According to Sherri Bourg Carter, Psy D., burnout can be caused by prolonged stress that can stem from working long hours, pressure to perform, heavy workload and lack of support from management or peers. In the education world, this often equates to the mixture of changing standards and high-stakes standardized testing. The stress that is put on teachers is at an all-time high. In order to succeed in the field of teaching and keep a level head, teachers must identify the signs of teacher burnout and do all that they can to curb it.
The signs of teacher burnout can resemble the signs of stress, though burnout is typically a much more debilitating experience in comparison. While many teachers experience stress or even prolonged stress, the signs of burnout are vastly different. Consider the following to compare the signs of burnout versus stress.
Signs of stress are similar to signs of burnout in many ways, but it may be said that burnout takes stress symptoms to the extreme. For individuals that have experienced burnout, they will often refer to it as “hopeless” and mention that they do not feel competent or capable at their profession.