Burnout in the teaching profession: a look at exhaustion, occupational health, and performance
Keywords:
Teacher burnout, occupational exhaustion, occupational health, teacher performance, preventionAbstract
Teacher burnout has evolved from a problem primarily associated with professional fatigue into a major challenge affecting educators’ health, career sustainability, and the quality of educational processes. This study aimed to analyze burnout in the teaching profession by examining its relationships with occupational exhaustion, physical and psychological health, and professional performance. A qualitative documentary review of studies published between 2021 and 2026 was conducted, integrating systematic reviews, meta-analyses, longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, bibliometric research, and institutional sources. The findings indicate that persistent occupational stress, excessive workload, employment precarity, administrative demands, and unfavorable organizational conditions increase teachers’ vulnerability to burnout. Its consequences extend beyond emotional exhaustion and include impaired physical and psychological health, persistent fatigue, reduced work ability, diminished professional engagement, turnover intentions, and forms of occupational withdrawal such as quiet quitting. Furthermore, its effects may extend to classroom functioning and certain academic, social-behavioral, and executive-function outcomes among students. The evidence indicates that a positive organizational climate, institutional support, employment stability, appropriate workload management, early identification, and access to occupational health resources are fundamental components of prevention. It is concluded that addressing teacher burnout requires moving beyond interventions focused exclusively on individual resilience toward a shared institutional responsibility. Protecting teachers’ health is therefore essential to maintaining a stable, engaged, and effective teaching profession capable of sustaining high-quality education.
Downloads
References
Agyapong, B., Obuobi-Donkor, G., Burback, L., & Wei, Y. (2022). Stress, Burnout, Anxiety and Depression among Teachers: A Scoping Review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(17), 10706. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710706
Alsalhe, T. A., Chalghaf, N., Guelmami, N., Azaiez, F., & Bragazzi, N. L. (2021). Occupational burnout prevalence and its determinants among physical education teachers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 15, 553230. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2021.553230
Beutel, T., Koestner, C., Wild, P. S., Münzel, T., Beutel, M. E., Lackner, K. J., Pfeiffer, N., Nübling, M., Becker, J., & Letzel, S. (2023). Burnout, self-rated general health and life satisfaction among teachers and other academic occupational groups. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 1209995. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1209995
Cahill, B. (2025). Teacher burnout: What it is, key statistics, symptoms, and prevention strategies. Discovery Education. https://www.discoveryeducation.com/blog/educational-leadership/teacher-burnout/
Calin, F. M., Tasenţe, T., & Seucea, A. (2022). The effects of burnout on the professional activity of teachers. Technium Social Sciences Journal, 34, 430–440. https://doi.org/10.47577/tssj.v34i1.7156
Dilekçi, Ü., Kaya, A., & Çiçek, İ. (2025). Occupational stress, burnout, and change fatigue as predictors of quiet quitting among teachers. Acta Psychologica, 254, 104812. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.104812
Hlado, P., Juhaňák, L., & Harvankova, K. (2025). The roles of burnout, self-rated health, and teacher self-efficacy in fostering perceived teacher work ability. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12, 1263. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05603-3
Li, X., Xu, H., Zhang, J., & Cao, X. (2025). The relationship between occupational stress and burnout among primary and secondary school physical education teachers: evidence from multiverse-style analysis and diary method. BMC psychology, 13(1), 1003. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03351-2
Madigan, D. J., Kim, L. E., Glandorf, H. L., & Kavanagh, O. (2023). Teacher burnout and physical health: A systematic review. International Journal of Educational Research, 119, 102173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2023.102173
Marić, N., Mandić-Rajčević, S., Maksimović, N., & Bulat, P. (2022). Occupational burnout among teachers: is it seasonal?. Arhiv za higijenu rada i toksikologiju, 73(3), 233–240. https://doi.org/10.2478/aiht-2022-73-3582
Mijakoski, D., Cheptea, D., Marca, S. C., Shoman, Y., Caglayan, C., Bugge, M. D., Gnesi, M., Godderis, L., Kiran, S., McElvenny, D. M., Mediouni, Z., Mesot, O., Minov, J., Nena, E., Otelea, M., Pranjic, N., Mehlum, I. S., van der Molen, H. F., & Canu, I. G. (2022). Determinants of burnout among teachers: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(9), 5776. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095776
Ntouka, E., Antonopoulou, H., Rekka, E., Gkintoni, E., & Halkiopoulos, C. (2026). Employment precarity as an organizational determinant of teacher burnout and mental health: Validation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey among Greek primary education teachers. Societies, 16(2), 52. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc16020052
Oliveira, S., Roberto, M. S., Veiga-Simão, A. M., & Marques-Pinto, A. (2026). Addressing teacher occupational health in challenging times: The role of a positive organizational climate in buffering teachers’ burnout. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 23(1), 42. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23010042
Räsänen, K., Pietarinen, J., Soini, T., Väisänen, P., & Pyhältö, K. (2022). Experienced risk of burnout among teachers with persistent turnover intentions. Teacher Development, 26(3), 317–337. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2022.2055629
Springer, A., Oleksa-Marewska, K., Basińska-Zych, A., Werner, I., & Białowąs, S. (2023). Occupational burnout and chronic fatigue in the work of academic teachers-moderating role of selected health behaviours. PloS one, 18(1), e0280080. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280080
Stephens, C., Pianta, R. C., Whittaker, J. E., & Vitiello, V. E. (2026). Links between teachers’ occupational burnout and students’ academic, social-behavioral, and executive function performance from preschool through first grade. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 76, 468–479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2026.04.011
Vyletel, B., Voichoski, E., Lipson, S., & Heinze, J. (2023, August 31). Exploring faculty burnout through the 2022–23 HMS faculty/staff survey. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psychology-teacher-network/introductory-psychology/faculty-burnout-survey
Walker, T. (2025, April 7). What’s causing teacher burnout? National Education Association. https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/whats-causing-teacher-burnout
Yao, J., & Abdullah, M. N. L. Y. (2025). Five decades of teacher burnout research (1970–2024): A comprehensive bibliometric analysis. Acta Psychologica, 259, 105318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105318
Yingying, S., Omar, M. K., & Ismail, N. (2025). Job stress and burnout among lecturers: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 1673812. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1673812
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ebrahim Aghaei
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in Revista UGC agree to the following terms:
1. Copyright
Authors retain unrestricted copyright to their work. Authors grant the journal the right of first publication. To this end, they assign the journal non-exclusive exploitation rights (reproduction, distribution, public communication, and transformation). Authors may enter into additional agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal, provided that acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal is given.
© The authors.
2. License
The articles are published in the journal under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). The terms can be found at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en
This license allows:
- Sharing: Copying and redistributing the material in any medium or format.
- Adapting: Remixing, transforming, and building upon the material.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if any changes were made. You may do this in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses or sponsors your use.
- NonCommercial: You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- ShareAlike: If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your creation under the same license as the original work.
There are no additional restrictions. You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
