What makes teaching a high-stress profession?

Teaching has always been the most challenging job. Supporting others to learn is not that easy. Because it’s not just a matter of assimilating and developing knowledge, but it’s also crammed with emotional experiences that can have lifetime impacts.

Research carried out in several countries has revealed that in the teaching profession there have been many casualties of stress, anxiety, and depression (Ryan et al., 2017; Von der Embse et al., 2019).

Still, teachers’ productivity remains the key to students’ success.  Productivity is not just a matter of having the right mix of skills, and abilities but the motivation and potentialities are also necessary for achieving the predetermined goal of the institutions/schools (Purcell, Kinnie, Hutchinson, Rayton and Swart, 2003)

However, the work environment affects teachers’ morale, productivity, and engagement- both positively and negatively.

Research evidence affirms that teachers with a good working environment develop more confidence and feel less at risk, while at the same time acquiring motivation for entrepreneurial activity (Adelakun,2011).

Indeed, to support students’ learning, teachers need genuine appreciation and emotional support from the administrators. They need to feel heard, valued and supported no matter what school issues they face.

Therefore, an essential role of the school leadership is to boost teachers’ morale and well-being by listening to their concerns and experimenting with the “new” to find solutions instead of leaving it all for teachers to figure out on their own.

We face a lot of issues daily that can harm our health and well-being: verbal abuse from students, and even physical threats, and parents’ lack of respect.

We can’t put up with all that. Administrators’ help is required to make us safe.

Besides, instead of draining teachers’ energy on unnecessary stuff like meetings, duties, and standardized tests, administrators need to give teachers time to work, rest, and self-care.

Teachers also need to feel trusted and encouraged to make choices, bring new ideas, and create. This will enhance their self-esteem, motivate them to grow, and fuel their passion to do better everyday.

So, we are not the sole ones responsible for students’ success and learning progress. Our well-being and productivity are dependent on the working conditions: the facilities, and the kind of administrative support we have.

Why are more teachers leaving the job?

Teachers leaving the profession is not something new. Burnout, low pay, dissatisfaction with school and district leadership, and other working conditions have always been an issue with teacher retention.

According to Richard M. Ingersoll (researcher at the University of Pennsylvania), in the 2012 Education Week article “Beginning Teacher Induction: What the Data Tell Us,” noted that between 40% and 50% of new teachers leave the profession within the first five years.

Further, attrition rates for first-year teachers have jumped by about one-third in the past 20 years. This rate is higher in comparison to other professions such as lawyers, engineers, architects, professors, pharmacists, and nurses.

However, With the unprecedented circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic teacher stress and burnout have increased from repeated and long-term disruptions to school routines.

Studies have pointed out that during the lockdown, teachers have suffered stress from having to adapt (in record time) to provide online classes (Besser et al., 2020).

This stress has often been accompanied by symptoms of anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance as a consequence of the increased workload resulting from home teaching (Ng, 2007).

Coming back from the shutdown, teachers had to cover extra classes for quarantined colleagues and all the other associated tasks, so taking more work home.

They had to remind students to wear their masks, work with unvaccinated children, and deal with the abuse from parents and lack of support from the administration.

For instance, in the USA, in a January 2022 poll of members of the country’s largest teacher union, the National Education Association, 55% of educators said the pandemic has made them more likely to leave the teaching profession earlier than they had planned.

Similarly, in the UK 2021, a survey found nearly 60% of school teachers in Jersey considered leaving their jobs in the past year. Teachers reported always or often feeling “stressed or anxious” since the pandemic began. This had a negative impact on their work-life balance.

So, teacher shortage and retention issues have always existed. But, COVID-19 and its related stress and shutdowns made things worse. Teachers have no energy to handle stress at work.

Should you leave teaching?

A lot is being said about becoming a solopreneur or teacher preneur. Working from home, teaching online, blogging about teaching or other topics, selling TpT products, etc.

You can earn more money from your online business and feel the freedom and comfort of working from home.

But, should you just leave teaching and simply take the leap?

The answer is: no!

Even if you are dissatisfied with your current teaching position, do not leave teaching and start your own business.

So, don’t approach it with a do-or-die mental attitude.

Why?

Because you’re not going to make money overnight. You need to pour so much time, effort, and energy into building your business, and be more passionate and dedicated to growing it into a profitable one.

Having long-term goals and doing the work consistently every day (at least 60 minutes) can help you get there.

So, don’t leave your current job, but use it as investment capital to grow your business (paying for hosting services, plugins, courses, etc.).

The moment your business starts paying your bills and other expenses, that’s the moment you can go all in.

To learn more about what kinds of job opportunities you can consider while you’re currently teaching, read these posts:

More Job Opportunities for Educators

8 Best Online Jobs for Teachers

I wish you all the Best.

References

Adelakun, O.J.(2011).Human Capital Development and Economic Growth in Nigeria. European Journal of Business and Management.3 (9)5-8.

Besser, A., Lotem, S., and Zeigler-Hill, V. (2020). Psychological Stress and Vocal Symptoms Among University Professors in Israel: Implications of the Shift to Online Synchronous Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic. J. Voice Official J. Voice Foundat. S0892-1997, 30190–30199. DOI: 10.1016/j.jvoice.2020.05.028

Ng, K. C. (2007). Replacing face-to-face tutorials by synchronous online technologies: Challenges and pedagogical implications. Int. Rev. Res. Open Distrib. Learning 8:335.

Purcell, J., Kinnie, N., Hutchinson, S., Rayton, B. & Swart, J. (2003). Understanding the People and Performance Link Unlocking the Black Box. London: CIPD,56.

Ryan, S. V., Nathaniel, P., Pendergast, L. L., Saeki, E., Segool, N., and Schwing, S. (2017). Leaving the teaching profession: The role of teacher stress and educational accountability policies on turnover intent. Teaching Teacher Educ. 66, 1–11. DOI: 10.1016/j.tate.2017.03.016

Von der Embse, N., Ryan, S. V., Gibbs, T., and Mankin, A. (2019). Teacher stress interventions: a systematic review. Psychol. Schools 56, 1328–1343.