Key takeaways
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Teacher burnout is widespread and more severe than in other professions.
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Burnout harms not just teachers, but students and schools as a whole.
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Preventing burnout requires systemic, ongoing leadership and culture changes.
All occupations have the potential to cause burnout or feelings of exhaustion. However, educators are reporting stress and anxiety at higher rates than ever before. To protect the academic future of our children, it is important to identify and address the causes of teacher burnout. Steps can be taken to enhance educational leadership, foster a positive school culture, and promote teacher agency. Leaders and teachers can work together to build systems and procedures with an awareness of the increasing demands placed on educators. These intentional choices should be proactive and ongoing, as there is no one-time solution for this problem. The school environment should foster relationships among all stakeholders to support educators and promote a collaborative approach. Teachers should be treated as professionals with ownership in school decision-making.
What Is Teacher Burnout?
Teacher burnout is a term used to describe feelings of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion caused by chronic stress. Although stress is a normal human reaction, prolonged exposure to stressors places a burden on the body. When stress becomes chronic, it can contribute to negative physical and mental outcomes. Professional burnout is possible within any occupational setting where demands are increasing, and the associated stress negatively impacts overall well-being.
Reports of increased stress and teacher burnout have been areas of concern for decades, but in recent years, the incidences of teacher burnout and the negative impacts on education have skyrocketed. Historically, teacher burnout was felt during the workday, while trying to juggling student needs with other required duties. However, teachers now report physical symptoms and illnesses, constant feelings of apathy or sadness, and a desire to leave the profession that extends well beyond the school day. This trend is seen in research studies worldwide.
Along with the impact of teacher burnout on an individual, there are repercussions for students and colleagues. Teachers dealing with chronic stress leading to burnout are not able to build relationships with children or adults, struggle with emotional dysregulation, and have impaired executive functioning skills. For each educator dealing with teacher burnout, there is a classroom full of students who have lost access to the most important factor in their academic success. Addressing the causes of burnout is not just about teachers. Combating this issue is a critical element in the overall success of a school.
Teacher Burnout Statistics
Researchers have been interested in the causes, symptoms, and impacts of teacher burnout for over 50 years. Findings suggest that teaching is a challenging profession because it combines both institutional requirements and constant interpersonal interactions. Basically, to teach is to simultaneously manage people and tasks, all day, every day. Historically, it was an unspoken truth that teacher work requirements extended beyond their contact hours; whether it be lesson planning, grading, or creating class materials. This expectation that teachers are willing to work on their own time gave the impression that teachers could ‘do it all’. However, since 2020, there have been a number of changes that have shifted the educational landscape and led to an increased feeling of teacher burnout. The changes include the impact of technology, escalating student behaviors, increased state legislation, increased social media, and changing parent expectations about teacher responsibilities and availability.
The RAND Education and Labor Division published results from the State of the American Teacher Survey in June 2025. The survey was funded by the National Education Association and the National Federation of Teachers. Teacher burnout statistics are a clear indication of a need for change in education.
- 62% of teachers stated they experienced high levels of job-related stress
- Compared to 33% of working adults in other professions
- 21% of teachers stated they have difficulty coping with stress from the job
- Compared to 9% of working adults in other professions
- 19% of teachers reported symptoms of depression
- Compared to 12% of working adults in other professions
- 53% of teachers shared feelings of burnout
- Compared to 39% of working adults in other professions
As part of the survey, teachers were asked to share the sources of their job-related stress. The most frequent response were:
- Managing student behavior
- Low salary
- Administrative work outside of classroom instruction
- This contributes to the 10 hours a week that teachers work on their own time (on average)
- Supporting students’ mental health and wellbeing
Teachers at different levels feel stress for different reasons. Teachers at the elementary level and those serving in special needs classrooms are required to spend more time, energy, and physical and emotional output to teach the students. Teachers at the secondary level share feelings of stress related to preparing class materials based on the difficulty of the subject area.
Numbers related to stress and burnout have decreased from an all-time high during the 2023-2024 school year. Some researchers posit that the decrease is cause for optimism. Although other researchers suggest caution when reviewing data from 2025, since the current numbers are still higher than findings from any of the last five decades.
What Causes Teacher Burnout?
