Burnout and Sources of Stress among Primary and Secondary Teachers in the Republic of North Macedonia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70232/jrep.v2i1.30Keywords:
Burnout, Stress, TeachersAbstract
The study focuses on professional burnout and its sources of workplace stress among teachers. Burnout, as a complex psychological phenomenon, is characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced professional efficiency. Teachers play a crucial role in the development of our future generations and their well-being is central to their ability to effectively fulfil this role. The general aim of the research is to measure burnout levels and sources of stress among primary and secondary teachers who are working in public schools in the Republic of North Macedonia, by examining the degree of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment. The research sample is randomly chosen and consists of 320 teachers. To collect data, a personal information form and Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to measure burnout levels of teachers. The obtained results found that primary and secondary teachers in public school in Republic of North Macedonia experienced a high level of emotional exhaustion and an average level of depersonalization and personal accomplishment dimension. Emotional exhaustion represents a critical warning sign of burnout, signaling the need for individual and organizational interventions to restore balance and resilience. The research detects nine significant factors that cause stress and professional burnout among teachers. The present study has contributed to the field by providing new insights into the stress and burnout experienced by primary and secondary teachers and should encourage education policies makers, national and local education authorities in developing a healthy, safe and productive environment for the growth and development of all involved in. Instead of looking at teacher burnout as an individual problem, leaders in education must shift their focus to assess the problem as a systemic, institutional, or policy-based issue.
References
Antoniou, A. S., Polychroni, F., & Vlachakis, A.N. (2006). Gender and Age Differences in Occupational Stress and Professional Burnout between Primary and High-School Teachers in Greece. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21, 682-690. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02683940610690213
Brouwers, A., & Tomic, W. (2000). A longitudinal study of teacher burnout and perceived self-efficacy in classroom management. Teaching and Teacher education, 16(2), 239-253.
Chan, A. H. S., Chen, K., & Chong, E. Y. L. (2010). Work stress of teachers from primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. Proceedings of the International Multiconference of Engineers and Computer Scientists, 3, 1903-1906.
Chang, ML. (2013). Toward a theoretical model to understand teacher emotions and teacher burnout in the context of student misbehavior: Appraisal, regulation and coping. Motivation and Emotion, 37(4), 799–817. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-012-9335-0
Cordes, C.L., & Dougherty, T.W. (1993). A review and an integration of research on job burnout. Academy of Management Review, 18, 621-656. https://doi.org/10.2307/258593
De Nobile, J. J., & McCormick, J. (2010). Occupational stress of Catholic primary school staff: A study of biographical differences. International Journal of Educational Management, 24(6), 492–506. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513541011067674
Demerouti, E., Bakker, A.B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W.B. (2001). The job demands– resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 499-512. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.499
Gross, J. J. (2002). Emotion regulation: Affective, cognitive, and social consequences. Psychophysiology, 39(3), 281–291. http://10.1017.S0048577201393198
Halbesleben, J.R.B, & Bowler, W.M. (2007). Emotional exhaustion and job performance: The mediating role of motivation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92, 93-106. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0021-9010.92.1.93
Jennings, PA., & Greenberg MT. (2009). The prosocial classroom: Teacher social and emotional competence in relation to student and classroom outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 79(1), 491–525. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654308325693
Johnson, S., Cooper, C., Cartwright, S., Donald, I., Taylor, P., & Millet, C. (2005). The experience of work-related stress across occupations. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 20(2), 178–187. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940510579803
Kantas, A. (1996). The burnout syndrome of teachers and people who work to health professionals. Psychology, 3, 71-85.
