The professional routine of university professors has been gaining prominence in research on Burnout Syndrome (BS), having been considered by the International Labor Organization (ILO) as the most prone to its development, and several studies in the last 20 years corroborate this statement. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) BS is the result of chronic stress in the workplace that has not been successfully managed.

Map the evidence on BS in higher education teachers and its relationship with ergonomic and biopsychosocial factors.

We carried out a scope review of articles published up to 2021 in Pubmed, Medline, Lilacs and Index Psicologia databases, extracting characteristics of the population, location, study design, BS assessment instruments and synthesis of evidence regarding ergonomic and biopsychosocial factors.

Eighteen studies were found in 12 countries, and most used a cross-sectional design (17/18, 94%). Among the evaluation methods used for BS, MBI - Burnout Maslach Inventory was the most used (9.75%), followed by JR-D - Work Demands–Resources (1.8%), CBI-BR - Copenhagen Burnout Inventory -Brazilian (1.8%), BAT – Burnout Assessment Tool (1.8%). The studies revealed that BS was present simultaneously with the ergonomic factors: Week > 50 hs, Daily shift >8 hs, Recovery time between shifts, Group size > 30 students, Pressure for results, Monotony, Multitasking, Bad conditions at the Workstation, Face-to-face classes and online classes; With regard to biopsychosocial factors, the following were identified: Absenteeism, Lack of time for personal life, Exhaustion, Over 40 years old, Married, with a child < 12 years old, Sedentary lifestyle, Muscle pain, Use of medication for anxiety, depression and others. .., Not having a hobby, Self-esteem, Dissatisfaction with salary, Middle class, Urban, Smoker and Alcoholic. The studies showed a high risk of bias (selection, performance, detection, response, and confusion) and only 6 authors studied the correlation between some ergonomic and biopsychosocial factors with p < 0.05.

It is a consensus that Burnout Syndrome in higher education teachers requires more and more attention, as it may be related to ergonomic and biopsychosocial factors, however it was not possible to confirm a causal relationship, due to the fact that the tests were carried out in cross-sectional studies.

In the professional environment, ergonomic characteristics or those related to work organization deserve greater attention in future research, as well as biopsychosocial factors, as they may be strongly associated with Burnout Syndrome.