In another paper, University of British Columbia researchers said that teachers experiencing higher burnout levels had students with higher morning cortisol levels. The researchers concluded that because teachers in close coworker relationships exhibited similar levels of burnout, their study “indeed demonstrated that burnout is-to some extent-contagious.” A Belgian study warned of “ burnout contagion ,” in which teachers can “catch” burnout from colleagues. Then I read two relatively splashy studies that crystallized what bothered me. Or, the researchers claimed, surprisingly specifically, that teachers cope “by maintaining a rigid classroom climate enforced by hostile and sometimes harsh measures bitterly working at a suboptimal level of performance until retirement.” Authors of a 2020 study concluded that, “as hypothesized,” students viewed teachers reporting higher levels of burnout as “significantly less socially and emotionally competent.”Īs I read those examples of teacher burnout literature, I was dogged by an unsettled feeling: While researchers mostly seemed sympathetic to teachers, their conclusions sometimes portrayed educators in a way I found disconcerting.

Pennsylvania State University researchers described a “burnout cascade” with “devastating effects on classroom relationships, management, and climate,” in which burned-out teachers become emotionally exhausted, can’t manage “troublesome student behaviors,” and quit. Penny, whom I followed for a year for the book, experienced all of these issues, as do many teachers.Ĭoverage of teacher stress and burnout often emphasizes the negative effects of teachers’ stress on students. But after interviewing hundreds of teachers nationwide for my book The Teachers: A Year Inside America’s Most Vulnerable, Important Profession, I believe “teacher burnout” is a myth-and the term should be ditched.Įxperts have identified several causes of teacher burnout, including inadequate workplace support and resources unmanageable workload high-stakes testing time pressure unsupported, disruptive students and a wide variety of student needs without the resources to meet them. The media often use the phrase “teacher burnout” to describe educators’ stress, exhaustion, and overwork. A joint American Federation of Teachers and Badass Teachers Association survey revealed that almost two-thirds of educators find work “always” or “often” stressful. Historically, teachers’ rates of “job strain,” stress from high demand/low control work, are higher than the average rate of all workers.

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