August 28th, 2024 by Ashlee Taylor

Overcoming the challenges of teacher burnout

TBC, based on image. For this: Tired young woman sat at a desk looking at her laptop, while holding her head with both hands.

Table of Contents

Addressing the problem of teacher burnout

Let’s be honest: teaching can be a stressful job. But it does not have to be this way. Schools can overcome the problem of teacher burnout with the right tools, support systems, and approaches. The first step to dealing with teacher burnout? Understanding the scale of the issue.

Recent research by Gallup found that 39% of K-12 teachers felt burned out always or very often. And it’s not a problem limited to the United States, either. The UK’s Teacher Wellbeing Index 2023 found that 78% of all school teachers would describe themselves as ‘stressed’. 36% also said they had symptoms that could be signs of burnout.

The teaching world has shifted dramatically in recent years, with the COVID-19 pandemic speeding up changes. Unsurprisingly, many teachers are feeling under pressure. Schools need to understand burnout causes. Once they understand these, they can find solutions and help their staff to become happier in their roles again.

What causes teacher burnout?

From the outside, teaching can look like a career with a good work-life balance – hours that complement childcare, a fair amount of annual leave, and a structure that seems to allow for downtime between semesters. But if this is all true, why do teachers burn out?

Occupational burnout is caused by chronic stress in the workplace. It’s more than feeling tense from a bad day: it’s the result of constantly feeling under pressure. Contrary to the myth, a teacher’s day does not end when the bell rings. As a result, educators are feeling stressed.

Many factors contribute to teacher burnout. These include:

Lack of funding

Like many sectors, education is feeling the pinch. Reduced budgets can result in fewer members of staff and the removal of helpful equipment or technology.

When funding cuts lead to lower staff numbers, teachers can spread themselves too thin. Teaching is an extremely rewarding job, but it’s also a demanding one. So, when teachers take on the work of support staff in addition to their already busy role, it’s no wonder that some become stressed.

A lack of technology can make things worse, too. When educators spend too much time doing work not in their skillset (such as admin), they can be more prone to burnout.

Pressure of testing

Nowadays, most schools focus on standardized testing. Results day can be as nerve-wracking for teachers as it is for students.

Plus, standardized testing forces teachers to focus their lessons on exams. This can be frustrating – particularly for creatively-inclined teachers.

Lack of appreciation

Lesson planning and marking take up lots of time. Parents do not always recognize the time teachers spend working on these tasks during evenings and weekends. These extra hours are also not usually reflected in educators’ salaries.

Some teachers also take second jobs during summers to top up their income. This is physically and mentally tiring – made even worse by the lack of appreciation.

Worsening classroom behavior

Lots of teachers are reporting that student behavior is getting worse, as noted in EAB’s US-wide October 2022 study.

Bad behavior impacts teachers’ mental health for many reasons:

Increased frustration – bad behavior disrupts lessons which stops educators from teaching the way they had planned.
Dealing with consequences of escalating bad behavior – reporting bad behavior can be time-consuming and stressful.
Fear for their own safety – violent students can make teachers feel on edge.

Once again, this is not a problem limited to the US. Disruptive behavior has also escalated in English schools since COVID-19.

Dealing with parents

The rise in digital communication means some parents expect teachers to always be available.

While complaints and concerns used to be limited to open evenings or the school gates, today’s parents can instantly message teachers via email or classroom management apps. This volume of contact can be overwhelming.

What impact does teacher turnover have on schools?

Put simply: the more teachers with burnout, the more teachers leave, and the more money this costs schools.

Burnout is one of the key factors affecting teacher retention. Research by the Royal Society of Chemistry found that 18% of teachers at mainstream state schools in the United Kingdom are planning to leave the profession within five years for reasons other than age or retirement. The main reasons those teachers are leaving? Burnout and workload.

While it’s normal for educators to want to move on at some point, teacher turnover is disruptive for schools – and expensive.

The cost of teacher turnover is significant. The Learning Policy Institute calculated that US urban districts were spending approximately $20,000 on each teaching hire in 2017.

It’s in schools’ best interests to look out for their teachers’ mental health. Schools who care about their staff’s wellbeing will have a happier workforce who are less likely to leave. Making teachers feel appreciated and recognizing them for their hard work will reduce teacher turnover and the associated costs.

By shielding teachers from burnout, schools will increase staff retention and reduce hiring costs. And, most importantly, they protect their employees’ mental health.

How teachers can reduce their risk of burnout

While some factors are outside of teachers’ control, educators can still do some things to reduce their risk of burnout.

Set clear boundaries

Teachers need to feel comfortable with saying ‘no.’ Setting clear boundaries with their employer can lower the risk of being overworked.

Teachers can also set boundaries with themselves, even if they’re less comfortable doing so with others. For example, teachers can keep Sundays free so that they always have a weekly day of rest.

Practice time management

Marking and planning can interfere with teachers’ leisure time.

Setting aside dedicated hours to get through these tasks can help teachers separate ‘work time’ and ‘free time,’ improving their work-life balance.

Make time for self-care

Teachers worry about their pupils because they care about their classes. But to do a good job, they need to look after themselves first.

Practicing self-care can ease feelings of stress. Different methods work for different people. Some may enjoy exercise (whether breaking out a sweat running or winding down with yoga). Others may prefer to relax with a good book or film.

Manage workload

Part of setting realistic expectations is understanding what’s doable and speaking out when assigned too much work.

Teachers can reduce their risk of burnout by delegating tasks wherever possible. They should also raise concerns about workloads before it becomes too much.

Even without supportive managers, teachers can still reduce their workload by:

Only participating in non-compulsory extracurricular activities that make them happy
Leaning on peers for support and collaborating with other teachers to share workloads
Prioritizing workloads and cutting out unnecessary steps
Maximizing efficiency of tasks wherever possible, including making use of ready-made templates for teaching

How schools can reduce teacher burnout

Teachers need their employers’ support to tackle burnout.

Employers can reduce the likelihood of burnout by proactively making changes, such as:

Offering support for teachers

Teachers need to know that they can turn to their managers in moments of need. A culture that encourages teachers to open up about problems can help avoid burnout. But it’s not enough to just listen – good managers need to take action, too.

Set realistic expectations

Employers need to make sure their staff can have a healthy work-life balance. As part of this, it’s important to set realistic workloads. Burdening teachers with an overwhelming amount of work will only cause problems in the long term – even if some educators will manage it initially.

Help teachers do their best work

Teachers often feel frustrated if they cannot teach in the way they do best. Schools can support their teachers by giving them more autonomy. Of course, educators still have to teach in line with curriculums and compulsory exams, but schools should trust their teachers to do their best work.

Part of this involves giving teachers the tools they need to do the job.

Empower teachers with the tools they need

Schools can support their teachers with software that reduces unnecessary workload and speeds up lesson preparation.

Explain Everything offers intuitive online whiteboard technology, which makes it easy to include multimedia and online resources (e.g. YouTube, Google, and Unsplash) in lessons. By bringing everything together in one place, teachers can be more efficient and save time. There’s no need to use a wide range of tools or switch devices. Plus, Explain Everything’s free easy-to-customize templates make it simple for teachers to deploy engaging elements in the classroom – without spending hours of their free time designing activities from scratch.

The right software can take away some of the heavy load placed on today’s teachers. When combined with a healthy workplace culture and supportive environment, teachers (and their pupils) can thrive.

To see how Explain Everything’s templates can speed up content creation, sign up for your free account.