Burn out teachers: how to deal with it and get out (rupture conventionnelle 2021)

Teacher burnout: how to cope and get out (rupture conventionnelle 2021)

Burn out is a burnout syndrome (or anxiety-depression syndrome or anxiety-depression syndrome) observed in the 1970s in the care professions, and is now affecting all categories of worker. Teachers are no exception. Burn out in teaching occurs when the teacher goes for a walk to satisfy real or supposed expectations in the context of its job. It is the result of excessive investment without ever feeling a sense of achievement. To what do you owe burn out as a teacher: how to cope and how to get out?

Teacher burn out or being consumed by work

A passionate profession

Being a teacher is often a job of passion, where commitment is taken for granted. In fact, it has long been referred to as a vocation. Teachers are often former good students who are keen to do well. When this desire becomes perfectionismyou can switch to dissatisfaction that will become exhausting.

A profession built on relationships

In addition, teaching comes closer to care insofar as human accompaniment plays a major role. It's a case of "I want to save the world". Teacher burnout is partly rooted in the conflict management. Conflicts with students who don't necessarily understand their commitment and whom teachers would like to help (sometimes against their will), with parents or with a hierarchy that doesn't always show willingness to help. recognition.

A job that doesn't stop in the classroom

The teaching profession takes up a lot of space in the lives of those who practise it: the preparation, the correction, the teacher's eye that he or she constantly casts on the world around them ("Now that would be interesting for my pupils"). Indeed, the the boundary between private and professional life is difficult to respect and can lead to extreme fatigue. Despite the fact that their schedules are considered comfortable by other workers, teachers often find it difficult to take time out for themselves.

A transformation of the business

The demands of the institution and the advances of a results-oriented culture alter teachers' relationship with their work which they see more as an art than as a task to be carried out. The heavy-handedness of the syllabus and its injunctions give teachers the impression that they are skimming over concepts and stifling their creativity. But theautonomy is a very important factor in job satisfaction.

Clinical signs of teacher burnout

Before the burn outthere is the burn in or thegradual collapse of physical, mental and emotional balance.

• Extreme physical and emotional fatiguerest periods are no longer sufficient to restore strength.
• Dissatisfaction with the work doneIn a profession where no task really has an end, people starting to suffer from burn out find it increasingly difficult to accept this frustration. A feeling of failure is emerging.
• Depersonalisationthe teacher detaches himself from his mission and works mechanicallyThis can accentuate the feeling of dissatisfaction mentioned above. We could talk about school phobia... on the teacher's side!

All these tensions and this erosion of values at work can result in various signs such as :

• sadness ;
• difficulty performing simple tasks ;
• insomnia ;
• idling ;
• unjustified anxiety ;
• despair ;
• concentration difficulties ;
• recourse to addictions ;
• headaches and various bodily ailments,

Teacher burnout: coping with it and getting out

Requesting a work stoppage

How to living with and recovering from burn out teacher? First of all, it's a question ofstop working and name the conditionIn a profession where self-sacrifice is the norm, breaking down would be a personal weakness. In a profession where self-sacrifice is the norm, to break down would be a personal weakness. Teachers, who have chosen this profession as a vocation, who have holidays and job security, would not be able to accept burnout as a professional illness. not allowed to burn out. However, the burn out is a syndrome which, if ignored, can lead to depression. Also known as "anxiety-depression syndrome", "anxiety-depression syndrome" or "burn-out", burn-out shares certain characteristics with depression: sadness, despondency, loss of interest.

Being kind to yourself

And so, be kind to yourself is the first recommendation. Burn out invites you to connect with your emotions and listen to your body. This experience forces people to confront the things that make them suffer, and to look at their relationship with work through the prism of their emotions. safeguarding your health.

Getting support

To do this, you need support: the general practitioner can be a key contact. Visit occupational physician should be, but it should be pointed out that the shortage of prevention doctors in the French education system is real, and that teachers find it difficult to find a professional to whom they can confide their unhappiness in their institution. A psychologist or psychiatrist as well as the medical officer of the health insurance fund will help the teacher to put this experience into words. During his convalescence, a therapist or coach can accompany the teacher to help him or her get back on his or her feet and find meaning in this experience.

Teacher burnout: lessons to be learned from this experience

Aligning with your values

Burn out can be a opportunity for growth. We will learn to listen to ourselves and to ask questions about our work: why am I doing this job? What satisfaction do I get from it? Does what I get out of it make up for what I have to give up?

To align yourself with your values, you first need to get to know them and your strengths. Positive psychology coaching enables you to work on yourself in this way. The second step is to transform limiting beliefs into energising ones, so that you can once again move forward in complete harmony with your values and strengths.

It also involves learning to taking care of ourselves, accepting help and refusing what we find offensive. This can be an opportunity to learn about techniques stress management :

• hypnotherapy ;
• cardiac coherence ;
• positive psychology coaching ;
• Mindfulness meditation.
• Etc...

Working differently

Burn out among teachers leads them to rethink the way they do their job. They trade their idealism for a benevolent realism No, they won't save everyone, but what they will bring will already be good. Deciding to teach for pleasure is an important step towards being able to teach again. They spend less time preparing lessons, reconnect with leisure activities, or choose to work part-time. This can also be an opportunity to questioning the management of the establishment.

Go to

Recovering from burnout as a teacher means the opportunity to question your career choice. Perfectionism taken to extremes can be the expression of an excessive need for conformity that is shattered. Sometimes burn out leads the teacher to realise that he or she is exhausting himself or herself swimming against the tide, investing too much effort in exploiting weak potential.

A potential assessment to help you find a new career path, a request for a leave of absence, a request for a contractual termination, a request for an career transition coaching : all of which allow teachers to ask themselves whether they still want to or can teach.

Since January 2020, it has been possible to opt for a "rupture conventionnelle". To do this, you can get strategic coaching from a career transition coach.