Weaving Resilience Through Compassion: Volunteer Activities as a Protective Factor Against Stress and Burnout A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Stress and burnout have become increasingly prevalent psychological health concerns across multiple populations, including emergency volunteers, university students, healthcare workers, and community members. Volunteer activities—defined as unpaid, prosocial engagement undertaken freely for the benefit of others—have received growing theoretical and empirical attention as a potential non-clinical protective factor against psychological distress. This study aims to systematically review the role of volunteer activities as a protective factor against stress and burnout. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. Articles were retrieved from three major databases—Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar—using four main keywords: volunteer activities, stress, burnout, and mental well-being. Inclusion criteria required peer-reviewed articles published between 2013 and 2025, written in English or Indonesian, available in full text, and relevant to the research topic. A total of 14 articles met the inclusion criteria and were analysed using thematic and narrative synthesis approaches. The findings consistently indicate that volunteer activities reduce stress and burnout while enhancing psychological well-being, resilience, life satisfaction, and adaptive coping. Three convergent protective mechanisms emerged: social support, altruistic motivation and meaning-making, and engagement/empowerment. Volunteer activities represent a promising community-based strategy for mental health promotion and the prevention of stress and burnout, best positioned as a preventive rather than curative intervention.

Stres dan burnout merupakan permasalahan kesehatan psikologis yang prevalensinya terus meningkat pada berbagai kelompok populasi, termasuk relawan darurat, mahasiswa, tenaga kesehatan, dan anggota komunitas. Aktivitas volunteer—didefinisikan sebagai keterlibatan prososial sukarela tanpa imbalan finansial demi kepentingan orang lain—semakin mendapat perhatian teoritis dan empiris sebagai faktor protektif non-klinis terhadap tekanan psikologis. Penelitian ini bertujuan mengkaji secara sistematis peran aktivitas volunteer sebagai faktor protektif terhadap stres dan burnout. Systematic Literature Review (SLR) dilaksanakan dengan mengikuti panduan PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). Artikel dikumpulkan dari tiga basis data utama—Scopus, Web of Science, dan Google Scholar—menggunakan empat kata kunci: volunteer activities, stress, burnout, dan mental well-being. Kriteria inklusi mencakup artikel peer-reviewed yang diterbitkan antara 2013 dan 2025, berbahasa Inggris atau Indonesia, tersedia dalam bentuk full text, serta relevan dengan topik penelitian. Sebanyak 14 artikel memenuhi kriteria inklusi dan dianalisis menggunakan pendekatan sintesis tematik dan naratif. Temuan secara konsisten menunjukkan bahwa aktivitas volunteer menurunkan stres dan burnout sekaligus meningkatkan kesejahteraan psikologis, resiliensi, kepuasan hidup, dan coping adaptif. Tiga mekanisme protektif yang konvergen teridentifikasi: dukungan sosial, motivasi altruistik dan pemaknaan hidup, serta engagement/pemberdayaan. Aktivitas volunteer merepresentasikan pendekatan berbasis komunitas yang menjanjikan untuk promosi kesehatan mental dan pencegahan stres serta burnout, dan paling tepat diposisikan sebagai intervensi preventif, bukan kuratif.