Causes and Effects of Teacher Burnout

By Donna Ault Jacobson

December, 2016

Walden University

Definitions

Burnout: A feeling of stress and frustration that an individual can experience which could
culminate in attrition (Martinetz, 2012).

Factors Contributing to Teacher Burnout

Researchers have identified several factors that can contribute to job burnout: the feeling of
isolation, a lack of support from colleagues, the feeling of being overwhelmed by workload,
lack of autonomy, lack of respect from administrators, few opportunities to be teacher
leaders, classroom management/discipline problems, and high achievement goals that focus
on high stakes testing (Leiter & Maslach, 2011; Marzano & Heflebower, 2012). Teachers’
experiences of stress can result from their perceptions of demands, and can be coupled with
the inability to meet those demands (Martinetz, 2012).

Some teachers reported that their anxiety is due to an overlapping of personal and
professional commitments (Warren & Sorges, 2013). Teacher burnout by itself is nothing
new; what is new is the increasing rate at which teachers experience burnout. It typically is
accompanied by negative and cynical attitudes towards both colleagues and work in general
(Gruenert & Whitaker, 2015; Larrivee, 2012). Fruedengerger (1975) was the first to publish
research on the concept of burnout. He identified one sign of burnout as a feeling of
exhaustion and fatigue. Fruedengerger described people who experience burnout as
overachievers who put pressure on themselves, find fault with everyone, complain about
everything, stay late at work, and take work home. However, they never seem to get caught
up, which adds to their level of stress. In some cases the stress becomes so overwhelming
that it culminates in attrition (Clandinin, 2014).

In the 1980s and 90s, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, which was designed to
identify burnout, gave more validity to the term and helped create a clearer understanding 21
of stress-related burnout (Leiter, Bakker, & Maslach, 2014). Before that, burnout was solely
identified, defined, and studied clinically in the field of health care. Parker et al., (2012)
argued that the three core aspects of burnout include emotional exhaustion,
depersonalization, and feelings of low accomplishment stemmed from a loss of idealism and
enthusiasm for work. Initially, it was determined that everyone experiences some stress in
life, especially on the job (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2011). There are some jobs where stress is
common, due to the nature of the position, such as nursing. Over a prolonged period of time,
the stress begins to accumulate, resulting in job burnout (Larrivee, 2012). In addition to
medicine, fields with high-stress occupations include law, aviation, and education (Leiter et
al., 2014). High-stress occupations where professionals are held accountable for many
areas outside their control can cause them to feel anxiety and frustration. Feelings of anxiety
and frustration, in turn, may affect employees’ performance and their ability to relate to
colleagues (Brown, 2012; Sterrett, Sclater, & Murray, 2011).When asked to describe how
they feel, teachers who are emotionally and physically fatigued may say they are exhausted
or drained (Goldhaber & Cowan, 2014; Ingersoll, 2012).

Some teachers expressed the feeling their work has very little impact on their
students. They often complain of not wanting to get up in the morning and go to work
(Martinetz, 2012). The level of communication between employees and employers and a
perceived lack of resources and administrative support adds to teacher stress (Mendler,
2014). Some teachers find themselves at odds with their principals. They do not feel
supported, and 22 they feel that unfair and unrealistic demands are placed on them (Kipps-
Vaughan, 2013; Lieberman & Friedrich, 2010). A lack of support and respect can lead to the
feeling of burnout, because teachers may feel unappreciated by administrators. In some
instances, teachers become argumentative and labeled as trouble makers, so any attempt
for selfactualization is stymied (Marzano & Heflebower, 2012).

One of the most overwhelming problems for teachers is their failure to manage the
environments in their classrooms (Reeves, 2012). Student misbehavior is a specific working
condition strongly associated with job stress and burnout (Ratcliff, Jones, Costner, Savage-
Davis, & Hunt, 2010). In order for students to learn, teachers need to be able to handle
discipline problems so they can hook at-risk students on learning and inspire them to
achieve. When teachers encounter students who act out, it affects their ability to teach,
thereby adding to their frustration levels (Aloe, Amo, & Shanahan, 2014; Reeves, 2012).
Teacher empowerment and self-efficacy impact teacher satisfaction, because teachers feel if
they can establish some sense of control in their classrooms, they have the ability to make a
profound impact on student achievement (Sterrett et al., 2011).

Work environment and the lack of collaboration with colleagues can contribute to the
feeling of burnout (Dierking & Fox, 2012; Reglin et al., 2013). When teachers perceive that
their relationships with colleagues are dysfunctional, they feel isolated (Cooper & Conley,
2013). When they feel isolated, their stress levels begin to increase and the accumulation of
stress ultimately leads to job burnout (Levine & Marcus, 2010; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2011).
Personality factors also play a role in teacher isolation. Akkerman and Meijer (2011)
suggested that people who are insecure, anxious, and 23 ambivalent are more likely to burn
out, because they tend to isolate themselves and avoid interaction with their colleagues.