The Impact of Work Stress on Employee Performance, Mental Health, and Well Being: A Systematic Literature Review
Keywords:
Job Stress, Employee Performance, Mental Health, Employee Well beingAbstract
Occupational stress is a growing phenomenon due to the complexity of work demands, digitalization, and changes in the organizational environment. It significantly impacts employee performance, mental health, and well-being. Numerous studies have addressed occupational stress from diverse perspectives, but these findings are scattered and not yet comprehensively integrated. Therefore, this study aims to synthesize the development of occupational stress research and identify trends, gaps, and future research agendas. The method used was a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) with reference to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Articles were searched through the ScienceDirect and Google Scholar databases, covering publications from 2019–2024. A total of 30 reputable international articles that met the inclusion criteria were systematically and descriptively analyzed and mapped using bibliometric analysis. The study results indicate that occupational stress consistently negatively impacts employee performance and psychological well-being, but under certain conditions can function as eustress that boosts performance. The study also uncovered theoretical, methodological, and contextual gaps. The implications of this study emphasize the importance of a multidimensional approach to occupational stress management and the need to develop longitudinal and contextual research to support employee well-being and productivity.
Downloads
References
Almarzouki, A.F. (2024). Stress, working memory, and academic performance: a neuroscience perspective. Stress, 27(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890.2024.2364333
Burk, C. L., & Wiese, B. S. (2021). How to alleviate the agony of providing negative feedback: Emotion regulation strategies affect hormonal stress responses to a managerial task. Hormones and Behavior, 127(October 2020), 104868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104868
Chen, B., Wang, L., Li, B., & Liu, W. (2022). Work stress, mental health, and employee performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1006580
Chen, S.W., Pikhart, H., Peasey, A., Tax, A., Kubinova, R., Malyutina, S., & Bobak, M. (2022). Work Stress, Overcommitment Personality and Alcohol Consumption Based On The Effort – Reward Imbalance Model: A population – Based Cohort Study. SSM - Population Health, 21(December 2022), 101320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101320
Davies, ACL (2022). Stress at Work: Individuals or Structures? Industrial Law Journal, 51(2), 403–434. https://doi.org/10.1093/indlaw/dwab006
Deng, Y., Cherian, J., Khan, NUN, Kumari, K., Sial, M.S., Comite, U., Gavurova, B., & Popp, J. (2022). Family and Academic Stress and Their Impact on Students' Depression Level and Academic Performance. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13(June), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.869337
Devi, P., & Lahkar, N. (2021). Occupational Stress and Job Performance Among University Library Professionals of North-East India. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 16(2), 2–21. https://doi.org/10.18438/eblip29821
Dinter, R. Van, Reneman, M. F., & Post, M. W. M. (2024). Relation Between Work Hours, Work Control, Work Stress, And Quality Of Life In Persons With Spinal Cord Injury. Disability and Health Journal, April, 101682. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2024.101682
Gamarra, AC, Salazar, MR, Hurtado, GF, & Buiza, FC (2023). The Influence of Job Stress on Employee Performance in Higher Education Institutions: A Review and Research Agenda. IBIMA Business Review, 2023. https://doi.org/10.5171/2023.141493
Geijerstam, A. A., Hunsberger, M., Mehlig, K., Nyberg, J., Waern, M., Åberg, M., & Lissner, L. (2024). Poor Stress Resilience In Adolescence Predicts Higher Risk of Severe COVID-19 and Other Respiratory Infections: A Prospective Cohort Study of 1.4 Million Swedish Men. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 187(September), 111935. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2024.111935
Gottschalk, M. G., Domschke, K., & Schiele, M. A. (2020). Epigenetics Underlying Susceptibility and Resilience Relating to Daily Life Stress, Work Stress, and Socioeconomic Status. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11(March), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00163
Grave, R. B. de, Hasselman, F., & Bijleveld, E. (2022). From Work Stress To Disease: A Computational Model. PLOS ONE, 17(2 February), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0263966
Haddaway, N. R., Page, M. J., Pritchard, C. C., & McGuinness, L. A. (2022). PRISMA2020: An R package and Shiny app for producing PRISMA 2020-compliant flow diagrams, with interactivity for optimized digital transparency and Open Synthesis. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 18(2), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1230
Haradhan, M. (2013). The Occupational Stress And Risk Of It Among The Employees. International Journal of Mainstream Social Science, 2(2), 17–34. https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/50860/
Hasin, H., Johari, Y.C., Jamil, A., Nordin, E., & Hussein, W.S. (2023). The Harmful Impact of Job Stress on Mental and Physical Health. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 13(4). https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v13-i4/16655
Haug, M., Reiter, J., & Gewald, H. (2024). Content creators on Instagram—How users cope with stress on social media. Telematics and Informatics Reports, 13(December 2023), 100111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teler.2023.100111