Koruklu, N., Özenoglu-Kiremit, H., Feyzioglu, B., & Aladag, Elif. (2012). Teachers’ Burnout Levels in terms of Some Variables. Educational Sciences Theory & Practice, 12(3), 1823-1831. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1000898.pdf
Kyriacou, C., & Sutcliffe, J. (1979). Teacher stress and satisfaction. Educational Research, 21(2), 89–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/0013188790210202
Martínez, J.P., Méndez, I., Ruiz-Esteban, C., Fernández-Sogorb, A., & García-Fernández, J.M. (2020). Profiles of burnout, coping strategies and depressive symptomatology. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 591. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00591
Maslach C. (1986). Professionals in Distress: Issues, Syndromes, and Solutions in Psychology. American Psychological Association.
Maslach, C., Jackson, S. E., & Leiter, M. P. (1996). Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual (3rd ed.). CPP, Inc.
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W.B., & Leiter, M.P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397–422. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M.P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: Recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15, 103–111. https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fwps.20311
Montgomery, C., & Rupp, A. (2005). A Meta-analysis for exploring the diverse causes and effects of stress in teachers. Canadian Journal of Education, 28(3), 458–486. https://doi.org/10.2307/4126479
Nwankwo, B.E., Tobias, C., Obi, T.C., Aboh, J.U, & Agu, S.A. (2013). Relationship between Self Efficacy and Feeling of Reduced Personal Accomplishment among Female Teachers. Journal Of Humanities And Social Science, 13(5), 98-101. http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/Vol13-issue5/R013598101.pdf?id=3402
OECD. (2020a). TALIS 2018 Results, Teachers and School Leaders as Valued Professionals. OECD Publishing.
Pimenta, A., Ramos, D., Santos, G., Rodrigues, M. A., & Doiro, M. (2023). Psychosocial risks in teachers from Portugal and England on the way to society 5.0. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(14), 6347. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20146347
Pohl, M., Feher, G., Kapus, K., Feher, A., Nagy, G.D., Kiss, J., Fejes, E., Horvath, L., & Tibold, A. (2021). The Association of Internet Addiction with Burnout, Depression, Insomnia, and Quality of Life among Hungarian High School Teachers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19, 438. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010438
Rajendran, N., Watt, H. M., & Richardson, P. W. (2020). Teacher burnout and turnover intent. The Australian Educational Researcher, 47(3), 477–500. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-019-00371-x
Shukla, A., & Trivedi, T. (2008). Burnout in Indian teachers. Asia Pacific Education Review, 9(3), 320–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03026720
Sutton, RE., Mudrey-Camino, R., & Knight CC. (2009). Teachers’ emotion regulation and classroom management. Theory into Practice, 48(2), 130–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405840902776418
Szasz, O., Szigeti, Gy.P. and Szasz, A. (2017) On the Self-Similarity in Biological Processes. Open Journal of Biophysics, 7, 183-196. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojbiphy.2017.74014
Szigeti, R., Balázs, N., Bikfalvi, R., & Urbán, R. (2017). Burnout and depressive symptoms in teachers: Factor structure and construct validity of the Maslach Burnout inventory-educators survey among elementary and secondary school teachers in Hungary. Stress Health, 33(5), 530-539. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2737
Timms, C., Graham, D., & Caltabiano, M. (2006). Gender Implication of Perceptions of Trustworthiness of School Administration and Teacher Burnout/Job Stress. The Australian Journal of Social Issues 41 (3), 343–358. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/j.1839-4655.2006.tb00020.x
Van Droogenbroeck, F., Spruyt, B., & Vanroelen, C. (2014). Burnout among senior teachers: Investigating the role of workload and interpersonal relationships at work. Teaching and Teacher Education, 43, 99–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.07.005
Watts, W.D., & Short, A.P. (1990). Teacher drug use: A response to occupational stress. Journal of Drug Education, 20, 47–65. https://doi.org/10.2190/XWW0-7FBH-FXVB-2K3C
White, J. (2020). Supporting teachers’ mental health and wellbeing: Evidence review. NHS Health.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Gorica Popovska Nalevska, Marina Kuzmanovska, Sonja Rizoska Jovanovska
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
