Could AI-Chatbot help with prevention of burnout syndrome? Pilot study in two Czech manufacturing companies.

Abstract

Burnout syndrome develops as a result of prolonged overload combined with insufficient recovery. It manifests as emotional and physical exhaustion as well as cognitive fatigue. In the modern era, numerous digital approaches are available for the prevention and promotion of health, including mental health. A pilot project aimed at verifying the feasibility of burnout prevention using a professionally supervised chatbot was conducted from January to July 2025. Collaboration was established with two manufacturing companies, and based on baseline questionnaires—particularly the SMBM (Shirom–Melamed Burnout Measure)—30 respondents were selected. Out of 71 respondents, 63 SMBM questionnaires were analyzed, yielding a mean score of 51 points, indicative of mild to moderate burnout. Over an 8-week period, chatbot communication was enabled for the 30 selected participants. A total of 22 respondents engaged with the chatbot. The follow-up SMBM questionnaire was completed by 10 respondents (response rate 30%). Due to the low number of responses, group-level evaluation was not feasible; however, improvement was observed in 6 individual cases. A professionally designed and supervised digital tool—a chatbot utilizing artificial intelligence—appears to be a highly promising instrument for large-scale prevention of work-related burnout. Further validation in practice is required.

Keywords: Workplace Stress, Questionnaires, SMBM, Digital Tool, Prevention

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1008092