Mental Load and Burnout Among Working Women: An Intersectional Analysis of Gender, Mental Health, and Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases

This study analyzes how mental load and burnout shape the mental and physical health of working women within a context marked by persistent gender inequalities. The literature shows that women continue to assume disproportionate responsibilities for unpaid domestic labor, caregiving, and emotional management, which interact with occupational demands to produce chronic cognitive and emotional strain. These intersecting factors intensify psychological vulnerability, especially among women who also experience racial, socioeconomic, or family-related inequities. Burnout emerges as a multidimensional syndrome resulting from prolonged exposure to psychosocial stress, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. These conditions are closely linked to the development and worsening of chronic non-communicable diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, depression, and anxiety, demonstrating the interconnectedness of mental and physical health. The findings also highlight that coping strategies and support networks offer partial protection but remain insufficient when structural barriers persist. Workplace support, flexible policies, and access to healthcare are unevenly distributed, particularly among women in precarious or informal employment. Institutional cultures that normalize overwork and stigmatize psychological distress further limit early intervention and effective care. Structural inequalities, combined with cultural expectations that naturalize women’s overload, reinforce cycles of stress and illness. By integrating an intersectional perspective, this review demonstrates that mental load, burnout, and chronic disease outcomes result from systemic and interdependent factors. The study emphasizes the need for institutional reforms, gender-responsive public policies, and organizational practices that recognize and address the structural roots of women’s unequal exposure to psychosocial stress.