Ifdil, I., Suranata, K., Rangka, IB, Abu Bakar, AY, Susiani, K., & Subramaniam, TS (2023). Mental Health, Resilience And Well - Being During Covid-19 Outbreak: Learning From Balinese Culture And Public Policy. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 96(August), 103976. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103976
Jia, H., Shang, P., Gao, S., Cao, P., Yu, J., & Yu, X. (2022). Work Stress, Health Status and Presenteeism in Relation to Task Performance Among Chinese Medical Staff During COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in Public Health, 10(April), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.836113
Lemke, M. K., Hege, A., & Crizzle, A. M. (2023). An Agenda for Advancing Research and Prevention at the Nexus of Work Organization, Occupational Stress, and Mental Health and Well-Being. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20116010
Lopes, C.S., Araya, R., Werneck, G.L., Chor, D., & Faerstein, E. (2010). Job Strain And Other Work Conditions: Relationships With Psychological Distress Among Civil Servants In Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 45(3), 345–354. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-009-0066-9
Masri, G., Al-Shargie, F., Tariq, U., Almughairbi, F., Babiloni, F., & Al-Nashash, H. (2023). Mental Stress Assessment in the Workplace: A Review. IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, 15(3), 958–976. https://doi.org/10.1109/TAFFC.2023.3312762
Menardo, E., Marco, D. Di, Ramos, S., Brondino, M., Arenas, A., Costa, P., Carvalho, CV De, & Pasini, M. (2022). Nature and Mindfulness to Cope with Work-Related Stress: A Narrative Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9140663/
Merigó, J.M., Gil-Lafuente, A.M., Kydland, F., Amiguet, L., Vivoda, V., Campbell, G., Lei, Y., & Fleming-Muñoz, D. (2024). 50 Years of Resources Policy: A Bibliometric Analysis. Resources Policy, 96(July). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2024.105229
Peasley, M.C., Hochstein, B., Britton, B.P., Srivastava, R.V., & Stewart, G.T. (2020). Can't leave it at home? The effects of personal stress on burnout and salesperson performance. Journal of Business Research, 117(September 2019), 58–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.05.014
Phanniphong, K., Na-Nan, K., Asavanatthakorn, N., & Chuen-u-ra, K. (2024). Job stress matters: Understanding how job stress moderates the relationship between person-environment fit and innovative work behavior in the Thai food industry. Acta Psychologica, 250(May), 104513. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104513
Sofyan, D., Abdullah, KH, & Gazali, N. (2022). A Bibliometric Review of the Basketball Game: Publication Trends Over the Past Five Decades. ASM Science Journal, 17. https://doi.org/10.32802/ASMSCJ.2022.1277
Sun, J., Sarfraz, M., Ivascu, L., Iqbal, K., & Mansoor, A. (2022). How Does Work-Related Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Hamper Healthcare Employee Performance during COVID-19? The Mediating Role of Job Burnout and Mental Health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(16). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610359
Tandler, N., Schilling-Friedemann, S., Frazier, L.D., Sendatzki, R., & Proyer, R.T. (2024). New insights into the contribution of playfulness to dealing with stress at work: Correlates of self- and peer-rated playfulness and coping strategies. New Ideas in Psychology, 75(August). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2024.101109
Trakaniqi, F., Beqiri, T., & Beqiri, G. (2022). The Impact of Organizational Stress on Manager's Performance. Quality - Access to Success, 23(190), 333–341. https://doi.org/10.47750/QAS/23.190.35
Tu, Y. Te, Sulistiawan, J., Ekowati, D., & Rizaldy, H. (2022). Work - Family Conflict And Salespeople Deviant Behavior: The Mediating Role Of Job Stress. Heliyon, 8(10). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10881
Winter, C. G. H., Zacharias, N. A., de Jong, A., & Habel, J. (2024). The stress of prospecting: Salesperson genetics and managerial remedies. Industrial Marketing Management, 120(June 2023), 146–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.05.010
Wolf, S., & Goodell, H. (1981). Selye's Guide to Stress Research, vol 1. Psychosomatics, 22(6), 545–546. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0033-3182(81)73503-5
Wushe, T., & Shenje, J. (2019). An analysis of the relationship between occupational stress and employee job performance in public health care institutions: A case study of public hospitals in Harare. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 17, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v17i0.1079
Yang, Q., & Pitafi, A.H. (2023). A Moderated Mediation Investigation Of The Influence Of Enterprise Social Media Visibility On Work Stress. Acta Psychologica, 241(November), 104084. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2023.104084
Yang, T., Liu, T., Lei, R., Deng, J., & Xu, G. (2019). Effect of stress on the work ability of aging American workers: Mediating effects of health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(13). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16132273
Zheng, L., Zhang, P., & Lim, C.Y. (2022). A Study on the Impact of Work Stress on Work Performance for Newly-Employed Teachers of Colleges and Universities in Western China. Journal of Chinese Human Resource Management, 13(2), 53–64. https://doi.org/10.47297/wspchrmWSP2040-800505.20221302
Zhenjing, G., Chupradit, S., Ku, KY, Nassani, AA, & Haffar, M. (2022). Impact of Employees' Workplace Environment on Employees' Performance: A Multi-Mediation Model. Frontiers in Public Health, 10(May). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.890400
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Kania Ratnasari, Levyda (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.