Addressing the issue of teacher burnout would be less of a challenge if there were simple causes. Unfortunately, the elements that contribute to teacher burnout are not all new and have become more complicated. Edward Iwanicki was a professor of educational administration at the University of Connecticut, and he created an enduring framework for viewing the causes of burnout. Iwanicki’s model recognized three sources of stressors that could lead to teacher burnout. These included organizational pressures, role-related stress, and societal stress. When Iwanicki authored his research in the 1980s, he could not have imagined some of the issues current teachers are facing. However, his model of categorizing stressors is still relevant when examining causes of teacher burnout.
Organizational Pressures
Organizational pressures are the elements of teaching controlled by school or district leaders. These factors impact the daily structure of a school day.
- An increasing workload
- Insufficient time during working hours
- Large class sizes
- Large classes add pressure to teachers due to grading requirements, classroom management, and allocation of resources.
- Increased state legislation
- Loss of teacher autonomy
Role-Related Stress
Role-related stressors exist when a teacher feels unprepared for the environment in which they are teaching. This can include dealing with less positive interpersonal relationships or feelings of inadequacy.
- Less time to develop collegial or student relationships
- Escalating student behaviors
- This is a large issue because it impacts the emotional and academic success of everyone in the class.
- Additional roles and responsibilities
- Level of administrative availability and support
- Feeling unappreciated or unsuccessful
Societal Stress
Societal stress includes elements from outside of the teaching profession that have come to highly impact expectations on teachers.
- Social media
- This includes opinions shared about teachers, as well as the impact of social media on student behaviors.
- Parent expectations about teacher roles and availability
- The use of email and applications to increase parent-teacher communication has inadvertently created a system where teachers can be tied to their work 24 hours a day.
- Increased reliance on technology
- High-stakes testing and associated expectations
- Lack of respect for the teaching profession
The causes of teacher stress can be considered from the perspective of external factors that a teacher cannot control and the internal responses or coping mechanisms that could help avoid teacher burnout.
Common Teacher Burnout Symptoms
Understanding Stress and Burnout in Education
Stress is an important part of life that helps keep humans safe, healthy, and motivated. Some stressors are common in education; however, not all teachers will have the same reaction. When stressors reach a point where a person can no longer effectively cope, then stress can lead to burnout. Teacher burnout symptoms can be manifested emotionally or physically. In fact, many teachers dealing with burnout experience a combination of both. When a teacher is dealing with burnout, their symptoms will inadvertently impact their performance, student success, and organizational outcomes.
Emotional Symptoms of Teacher Burnout
Emotional symptoms of teacher burnout are experienced internally by a teacher, but will often be visible to others as well. Teachers who have reached a chronic level of stress might demonstrate demoralization, irritability, and apathy. Whereas these teachers had been invested in their job before, they could feel both hopeless and helpless about their ability to impact change for themselves and others. Paired with a lack of motivation or ability to perform at previous levels, teachers might demonstrate increased episodes of impatience or anger. Teachers could become deregulated when something small happens, as a result of the culmination of constant stressors. Research suggests that burnout can contribute to the experience of mental health symptoms, such as depression or anxiety.
Physical Symptoms of Teacher Burnout
Teacher burnout can also cause physical symptoms and even contribute to lasting health concerns. The most overarching physical symptom shared by teachers is exhaustion. This exhaustion can be caused by elevated stress responses throughout the day or by insomnia at night. Some of the somatic symptoms might include back pain, headaches, or gastrointestinal distress. Though there is no direct link of causation between teacher burnout and the diagnosis of disease, there are increased risk factors for pulmonary or cardiovascular issues due to a compromised immune system.
Organizational Impact of Teacher Burnout
The most important reason to address teacher burnout symptoms is for the mental and physical well-being of teachers. However, from an organizational lens, some symptoms are side effects of teacher burnout that impact school success. When teachers deal with burnout leading to emotional instability or physical symptoms, they naturally become less satisfied with their job. The reduced job satisfaction and increased absences due to mental or physical health create economic costs for schools. The need to pay for subs, to train new staff due to teacher attrition, and to invest in interventions because of decreasing student performance can be directly tied to teacher burnout.
