The school year is winding down, and we’re all looking forward to summer break—a much-needed time to exhale, reset, and regroup. This annual ritual has always been critical to educators’ well-being, and it’s taken on even more significance in recent years as more and more teachers are facing burnout. The research has never been clearer.
According to a June 2022 Gallup article, “K–12 Workers Have Highest Burnout Rate in U.S.,” more than four in 10 K–12 workers in the U.S. (44%) say they “always” or “very often” feel burned out at work, outpacing all other industries nationally. A December 2022 Economic Policy Institute report points out that the pandemic exacerbated the burnout and turnover rates in education—and there has yet to be much improvement in the two years since.
“Before the pandemic, teaching was among the most stressful occupations, on par with nursing,” according to a May 2022 EdSurge article examining the mental health crisis causing teachers to quit. “But there are indications that it has only gotten worse since COVID-19 entered the profession. Teachers haven’t just reached their breaking point, but surpassed it, further imperiling a profession that has long struggled with low pay and declining morale.”
In our work as educators and a counselor in schools, we’ve seen this firsthand, in our own lives and in the lives of so many school colleagues and friends. It’s part of what drives the work we do together leading and facilitating workshops and seminars focused on mental health and well-being and what school leaders can do support educators.
During our most recent half-day seminar at the 2024 NAIS Annual Conference, Supporting Educator Retention: How to Implement Effective Mental Health Opportunities for Professional Development, we asked the range of classroom teachers and school leaders in attendance to assess the level of burnout they were experiencing. At the end of the activity, no one wanted to share out their results; the resulting pin-drop silence spoke volumes.
Burnout is real, regardless of whether it’s a bona-fide diagnosis in the DSM-V. And it is a real precursor to mental health challenges that we do not have the luxury to ignore. We have been on a path of declining educator well-being for years, and we must do something now to change the direction. And we can—because in addition to seeing the collective toll burnout takes, we also know firsthand the greater impact that educators committed to their well-being can have on their students, both in and out of the classroom.
The Impact of Teacher Burnout
The mental health of educators is directly linked to overall student achievement. When teachers are facing unaddressed mental health challenges, it can create a negative classroom environment. Imagine trying to make clear and logical decisions or explain something to a child in the midst of feeling emotional frustration and turmoil. In result, students may struggle to concentrate and learn.
In addition to students, educator burnout and turnover has emotional and financial impacts on school leaders. A January 2022 RAND report, “The Well-Being of Secondary School Principals One Year into the COVID-19 Pandemic,” found that most secondary school principals were experiencing frequent job-related stress—and one of their big stressors was supporting teachers’ mental health and well-being.
In addition to the emotional toll of burnout—which often leads to turnover––it’s critical to consider how expensive teacher turnover is for schools. The Learning Policy Institute estimates that teacher turnover costs school districts between $20 and 30K every time a teacher quits. At the national level, teacher turnover costs upwards of $8.5 billion each year.
What Schools Can Do About It
After reading the room and the body language of the participants in our NAIS workshop—and feeling their anxiety—we guided them through a relaxation activity that included deep breathing exercises and positive affirmations. We did not force anyone beyond their comfort zone, but rather, we met them where they were, which allowed them to fully be present throughout the duration of the workshop.
This is what school leaders must do on a larger scale: meet their staff where they are. Here are a few ways to do that.
Know the warning signs. The experience of burnout can take on many forms. More commonly, it can appear as:
- Fatigue/exhaustion (mental, emotional, and physical)
- Feelings of depletion
- Reduced ability to do one’s work effectively
- Anxiety/worry
- High intensity emotions (positive and negative)
If you notice any of these warning signs, it’s important to check in and offer your support. It can be as simple as scheduling an informal meeting or coffee with that person, asking how things are going for them, and letting them know you are around if they need to talk. Just as we ask our students to prioritize their mental and emotional well-being, we must also encourage educators to do the same.
Provide helpful resources. This might include giving teachers self-help audio books by coaches and inspirational leaders they can listen to during their commute or creating space for silence and self-regulation that is designated for teachers and school leaders. One thing we often share in our workshops is a free, curated mental health resource library that includes statistics, relaxation videos, burnout assessments, and more.
Encourage staff to seek professional support. Make sure staff’s insurance includes professional mental health benefits and encourage them to seek help if they are struggling. Administrators can alert HR to send out monthly reminders for teachers to take advantage of their employee assistance program.
Offer regular self-care training or workshops. As wellness experts, we provide educators and clients with tools and techniques that decrease overwhelm while restoring their personal and professional satisfaction. You cannot effectively combat burnout among staff if they have not been equipped with basic coping and self-management skills. Helpful trainings might include how to develop self-care plans and how to organize and prioritize activities that support mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
We can no longer deny that the educator burnout crisis exists. Now is the time to address these issues in order to bring real and lasting change for students, school leaders, and teachers.