Economic Hardship and Teachers’ Burnout Levels in Greece

Purpose -To identify the specific sources of occupational stress and the professional burnout experienced by teachers working in Greek primary and secondary schools. A special emphasis is given to gender and age differences. Design/methodology/approach -A cross-sectional design was used. Two self-report measures were administered to a sample of 493 primary and secondary school teachers, a self-report rating scale of specific occupational stressors and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (education version). Findings -The most highly rated sources of stress referred to problems in interaction with students, lack of interest, low attainment and handling students with "difficult" behaviour. Female teachers experienced significantly higher levels of occupational stress, specifically with regard to interaction with students and colleagues, workload, students' progress and emotional exhaustion. Younger teachers experienced higher levels of burnout, specifically in terms of emotional exhaustion and disengagement from the profession, while older teachers experienced higher levels of stress in terms of the support they feel they receive from the government. Practical implications -The findings will help to implement effective primary and secondary level prevention programmes against occupational stress taking into account how males and females and younger and older teachers perceive stress at work. Originality/value -The study is a significant addition to the teacher stress and burnout literature, especially in Greece where few relevant studies exist dealing with these problems.

Journal of Managerial Psychology, 2006

Purpose-To identify the specific sources of occupational stress and the professional burnout experienced by teachers working in Greek primary and secondary schools. A special emphasis is given to gender and age differences. Design/methodology/approach-A cross-sectional design was used. Two self-report measures were administered to a sample of 493 primary and secondary school teachers, a self-report rating scale of specific occupational stressors and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (education version). Findings-The most highly rated sources of stress referred to problems in interaction with students, lack of interest, low attainment and handling students with "difficult" behaviour. Female teachers experienced significantly higher levels of occupational stress, specifically with regard to interaction with students and colleagues, workload, students' progress and emotional exhaustion. Younger teachers experienced higher levels of burnout, specifically in terms of emotional exhaustion and disengagement from the profession, while older teachers experienced higher levels of stress in terms of the support they feel they receive from the government. Practical implications-The findings will help to implement effective primary and secondary level prevention programmes against occupational stress taking into account how males and females and younger and older teachers perceive stress at work. Originality/value-The study is a significant addition to the teacher stress and burnout literature, especially in Greece where few relevant studies exist dealing with these problems.

The purpose of the present study was to examine perceived levels of burnout and job satisfaction of Greek early educators, across public and private sector. One hundred and seventy eight childhood educators participated in the study. 108 were working in the public sector, 67 in private sector, whereas three did not respond. Participants were administered the Employees Satisfaction Inventory (ESI, Koustelios and Bagiatis, 1997) and the emotional exhaustion subscale of the Maslach’s Burnout Inventory (MBI, Maslach and Jackson, 1986). Results showed that early educators experienced moderate levels of emotional exhaustion. Public sector early educators were more satisfied from the job itself and their immediate supervisor than their counterparts in the private sector. Regression analysis showed that job satisfaction facets which contributed to early educators’ burnout varied as a function of their workplace. In particular, satisfaction from the nature of the job and working conditions negatively contributed to the prediction of public sector early educators’ emotional exhaustion levels. On the other hand, increased levels of satisfaction from the nature of the job and immediate supervisor were associated with reduced private sector early educators’ emotional exhaustion levels.

The aim of the study was to identify profiles of burnout in Greek school teachers and to investigate the contribution of coping strategies and daily stressors in burnout differences. A total of 1447 primary and secondary school teachers participated in the study. They completed the " Maslach Burnout Inventory " (version for teachers) (Maslach & Jackson, 1986), the " Ways of Coping Questionnaire " (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) and the " Teachers' Professional Stress Questionnaire " (Mouzoura, 2005). Cluster analysis showed three groups of teachers as regards burnout, daily stressors and coping strategies. The first cluster comprised teachers with high job stressors, maladaptive coping strategies, high levels of depersonalization and emotional exhaustion, and low levels of personal accomplishment. Teachers in the second cluster reported moderate to high levels of personal accomplishments and emotional exhaustion, whereas teachers in the third cluster were characterized by relative low levels of burnout. The findings of the study are discussed.

