Burnout and work engagement among elementary teachers : are there differences among teachers? A Cross Sectional study

Background. Burnout has been known for a long time. The term was first used in the 1970s but burnout has been already identified before that time, and was typically characterized by exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy. Through a change within psychology to focus more on the positive aspects of psychology, a phenomenon called work engagement recently gained the attention of many researchers. Work engagement is characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption. Aim. Since it is still not known why different people within the same profession develop burnout and/or high work engagement, this study examines differences between elementary school teachers with higher levels of burnout and teachers who are work engaged. The study applied different work related variables, which included sickness absence, workload, work satisfaction and work performance. By knowing the differences between these two groups the situation of the burned out teachers could be improved. Method. This study used cross sectional data of the first wave of the study conducted by the Consent foundation schools, of which 254 teachers’ participated. The teachers were divided into two groups; teachers with higher levels of burnout and teachers who are work engaged. Differences between the two groups were statistically analyzed. Results. Among the participants, 50 were male and 204 were female. On average they were 47.46 years old. They had on average working experience of 18.82 years. The results showed that teachers with higher levels of burnout differ significantly from work engaged teachers on the variables workload, work satisfaction and work performance but not on sickness absence. Conclusion. Teachers with higher levels of burnout experience more workload, were less satisfied with their jobs and their work performance is poorer compared to work engaged teachers. Future studies can use these results to determine how the situation among the burned out teachers can be improved.