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On the best days, teaching is one of the most fulfilling careers you can find. You can inspire students, work with other professionals, and impact the future of your community every day.
However, as we all know, not every teaching day makes as meaningful as the last one. So, what should you do when you start feeling obvious signs of teacher burnout? Learn all about symptoms, tips for turning things around, and how teacher burnout can have a significant impact on the education industry as a whole.
What is teacher burnout?
A teacher’s burnout is a long period of anxiety, depression and indifference when a teacher no longer has the emotional and psychological resources needed for work. More than 40% of the K-12 education experience burnout teachers, which is the highest rate in the US professional industry.
Although most teachers feel burned after a tough day or week, burnout throughout the teacher is more common at some point in the year. In particular, first-grade teachers were particularly burned and disillusioned during the winter vacation.
Common causes of teacher burnout
Although each teaching environment is different, the most common causes of teacher burnout are similar. Teachers who feel burned often report reasons:
- Unsustainable working conditions, such as oversized classrooms or limited preparation time
- Heavy workload and expectations
- Lack of management resources and support
- Increased demand for external forces, including government authorization and parental communication
- Student behavior disconnects from parents
Only one of these factors is enough to burn out educators’ teachers, especially if it’s an extreme part of their work. Often, burned teachers experience more than one of these reasons and no longer have the psychological or emotional resources to cope with them.
The impact of teacher burnout
The impact of teacher burnout goes beyond the classroom. Because feeling burned can affect your mental health (and physical health), you may need more sick days to treat these conditions. If many teachers in the school are experiencing burnout, that school may struggle with prolonged absenteeism, which may negatively affect students’ performance.
Teacher burnout is the reason why more educators resign completely. Research shows that over time, the link between teacher burnout and teacher attrition rate is shown. Teacher shortages mean greater curriculum, higher workloads, and more responsibility for teachers who are still in the classroom – which may also lead to higher teacher burnout rates for them.
Teacher burnout symptoms
How do you know if you are experiencing burnout from your teacher? Common symptoms of teacher burnout may include:
- Fear Work Week, also known as Sunday Panic
- Lag behind your rating or plan
- It’s easy to get frustrated with your students or loved ones
- Physical fatigue or long-term illness, including unexplained chronic pain
- Difficult to sleep or wake up on time
- I feel urgent about taking a vacation the next day or weekend
- Avoid creativity or innovation in the classroom
If multiple of these symptoms resonate with you, you may experience burnout from your teacher. So, what will you do next and how can you get your passion for education back?
Tips to avoid teacher burnout
The key to avoiding or addressing teacher burnout is to focus on yourself. In a career where you put your time and attention into your students, it’s easier said than done! However, finding the right teacher mental health strategy will help you become a better teacher, which is the best way to serve your students.
1. Stay healthy
The first step in fighting teacher burnout is to take care of your body. Find time to exercise during the day, whether it’s a stop in the gym after get off work or a stroll on the football field during lunch. Consider creative exercise options involving your colleagues (such as adult sports leagues) or requiring gym membership in your area.
Eating a healthy diet is another important part of self-care. Pre-load your favorite nutritious foods, join your in-staff lounge with your instructor or organize a salad bar every week.
2. Popular to your teacher community
You are most likely not the only one who deals with burnout in school with teachers. Draw inspiration from the non-educational world and organize relationship-building activities such as happy hours after school, bowling nights, karaoke tours or park picnics, teachers bring the entire family.
You can also combine during working hours! Invite teachers into your classroom during lunch or preparation and talk about your off-campus life rather than work. Create a bulletin board in the staff room for friendly matches, such as guessing the next winner of a reality show or a major sporting event. Establish a reason to go to work every morning, not including the work itself.
3. Reimagine your classroom organization
The burned teacher is often too stressed to change its bulletin boards, desks and displays. Change your classroom organization to get a new lease for the school year! Move your desk to a pattern you have never used before and write inspiring quotes on the board.
Plan an arts course where you can proudly present it after students complete it, or implement a new class system (such as desk or class money). Goal is goal!
Expert tip: If you feel you don’t even have the ability to plan new things, provide TPT teacher authors with no PREP projects and resources that you can use right away.
4. Redefine your professional identity
Increased demand and difficult-to-control student behavior can make great teachers feel that they are missing marks. Maintaining a strong professional identity reduces the burnout of teachers, so take the time to rediscover and redefine who you are truly a teacher.
Find professional development opportunities of interest, such as subject-specific teacher conferences or online courses. Remember why you need to be taught first and embrace your teaching philosophy rather than burying administrative responsibilities.
5. Short-term trade relief for long-term solutions
In the moment, it may feel good to have another sick day or avoid scoring a week, but it may lead to more burnout in the future. Swap these short-term choices of long-term solutions to the core of teacher burnout.
For example, consider giving up or exchanging auxiliary duties that take too much time. Plan low prep or no-prep units to keep students engaged while providing you with a hierarchical stack (and plan as far as possible to the future). If classroom administrators wear it on you, schedule time with school administration to brainstorm solutions to make your teaching day easier.
6. Set (and retain) professional boundaries
You’ve heard the term “work and life balance” before, but as a teacher, you might think that doesn’t apply to you. After all, sometimes teachers sometimes give up their non-working hours for rating, planning, meetings, collaboration, professional development, and more.
But teachers should also get a balance between work and life! First set professional boundaries. Practice say “no” to extra responsibilities outside the classroom and work with colleagues to share the workload of the program. Let parents know that you will only reply to their email or phone calls during working hours. (And don’t hand over your mobile number to your parents!)
7. Work smarter, don’t work harder
The most important resource for any teacher is time. It feels like there isn’t enough time for a day or during school, and of course there isn’t enough time to prepare for the next day, let alone next month.
When it comes to teacher time management, everything is related to effective work. Manage your workload with fewer class divisions and assignments, and then return to a student-centric format rather than a teacher-centric format. Only allocate items and tests that you have time to do rating and try to do as many as you can on weekdays.
8. Advocate yourself and your colleagues
If a teacher’s burnout is a big problem at your school, take it to the next level and talk to decision makers in your community. Speak up at school board meetings, apply for grants for more professional development and support, or new teachers who work hard to gain a foothold in the first few years.
Being a teacher leader is not just good for your colleagues. This is a great way to take care of your needs, redefine your professional identity and ensure there is a long-term solution on your teaching website.
Create safe space for teachers
Avoid Sunday’s fears and reignite your love teaching with other teacher mental health resources. These self-care resources are an important tool for school administrators to support their teachers, burnout with teachers, and ensure that all students receive the education they deserve.