Journal of Research Initiatives, Vol. 3, No. 1, Article 1, 2017

Work-related stress and burnout is a reality in modern society, because the lack of time and the high work demands seem increasingly intensified. Thus, the study of working conditions and the factors that affect the physical and mental health becomes even more imperative. Professions that are particularly stressful are those where there is daily contact with people, for example, doctors, nurses, social workers, or school leaders. Besides administrative and official duties, modern principals perform additional functions such as the organization and management of schools, the coordination of people who are involved in the teaching and operational process and they intervene to reform and upgrade the work of their schools. In addition, they must have skills like cooperation ability, be knowledgeable in the psychology of individuals and groups, have perceptual and observation ability, administrative imagination and energy, have managerial experience and solid scientific training. Since burnout is the result of chronic work-related stress, the purpose of this study is to record the specific factors that create professional stress to school leaders and their correlation with burnout and other features, like gender or experience. This study has been conducted in a number of primary-education schools of a central region in Greece, where generally there are no monitoring practices followed, concerning the work stress of educators and their relevant support. Thus, it is perceived as a prerequisite for the designing of any supportive services and activities, if necessary.

European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education

The level of occupational burnout (OB) and job satisfaction (JS) was investigated in primary school teachers (n = 125) in the region of Epirus in Northwestern Greece. Teachers exhibited a high level of emotional exhaustion (EE), a medium level of depersonalization (DP), and a lack of personal accomplishment (PA). In our study, EE, which is a significant component of OB, varied according to intrinsic and extrinsic JS parameters. Teachers were less satisfied and more stressed with extrinsic job characteristics of their job, such as working conditions and working hours. Female teachers were more likely to exhibit increased satisfaction from intrinsic job characteristics, whereas male teachers were more likely to exhibit increased emotional exhaustion and lack of personal accomplishment. Job satisfaction had a significant negative impact on emotional exhaustion. Job satisfaction accounted (EE = 47.173 − 3.527*JS) for 35.1% of the total variation in the dependent variation of EE (F(1124)...

The article briefly presents the results of empirical research on the level of emotional burnout among secondary school teachers. A definition of emotional burnout syndrome describes the characteristics of emotional burnout of teachers as representatives of a socially significant profession. Researchers note the changing role of teachers in the modern period. The new educational situation in Bulgaria, due to the modernization of the Bulgarian society and processes of globalization, requires a change in the personal and professional qualities of the teacher, in his social and professional position in society. The questionnaire "Diagnosis of occupational burnout" by K. Maslach, S. Jackson,-MBI-GS (Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey) was used. Respondents are classified by age, gender, position held and seniority in the specialty. Charts showing the level of mental exhaustion of pedagogic specialists from a high school in a large city are presented. Empirical research covers the three stages of Burnout syndrome: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, reduction of personal achievements. Recommendations and a conclusion are made from the obtained results.

International Journal of Innovative Research in Education

This research aims to identify the role of school principals in burnout and job satisfaction of Greek teachers that are working in both primary and secondary education. The aim was covered through quantitative research with a structured and online distributed questionnaire used as the main research tool. The research participants were 155 schoolteachers coming from primary and secondary Greek school units. They were collected by using convenience sampling and the avalanche method. For the distribution of the questionnaire, the Google Forms platform was used, and for the statistical analysis. The main research results showed that transactional and transformational leadership are more implemented in Greek schools, than laissez-faire leadership style. Teachers’ levels of job burnout are positively affected by laissez-faire leadership and negatively affected by the two positive leadership styles. On the contrary, transformational, and transactional leadership has a positive impact on jo...

Burnout is a psychological syndrome, stemming as a response to chronic interpersonal jobs stressors, characterized by three principal dimensions: Exhaustion (the state of depletion of the individual’s emotional and physical resources due to the difficulties in facing customers’ demands); Depersonalization (the negative, off-putting and extremely distant reaction to diverse facets of the job); reduced Personal Accomplishment (referring to reduced self-esteem concerning competence, achievement and productivity at work). (Maslach and Jackson, 1981). The stream of reforms that has recently changed the Italian School, by favoring educational deregulation and increasing levels of autonomy for school boards, has increased Burnout levels among school teachers, who may feel thorn between their internal expectations (personal beliefs, motivations and professional style) and the external pressures emerging not only from students, but also from a more and more demanding school organization, ori...

