“At Some Point We're Going to Reach Our Limit”: Understanding COVID‐19's impact on teacher burnout and subjective mental health

Abstract

Teachers have faced a variety of challenges since the onset of COVID‐19 in the spring of 2020, including increased workloads, a range of modalities, and COVID‐19 protocols. The challenges associated with teaching during the COVID‐19 pandemic have led to increased burnout and stress, as well as diminished well‐being and mental health in teachers. This study seeks to explore teacher burnout and subjective mental health from the start of the pandemic to the end of the 2020–21 school year. To better understand teachers' experiences during this time, we conducted a nationwide survey (n = 302) with teachers between May and June 2021, as well as four focus groups and four one‐on‐one interviews in the fall of 2021. Results suggest that teachers' subjective mental health, morale, and work‐life balance have significantly declined since the beginning of the pandemic. Teachers reported feeling anxious and burned out from teaching due to greater workloads and decreased support from administrators and parents. We conclude by discussing the implications of teacher subjective mental health and burnout and offer suggestions for better supporting teachers, practitioners, and their mental well‐being.

Teacher Morale and Mental Health at the Conclusion of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The current study's findings align with previous work on teacher well-being and the role of administrative support [12][13][14]. Specifically, the low teacher morale is unsurprising as Marshall et al [15] found teachers had lower morale at the end of the 2020-2021 school year. What is concerning is that the current findings suggest the low morale has continued through another school year.…”

“…Several factors were considered when developing the survey used to answer this study's research questions. Research we had conducted during the pandemic prior to this study suggested that teachers' workloads, stress levels, and burnout were elevated during the crisis [6,11,15]. Additional studies echoed similar findings [7,13,25,54,55].…”

“…The results of this exploratory study suggest that teachers' experienced low levels of morale and mental health at the conclusion of the 2021-2022 school year. A similar survey was conducted at the conclusion of the 2020-2021 school year [15]. In that study, the researchers similarly operationalized teacher morale [56] and found that 29.5% of teachers reported low levels of morale, compared to 53.6% in May 2022-an 82% increase over the span of a single year.…”

“…Other studies conducted throughout the pandemic found increased teacher anxiety and depression [12][13][14]. This had an overall impact on teacher well-being and led to lower morale and life-work balance by the end of the 2020-2021 school year [15]. However, some teachers found ways to limit the mental strain.…”

“…Enforcing safety protocols and additional pressure to raise student achievement were just two of the requirements and expectations put on teachers' shouders. Survey research conducted at the conclusion of the 2021-2022 school year found that 29.5% of teachers reported having low levels of morale [15]. As such, it is important to understand the toll that teaching during the pandemic had on teachers' morale and mental health.…”