even though the negative effects of working conditions, the individual's relationship to his or her work and factors that improve performance have been identified. The problem addressed in this work intends to respond to this gap by proposing an investigation of the factors and consequences related to burnout among entrepreneurs. The collection and analysis of life stories allowed us to highlight such factors and consequences in this population. These results allowed us to build a study model taking into account existing models, while enriching them with variables specific to the entrepreneur population. This model was then tested, using the structural equation method, with a sample of 280 SME owner-managers on the basis of an online questionnaire. The hypotheses of mediation of burnout between the demands and the set of consequences: job satisfaction, work-family conflict and entrepreneurial orientation, are validated. However, the two moderation hypotheses, decision latitude and family and friend social support, were not validated. Job demands reduce job satisfaction, work-family balance, and entrepreneurial orientation through burnout. Demands also directly affect job satisfaction and work-family conflict. Excessive demands and burnout interfere with the entrepreneurial process. These interferences raise questions about the situations that lead to burnout, the strong emotional attachment of entrepreneurs to their project, and the negative repercussions on the health of the entrepreneur and on the future of the company. Prevention becomes an issue for professional structures intended for entrepreneurs and managers.