Merits, 2023

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

2006

The purpose of the present study was to examine perceived levels of burnout and job satisfaction of Greek early educators, across public and private sector. One hundred and seventy eight childhood educators participated in the study. 108 were working in the public sector, 67 in private sector, whereas three did not respond. Participants were administered the Employees Satisfaction Inventory (ESI, Koustelios and Bagiatis, 1997) and the emotional exhaustion subscale of the Maslach's Burnout Inventory (MBI, Maslach and Jackson, 1986). Results showed that early educators experienced moderate levels of emotional exhaustion. Public sector early educators were more satisfied from the job itself and their immediate supervisor than their counterparts in the private sector. Regression analysis showed that job satisfaction facets which contributed to early educators' burnout varied as a function of their workplace. In particular, satisfaction from the nature of the job and working conditions negatively contributed to the prediction of public sector early educators' emotional exhaustion levels. On the other hand, increased levels of satisfaction from the nature of the job and immediate supervisor were associated with reduced private sector early educators' emotional exhaustion levels.

Asian journal of education and social studies, 2021

Contemporary and very intense pace of life and work has highlighted the importance of studying burnout syndrome that is currently used to describe a wide range of jobs and occupations. The purpose of the research is to examine the perceptions of primary education teachers about the reasons that cause burnout, as well as the measures taken by the principal in order to cope it. The research was carried out between February 2019 and April 2019 with the method of an anonymous self-completing questionnaire. All teachers working in school units, regardless of their specialty, were selected from the schools belonging to the Regional Unit of Kavala in Greece. A number was assigned to each unit, which was then recorded in a statistical table. From this table, 30 numbers were randomly selected representing 30 different schools, irrespective of their location and organisation. The sample of the research consists of 324 Primary Education teachers. The findings revealed that teachers do not feel particularly professionally exhausted or emotionally exhausted due to their profession, but instead they feel creative, believe that their goals are achieved and are willing to carry out their educational work-duty. Furthermore, as far as the feeling of personal

British Journal of Educational Psychology, 2007

Background. Teachers' work overload has been the subject of intense research, and the results of these studies show that a substantial proportion of teachers perceive their job as very stressful.

2015

Problem Statement: In the present educational perception, teachers are expected to fulfill many roles, such as becoming role models for students, guiding them, teaching them to learn and instilling democratic attitudes and values within them. In addition, teachers should be in collaboration with the school administration, colleagues, parents and other stakeholders for effective teaching and learning. While fulfilling these roles, teachers should make a conscientious effort not to reflect their personal problems onto their relationships in schools, and should try to behave in compliance with formal and informal norms as professionals. However, it is possible to predict that the regulation of emotions may have a negative impact on teachers in terms of their psychology. Burnout can be described as one of those impacts. Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this research is to determine the relationship between teachers‟ emotional labor and burnout level. Method: The sample for this surv...

3i: intellekt, ideâ, innovaciâ, 2023

The article is dedicated to an experimental study of the burnout of secondary school teachers. The authors conducted a study based on the concept of experimental testing of the program of correctional and developmental work with secondary school teachers to prevent burnout. The article shows the study results of the extent of professional burnout of secondary school teachers and it substantiates the need to establish a systematic approach to the prevention of burnout syndrome among school teachers, since the majority of teachers, as indicated by statistical data of the Republic of Kazakhstan, are women, who are exposed to chores and a shortage of time required for family and personal life in addition to their occupation stressors. The article explores the potential for secondary school teachers to nurture and refine their professional skills. It also describes the development of new teaching methods and technologies, participation in professional trainings and courses, reading special literature and following current trends in education. The paper underlines that mitigating burnout is not only vital but also paves the way for the development of a teacher's personal brand, which hinges on continuous self-reflection, feedback from both students and peers, and a commitment to ongoing professional growth.