Causes of Professional Burnout Among Teachers
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18.02.2019-24.02.2019 • No: 199 CAUSES OF PROFESSIONAL BURNOUT AMONG TEACHERS The problem of professional burnout, alt- fact, teachers do not take any important some global manufacturers and govern- hough not a discovery of the 21st century, decisions at school. Very often, teachers ments are beginning to solve this prob- has nonetheless attracted the attention of have to listen to statements that teachers lem. For example, German companies, in- not only researchers but also the public are attendants: “If you don’t like it, look cluding Volkswagen, Puma, and BMW, over the past decade. This is due to active for another job”. All major decisions, banned the use of e-mail during off-hours. social changes and multiple reforms in ar- both right and wrong, are made in com- As German Minister of Labor and Social eas where the main functions are training, mittees, departments, and ministries. Affairs Ursula von der Leyen, who held care, counseling, treatment or protection, Sometimes the situation is aggravated by this position when the changes took ef- that is, social professions. Burnout is a bullying, from which teachers, as it turns fect, said, “It’s in the interests of employ- state of emotional, mental and physical out, suffer as much as pupils. ers that workers could safely disconnect exhaustion caused by excessive chronic A study conducted by experts from the from their work; otherwise, they will stress. This happens when a person feels University of York, in which 4,500 teach- eventually burn”. depressed, loses interest or motivation, ers of higher education were interviewed, In Kazakhstan, like in other countries of which prompted him/her to assume a cer- found that ‘fatigue from change’ was a the world with market economy, many tain role or function. The American psy- major factor in academic stress. Six out of teachers face growing demands of stu- choanalyst Herbert Freudenberg pro- 10 people said it was too difficult for them dents and parents at all levels of education posed the term ‘burnout’, and Christine to cope with the large number and rapid and related instability of work. Therefore, Maslach and Susan Jackson in 1986 de- pace of change. One of the lecturers noted it is necessary to look for effective solu- veloped a technique for measuring it – that “changes are being made without tions of this social problem, the negative Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), which consultation or discussion with teachers” impact of which on society is difficult to is used today. Thus, it is not just a ‘fashion and that “many of them seem random and measure in numbers and cost. This is es- trend’ or ‘media invention’, but a real-life poorly thought out,” adding “he no longer pecially difficult if society is not ready to phenomenon studied by psychologists understands his roles and responsibili- recognize the seriousness and relevance and sociologists. Experts identify three ties”. As a rule, the atmosphere of nega- of this problem. First, it is necessary to re- main components in the burnout phenom- tivity very quickly covers the entire or- alize the fact that the productivity, well- enon – emotional exhaustion, depersonal- ganization, which risks losing its best ization, and reduced satisfaction with staff and failing to implement change ini- being, creativity, and health of human work. tiatives. capital largely depend on the solution of Psycho-emotional exhaustion, which is Teachers who are very fatigued by a the problem of professional burnout. the main component of burnout, means change are not capable of innovation and Then it is necessary to create and maintain the feeling of emotional emptiness and fa- decision-making, are not interested in ef- a healthy working environment that can tigue associated with one’s own work. ficiency, and are passive and apathetic. be directed to the prevention and treat- Depersonalization means a loss of inter- There is no doubt that all these phenom- ment of the burnout syndrome, which im- est, even a cynical attitude to the objects ena have a negative impact on the per- plies the observance of certain conditions, and results of the work. The reduction of sonal lives of teachers. Meanwhile, the such as, for example, the availability of professional achievements leads to a loss health and effectiveness of the teaching high-quality communication, coopera- of confidence, an underestimation of staff at all levels of the education system tion, truly meaningful, not just in words, competence and productivity. All this to- are vital for the sustainability and pro- recognition of the teacher status, joint de- gether can lead to a complete failure and gress of society. That is why the ministry, cision-making, genuine and not formal withdrawal from the profession. Since school administrations and universities leadership, etc. most people spend a lot of time at work, should take the problem seriously and In December 2018, a letter from an ele- where the greatest amount of stress oc- manage more effectively during