Teacher Burnout in Schools: 4 Strategies for Prevention and Support

Teacher burnout happens when job-related stress becomes so overwhelming that teachers struggle to perform their duties effectively. This condition can lead to several problems, such as teachers being less productive and effective in class, losing enthusiasm for teaching, and having more absences or leaving their positions altogether.

For most teachers, burnout happens because of excessive workloads and inadequate support from school leaders. Additionally, poor work-life balance and high emotional demands from students and their families or guardians can also contribute to burnout. When schools address these underlying issues, they can more effectively prevent or significantly reduce teacher burnout.

What Causes Teacher Burnout?

Some of the common factors that often create chronic job-related stress and burnout for teachers include:

Too Much Work and Not Enough Time

Many teachers have to deal with huge workloads, which include multiple tasks such as planning lessons, grading assignments, supervision, and managing classrooms. When there isn’t enough time for planning due to staff shortages or other issues, the work environment can quickly become overwhelming.

Lack of Support From School Leaders

Teachers can feel undervalued or even isolated when school administrators or leaders don’t give them adequate support. In some cases, conflicts with leadership can add more stress to their already demanding role.

Poor Balance Between Work and Personal Life

The demands of teaching often extend beyond regular school hours. When this happens consistently, it encroaches on personal time needed for rest and self-care, making it tough for teachers to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

High Emotional Demands From Students and Families/Guardians

Teachers often face emotionally exhausting situations when dealing with difficult student behaviors, such as disruptions or aggression. Beyond teaching in class, they must also manage families’ or guardians’ expectations through frequent communication about behavior or grades and handling conflicts over teaching methods. All of these can add significant stress to a teacher’s role.

Insufficient Resources

Schools with limited funding often struggle to provide essential materials or technology. This can place an extra burden on teachers, who often make up for these gaps themselves. For example, teachers may decide to spend their own money on supplies or to look for alternative ways to deliver lessons effectively. This creates financial stress and also increases the workload and pressure on teachers as they work hard to compensate for these resource shortages.

Constant Changes in Curriculum or Policies

Frequent changes in curriculum requirements or teaching methods can be frustrating for teachers. In some cases, teachers are expected to adjust quickly to these changes without getting the training or support they need. This can make them feel like they’re constantly playing catch-up and struggling to keep up with what’s expected of them.

Feeling Underappreciated

Low salaries combined with high job demands can make teachers feel underpaid relative to all they do. When teachers don’t feel appreciated for their hard work despite the heavy workload, it can lead them to question whether anyone truly values their efforts. This adds another layer of stress that contributes to burnout.

The Ripple Effects of Teacher Burnout

When teachers experience burnout, the impacts extend far beyond individual teachers themselves. It affects students as well as the entire school environment in significant ways. Here are some key consequences:

• Teachers Struggle to Teach Well: When teachers are burned out, they might struggle to complete tasks or fully engage with their students. This can lead to less effective lesson planning and delivery, which impacts the quality of education teachers provide.
• Students Don’t Do as Well: Burned-out teachers may find it harder to motivate students or provide individualized support. This can negatively affect student motivation and academic performance.
• Teachers Feel Emotionally Drained: Teachers who experience burnout often feel emotionally drained from their work. As a result of this exhaustion, it can be difficult for them to maintain a positive attitude or respond effectively to student needs.
• Teachers Treat Students Differently: Burnout can cause teachers to treat students more like objects rather than individuals. When this happens, there is less personalized attention and care in the classroom. This situation can be especially challenging for students who need special accommodations.
• Teachers Feel Less Successful: Teachers who feel burned out may begin to question their abilities or feel like they’re failing in their profession. Left unchecked, these feelings can further erode their confidence and motivation, making it harder for them to continue teaching effectively.
• Staff Members Work Alone More Often: As burnout increases among teachers, collaboration between colleagues may decrease. This is because everyone is focused on managing their own workload rather than working together as a team.
• Increased Absenteeism or Turnover Rates: Burned-out teachers are more likely to miss school days due to stress-related health issues. In some cases, it can even influence them to leave the profession altogether if they don’t see improvements in their work environment.
• It’s Harder to Hire and Keep Good Teachers: Schools that struggle with high levels of teacher burnout often face challenges recruiting new talent. The reason is simple: potential candidates are likely to be deterred by reports of poor working conditions or high turnover rates among existing staff members.
• Schools Feel Less Positive: When teacher burnout is widespread within a school, it can create a negative atmosphere that affects more people, including non-teaching staff members and even students, particularly their attitudes toward learning.

4 Strategies for Preventing Teacher Burnout in Schools

Schools can prevent burnout among teachers through thoughtful approaches that support teachers both professionally and personally. Here are some effective strategies schools can use:

1. Give Teachers More Control

One way schools can keep teachers motivated is to create a supportive environment. Schools can do this by letting teachers have more say in their classrooms and curriculum design. This boosts morale and makes them feel more invested in what they teach.

2. Help Teachers Grow Professionally

Schools can provide the ability to set personal goals for professional growth and then be provided resources to achieve their goals. Micro-credentials can also let teachers enhance specific skills they’re interested in. When schools create training plans that match teachers’ interests and career goals, they help them feel like they’re moving forward. Beyond helping teachers grow professionally, this is a great way to reignite their passion for teaching.

3. Manage Workloads Better

Finding ways to manage workload pressures is important for creating a healthy balance between work and personal life. To support this balance, schools should set clear rules about digital communication outside of school hours. For example, schools should encourage teachers not to check or respond to work-related emails after hours. This will help them maintain their personal time effectively.

Where possible, schools can offer flexible schedules that give teachers more control over their time. For instance, they might adjust the school day to provide extra planning time, especially when teachers are expected to participate in other activities happening outside the classroom. This way, teachers can handle their workload better and have a bit more personal time, too.

4. Care for Teachers’ Well-Being

Another way to prevent teacher burnout is to care for their well-being. Schools that prioritize this show that they value their teachers’ health as much as their work performance.

Also, it’s important for school leaders to regularly check in with teachers to see how they’re doing and where they might need support. Schools can also offer wellness initiatives, such as providing access to mental health resources or stress management workshops during professional development days.

In Closing

Helping teachers avoid burnout is important for creating a school environment that supports everyone—students, teachers, and other staff members as well. In addition to the strategies covered here, schools can leverage innovative tools like Evaluation to simplify staff evaluations and provide clear feedback that supports teacher growth and success.

If your school is interested in new ways to improve the learning experience for children, you may also be interested in automating tasks and streamlining processes so that your teachers have more time to teach. Education Advanced offers a large suite of tools that may be able to help:

• Evaluation: A solution for documenting every step of the staff evaluation process, including walk-throughs, self-evaluations, supporting evidence, reporting, and performance analytics.‍
• Pathways: A graduation tracking tool that enables administrators and counselors to create, track, and analyze graduation pathways, ensuring secondary students stay on track to graduate.
• ‍TestHound: Our test accommodation software helps schools coordinate thousands of students across all state and local K-12 assessments while considering various accommodations, such as for reading disabilities, physical disabilities, and translations.