I'm a teacher. I’m burned out. What can I do?
As the third year of the global COVID-19 pandemic gets underway, workers everywhere are exhausted. Many frontline workers, in particular—including teachers, healthcare workers, retail associates, restaurant workers, and truckers —are feeling underappreciated, undervalued, or simply burned out.
At Empower Work, we regularly talk with teachers who find themselves overwhelmed and depleted. Many of the educators reaching out to us share that they love teaching, but they are struggling with poor management, insufficient pay, and constantly-changing COVID-related conditions. Teachers are beyond exhausted.
If this is your experience, know you’re not the only one—and we have tools to support you.
Teachers aren’t okay
Teachers have been juggling a lot for the past few years: navigating remote and in-person learning, responding to changing masking and testing requirements, managing stressed parents, and attempting to ensure their students are learning on top of all of it.
“We’re risking our health to get paid.”
With the return to in-person learning and significant drop in masking requirements in districts across the nation, many teachers are still concerned for their own physical health. COVID, after all, has not gone away.
One teacher, who reached out to Empower Work after starting at a new school, shared:
“During my interview, I stressed that I am an avid follower of CDC guidelines[...but] my new employer is NOT following guidelines... I’m afraid of catching COVID again.”
When your employer doesn't respect safety measures or seem to care about your health, it’s easy to feel like you’re not being valued. Even when official safety measures are being followed, perhaps you’d rather have a higher level of caution—and it can be isolating and disorienting to feel like you’re the only one who’s worried.
This can feel especially frustrating in cases when the school leaders who are making health and safety decisions, such as principals and superintendents, are not at risk themselves. As another teacher shared:
"We do not get any answers as to why it’s okay for the supervisor to be home safe and getting paid while some of us have to be at work in order to get paid during all of this COVID outbreak."
No one should have to choose between their health and a paycheck. Unfortunately, many teachers—like other frontline workers—are facing that exact choice.
“It’s always an uphill battle.”
In addition to health concerns related to COVID, many teachers are struggling with frustration, exhaustion, and burnout—and noticing it not just in themselves, but also in one another.
One teacher recently shared:
“I work with another teacher, she just shouted at me over frustration due to a class issue and told me to quit my job.”
Another shared:
“I love so many things about teaching, but it's always an uphill battle.”
It’s tough to go to work every day when it feels like a struggle, especially if it hasn’t always been that way. And when everyone is struggling, there is much less capacity for patience and grace for your fellow teachers and co-workers—which can make a bad situation even more toxic.
“My job has gotten increasingly exhausting.”
The cumulative stress of the past few years is impacting everyone. One of the most concerning trends we’ve heard from teachers is that of bone-deep exhaustion, of an emotional well run dry, and of feeling like there’s nowhere left to turn.
One teacher shared how they’ve had to pull back in other parts of their life to still teach:
“I have been an elementary teacher for almost 20 years. I am very good at my job and love teaching children[... but] my job has gotten increasingly exhausting. I am worn out most days and I've cut out all the extra life stuff just to have enough energy to teach.”
Another teacher shared a similar sentiment:
“Every year, my anxiety and general mental health seem to get worse and worse, despite professional and personal improvements… And after this past year, I don't have the emotional resilience.”
If you feel your well has completely run dry, that could be a sign of burnout. Signs of burnout include feeling critical, disillusioned, or irritable, struggling to sleep or concentrate, or being unable to find motivation or purpose where you once could.
In a January 2022 survey by the National Education Association, 90% of respondents reported that educator burnout is a serious issue. In the same survey, 91% of respondents said general stress from the pandemic is a serious issue. More than half of respondents indicated they’re likely to leave education sooner than planned because of the pandemic.
This has huge implications—for schools, teachers, students, families, and society as a whole.
Managing stress, exhaustion, and burnout
If you’re a teacher feeling frustrated, undervalued, or burned out at work, you certainly know you’re not alone. Teacher burnout is a systemic issue. The National Education Association offers some suggestions to address educator burnout on a structural level—raising salaries, hiring more teachers, and providing additional mental/behavioral support for students all rise to the top.
Yet if you’re a teacher just trying to make it through the day, it may be useful to focus on more tangible things that are within your direct control.
Here are a few ways to start:
Be honest about how you’re doing. Acknowledging that you’re struggling is the first step towards making a change. This can be uncomfortable, especially since you may feel inclined to only focus on your students. For people in “helping professions” like teaching, understanding your own needs, limits, and emotions is an important first step. You can’t pour from an empty cup.
Determine where you have agency. There’s probably a lot that’s not within your control, but there very likely are some small shifts you can make. Consider how you might practice both self-soothing and self-care. Learn to help your body physically process the stress you’re experiencing by completing the stress cycle.
Seek support. You don’t have to go through this alone. Try talking with a fellow teacher, or a mentor, or a friend or other loved one, and share how you’re feeling. Or, text a trained Empower Work peer counselor at 510-674-1414. Our text line is confidential, free and powered by peer counselors who can provide support.
We’ve heard from a number of educators who are considering leaving the profession entirely. If this is something you’re exploring, here are a few resources that might help inform your thought process:
Empower Work can help
As a teacher, you are in a job that has already changed countless lives for the better. If you’re feeling undervalued or underappreciated in your work—especially after all you’ve done to hold it together these past two years—it’s just not okay. Empower Work is here to help.
Empower Work peer counselors are trained to help you reflect on your current situation, explore possibilities, and brainstorm what steps will help you move forward. If you text us at 510-674-1414 or chat online, here’s what to expect:
We listen. We ask what’s going on, how it’s impacting you, and what’s at stake.
We help you identify what you want. We help you look at your options, figure out what’s within your control, and get unstuck.
We make an action plan. We brainstorm next steps together and help you identify specific actions you can take.
We hope you reach out to us today.
Feeling undervalued at work right now?
*Note: Empower Work provides non-legal support for workplace challenges. This information, while authoritative, is not legal advice or guaranteed for legality. Employment laws and regulations vary by state. We recommend consulting with state resources for specific interpretation and decisions. If you believe you were discriminated against in violation of the law, we recommend you seek legal advice.
