Title: The paradox of self-help: examining burnout and support-seeking in protean/boundaryless work professionals

Authors: Shreya Mukherjee; Kavita Singh; Soumi Rai

Addresses: FLAME School of Business, FLAME University, Pune, India ' Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India ' NICMAR Business School, NICMAR University, Pune, India

Abstract: Drawing on job demands-resources theory (JD-R), this study investigates the paradoxical role of self-help behaviours - specifically personal ambition and the pursuit of social support - in influencing emotional-exhaustion/burnout among protean and boundaryless gig workers in India. Based on data from 669 highly-skilled IT gig professionals, we explore how proactive efforts to secure social-support interact with individual ambition to shape burnout levels. Contrary to conventional wisdom that views social-support as a buffer against burnout, our findings reveal that ambitious professionals who actively seek support tend to experience higher burnout. Moreover, our analysis uncovers a significant gender disparity, with female gig workers being particularly susceptible to burnout. These results illuminate the complex challenges inherent in protean work environments and underscore the critical need for targeted interventions that address structural support deficiencies. The study advances the JD-R theory by highlighting that not all personal resources have uniformly positive effects.

Keywords: boundaryless career; gig; burnout; emotional exhaustion; well-being; job demands; personal resources; social support.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWOE.2026.153690

International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion, 2026 Vol.17 No.1/2/3, pp.359 - 382

Received: 08 Aug 2024
Accepted: 03 Feb 2025
Published online: 21 May 2026 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article