periods mentary school teacher with 28 years of curs, the development of emotional burn- of transition and uncertainty to protect the experience was published in social net- out is attributed primarily to the atmos- well-being and effectiveness of their em- works, in which the author spoke frankly phere and working conditions. ployees. about the difficulties of working at It is easy to assume that this may lead The policy of increasing all types of pres- school, including the shortcomings of ed- schoolteachers, for example, to height- sure, using teachers as an additional re- ucation standards, excessive checks, and ened aggression or, on the contrary, com- source in areas not directly related to their lack of free time and, very importantly, plete indifference to children, periodic professional activities, increasing the re- the need for psychological assistance to anxiety and fear of superiors, parents, and quirements for their competences without teachers. She writes that today a teacher children themselves, a decrease or loss in providing opportunities for improvement is systematically exposed to stress and ag- work productivity. and acquiring new skills inevitably leads gression on the part of parents, children A school expert and columnist for The to endemic stress, alienation, negative and regulatory bodies. A teacher is the Guardian Laura McInerney in her online psychophysical reactions of precisely survey of 2,500 schoolteachers and users those groups of society who are responsi- most ‘unprotected creature’ in education, found that 17% of teachers were strug- ble for its social well-being. she said. That is why young teachers do gling with exhaustion at the time of the It must be said that where these alarming not stay long at school. survey. Her main findings show that trends are realized and studied, certain In June 2019, it is planned to adopt a new teacher burnout can be caused by several measures are taken to avoid harmful ef- law on the status of a teacher, which, as factors: heavy workload, rapidly chang- fects of employee burnout, although this stated, should raise the prestige of the ing educational programs, classroom dis- is more characteristic of large business teaching profession and its status in Ka- cipline issues, lack of support from the corporations than of educational institu- zakhstani society. Probably, the time has administration, and financing problems. tions. Alternative work models already come for our society to pay attention to Schoolteachers have a persistent feeling exist, as well as measures to provide free the problems of the most patient and un- that they are only minor cogs in the huge time for employees, which are aimed at protected part of the intelligentsia, from mechanism of a despotic educational sys- making them more productive as a whole. whom everyone expects a lot, without tem, where a rigid hierarchy reigns. In As one of the solutions to the problem, giving anything in return. Written by Gulnar Nadirova, Eurasian Research Institute, Kazakhstan Politics, Foreign Affairs, and Security Economy, Finance, and Energy Society and Culture • During his visit to Ashgabat, Afghan • According to the Russian Ministry of • According to the State Statistical Com- President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Economic Development, 62 countries mittee of Azerbaijan, as of January 1, met with his Turkmen counterpart imposed 159 restrictive measures 2019, the country’s population reached Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to dis- against Russia as of the end of 2018. 9,981,457 people, 52.8% of whom re- cuss prospects of cooperation between These sanctions caused $6.3 billion side in cities and 47.2% live in villages. the two countries and regional infra- worth of damage to the Russian econ- In 2018, the authorities registered structure projects with the participation omy, including almost $4 billion to the 138,982 births and 57,250 deaths, as of Afghanistan. The parties signed a metallurgical industry, $1.1 billion to well as 62,484 marriages and 14,857 di- package of documents intended to pro- the agricultural sector, $641 million to vorces. The population density is 115 mote bilateral political, trade, eco- the chemical industry, and $306 million people per square kilometer. nomic, cultural and humanitarian rela- to the automotive industry. • The Government of Georgia, supported tions, including the treaty on strategic • There are 274,900 operating small en- by the Green Climate Fund and the gov- cooperation. terprises and microfirms in Uzbekistan ernment of Switzerland, launched a • During the first meeting of the High as of February 1, 2019, which is 18.1% seven-year, $70 million program aimed Level Working Group on the Caspian more than in the previous year. Of this at protecting the population from natu- Sea held in Baku, the delegations of number, 76,800 (27.9%) work in com- ral disasters that could be triggered by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan adopted the group’s merce, 58,500 (21.3%) – in industry, extreme weather events caused by cli- rules of procedure.