It’s important to recognize that stress and burnout are not the same thing. Stress is often short-term while burnout is chronic and more serious. The truth is that quick bursts of stress are situational and can actually be a healthy motivator, but when stress lingers because of ongoing problems, it can easily evolve into burnout. It’s also important to note that burnout at work does not typically stem from a personal failure but rather systemic issues that are born from misalignment within the culture. For example, when the expectations for outcomes are greater than the supports that are in place to reach them, the system is perpetuating a long-term stressful environment that leads to burnout. 

Educators are especially vulnerable to burnout because of limited resources, large caseloads of students, constant change, and the emotional labor associated with the job. For varying reasons, principals, counselors, teachers, and other support staff are all susceptible to burnout. And, although the profession is not naturally resistant to burnout, educators are not powerless against it. With the right strategies, a balanced approach, and a supportive environment, long-term stress and burnout are avoidable, and it starts with understanding the warning signs. 

The Warning Signs of Stress and Burnout

One of the clearest warning signs of burnout, which can be recognized through personal reflection as well as the supervision of others, is cynicism. When people have a diminished positive attitude or an outright negative one it’s likely a symptom of long-term stress that is manifesting as burnout. Skepticism, doubt, and distrust occur when people have hit their limit and react without the optimism that things are improving. In a strong culture where burnout is prevented, people are more likely to maintain a positive attitude about the work–including new initiatives–than within a culture that is demanding without grace. 

Another sign of burnout is exhaustion and reduced effectiveness. When people are tired because they’re overworked, mentally or physically, they aren’t at their best and can’t generate the results that they’re expected to produce. This becomes a vicious cycle of poor results, a feeling of failure, and continued ineffectiveness. Because educators want to be good at their jobs, when they can’t or aren’t, it can induce stress and subsequent burnout. 

Finally, burnout can have physical and mental signs as well. The inability to sleep, frequent illnesses, headaches, and other ailments can be signals. This also means that regular absences from work, especially when it becomes a common problem for the entire staff, can be an indicator for school leaders that something needs to change to support the team, which leads us to strategic solutions to mitigate stress and burnout for schools and districts. 

Systemic Solutions for School Leaders

School leaders can normalize conversations about mental health and the need for additional support for staff. A healthy environment starts with clear and candid regard for the well-being of the people. Social and emotional learning has been popularized for students, and similar strategies can be employed for educators so that they feel included as individuals and not just workers. Time and space for these conversations can be found at staff meetings and other gatherings where open dialogue about how people feel and what they need to be successful are taking place and responded to accordingly. 

School leaders can also exercise policies and practices that protect planning time, reduce unnecessary paperwork, and communicate the balance between professional autonomy and fidelity with implementation of programs. Planning time should be sacred and is often the number one reason why teachers feel burned out. Without the proper time to plan for teaching and learning, staff are not only left to plan on their own time but become less effective in their roles, exacerbating the problems with burnout. 

Paperwork is a necessary aspect of any educator’s responsibilities, but unnecessary, redundant, or unimportant paperwork should be limited or eliminated. Sending the message that we value educator’s time and that paperwork is being paired back to only the essential documentation goes a long way to save people from burnout. 

Finally, full autonomy is not realistic, but when teachers know where they have room to identify and adapt strategies, lessons, and resources makes a difference for how they feel about their own professionalism as decision-makers at work. These solutions occur at the system level for principals, superintendents, and other supervisors who have immediate control over what’s expected from staff, but that doesn’t mean that staff can’t help themselves with personal policies and practices to avoid burnout. 

Strategies for Personal Use

It’s critical to set personal boundaries to maintain a work-life fit. Balance is not always achievable but “fit” can matter when the hours are long and the expectations are high. Trying to cram all of the work into planning periods and short spurts of individual time can increase stress versus helping to ease the burden. “Progress over perfection” is the best mantra for effective educators who give themselves the grace of not having the highest standards for each aspect of the job yet maintaining a personal best. What are the 20% of items that are yielding 80% of the results? That’s where our focus and attention should be, not in being perfect at all aspects of the work. 

Micro-habits can also be a life-saver, such as using meditation, breathing exercises, short walks, and candid debriefs to share feelings can all make a significant difference in our personal experiences and connections with others at work. This isn’t an invitation to complain openly but rather the development of a few easy-to-use strategies that help to manage stress so that it doesn’t become a chronic problem. Stress is inevitable; burnout is not. We all have a role to play in establishing routines that prevent burnout for ourselves.

Conclusion: You Can’t Pour From an Empty Cup

No one can pour from an empty cup, which means that we must develop ourselves to establish the capacity to handle stress at work so that it doesn’t become burnout. Educators can become disenfranchised by professional development that doesn’t meet their personal needs without evaluating their own responsibilities to engage with learning that can expand their ability to do the job well and without the distraction of stress and burnout. 

Of course, systemic changes are needed and school culture matters for any successful teaching and learning to take place, but that doesn’t mean that educators should allow their mental health to be at the whims of the school or district. While school leaders make incremental and sweeping changes to the profession so that fewer educators are burning out, we can all manage our stress to become healthier in a way that allows us to support students and their futures after graduation. It takes physically, emotionally, and mentally strong educators to raise a community of learners with success, and no one can pour from an empty cup.

If you feel like you may be suffering from burnout, reach out to a qualified health professional for support. 

If you want to talk about school leadership, maintaining a successful culture, and finding ways to save time and streamline systems, reach out to set up a time.