How to Prevent Teacher Burnout
When considering how to prevent teacher burnout, it is important to review the causes at your own school. It can be helpful to consider which elements could be reduced and which could be increased. As a small group or full staff, the factors can be examined to determine which elements can be addressed at the school or district level. With a final list of achievable steps in place, systems and procedures can be created to proactively prevent teacher burnout, as well as address the existing symptoms of chronic stress in school.
Causes of teacher burnout that could be considered for removal or reduction might include:
- Decreasing teacher workloads
- Number of classroom preparations, streamline emails, etc.
- Fewer additional roles and responsibilities
- Duties, after-school meetings, coverage, etc.
- Fewer meetings
- In elementary school, most teachers only have one planning period during the day.
- Decrease challenging student behaviors
- This should include ongoing disruptive behaviors as well as singular inappropriate choices.
- Realistic expectations for teacher availability to parents
Changes that could be implemented to combat teacher burnout might include:
- Increase teacher autonomy
- Allow teachers and teacher groups to have input on school decision-making.
- Opportunities for teacher agency
- Teachers should feel that they have a voice and choice in their own classrooms.
- Focus on meaningful work and professional development.
- The school vision should be clear and common so that the actions required of teachers have a purpose.
- Reliable administrative availability and support
- School leaders should be of service to teachers throughout the day.
- Ongoing expression of appreciation and recognition of teachers
- This should be authentic and specific so that it is meaningful.
- Availability of healthy options at school
- This could include water, snacks, or even a room for teachers to reset during the day.
- Build mindfulness into school culture.
- These practices will benefit staff and students.
- Intentional emphasis on “unplugging” after the school day
- Increased attention on sharing great work with the school community
- Building a bond between home and school will create partnerships with families.
Tips for School Leaders to Reduce Burnout
Reflect on Values and Model Stress-Reduction Practices
School leaders cannot solve all the causes of stress in education. However, they are in the most important position to enact changes to school practices and culture that can lead to decreased feelings of teacher burnout. Before school leaders can help others, they should take time to reflect on their own values and practices related to stress-reduction. Leaders have the responsibility to serve others and model the practices that they want to see in the school. If there is a lack of authenticity in interactions with teachers, efforts to reduce burnout could have the opposite effect.
Make Intentional and Transparent Leadership Decisions
Decisions made by a school leader or leadership team need to be intentional and consistent. There should not be an immediate rush to action without truly examining school structures and asking teachers for their input. Once a plan for change has been created, the leaders should be sure to clearly share the information they received, the plan they have developed, and the reason behind the decisions. When teachers are aware of what decisions have been made and why, they experience less uncertainty. Mental exhaustion is often the result of trying to complete work without a full understanding of the purpose.
Along with the development of an overarching plan for changes in a school, leaders can create as many opportunities as possible for teachers to make decisions for themselves that will benefit their students and their teacher teams. Teacher choice will increase feelings of self-worth and importance and lower potential apathy or anxiety. Leaders can relieve mental and emotional exhaustion by being visible and supportive. There is tremendous value in small ongoing interactions with teachers, rather than limiting face-to-face contact to meetings. More frequent exchanges will solidify the trust and relationships between teachers and leaders.
Although leaders will focus on methods to support staff directly, there are also benefits in improving student culture to impact positive change for teachers. This means leaders should also be visible to students and parents. Being able to share expectations for behaviors, and quickly react to negative choices will establish a culture wherein students understand their purpose at school and teachers feel valued. In order to lessen teacher burnout, school leaders should view the school as a whole when identifying areas for improvement.
Increase Teacher Choice and Agency
Along with the development of an overarching plan for changes in a school, leaders can create as many opportunities as possible for teachers to make decisions for themselves that will benefit their students and their teacher teams. Teacher choice will increase feelings of self-worth and importance and lower potential apathy or anxiety. Leaders can relieve mental and emotional exhaustion by being visible and supportive. There is tremendous value in small ongoing interactions with teachers, rather than limiting face-to-face contact to meetings. More frequent exchanges will solidify the trust and relationships between teachers and leaders.
Improve Student Culture to Support Teachers
Although leaders will focus on methods to support staff directly, there are also benefits in improving student culture to impact positive change for teachers. This means leaders should also be visible to students and parents. Being able to share expectations for behaviors, and quickly react to negative choices will establish a culture wherein students understand their purpose at school and teachers feel valued. In order to lessen teacher burnout, school leaders should view the school as a whole when identifying areas for improvement.
