Support from management can prevent teacher burnout

Workload and management support are more are more influential in helping teachers cope with the demands of the profession than their personal characteristics, new research suggests.

Academics at Manchester Metropolitan University found that the resilience of teachers was influenced more by external factors – such as how a school is run and its culture – than internal and personal factors, such as lack of confidence.

Manchester Metropolitan researchers Dr Steph Ainsworth, from the Faculty of Education, and Dr Jeremy Oldfield, from the Faculty of Health, Psychology and Social Care, asked teachers to rate their levels of wellbeing, burnout and job satisfaction.

The teachers rated this alongside individual factors such as empathy, self-belief and optimism, and environmental factors such as school culture, workload and relationships with management and colleagues.

The study – which surveyed 226 teachers in the UK – suggests that environmental factors usually play a greater role than individual characteristics in terms of their impact on how teachers experience their role.

Dr Steph Ainsworth, Senior Lecturer, said: “The three outcome measures were chosen because high levels of wellbeing and job satisfaction, and low levels of burnout are indicators of positive adaptation in teachers. These outcomes reflect the degree to which teachers are either thriving, surviving, or leaving the profession.

“If we are to support teachers in ‘thriving not just surviving’ we need to ensure that teachers are not only protected from burnout, but that they are also satisfied and well.”

More than 72% of the variation in teachers’ levels of job satisfaction and 61% of the variation in teacher burnout was attributed to environmental factors – positive support from management was seen to be the biggest factor, while workload and school culture were also found to be very important.

For wellbeing, environmental and individual factors were found to be equally important.

Dr Ainsworth added: “The environmental factors impacting on levels of wellbeing, burnout and job satisfaction can all be manipulated at the school level and are essential to improve the lives of teachers, sustain motivation and provide an effective learning environment for their pupils.

“Positive adaptation to the workplace – or lack of – has an indirect effect on pupils, with satisfied and well teachers creating happier and more productive classrooms.”

The researchers say the findings also have important implications for how we think about what it means to be a resilient teacher.