Teacher burnout in Greece is linked to excessive workloads, a lack of respect and limited recognition from school leaders, according to a study of primary school educators in the country’s western region. Teachers who reported these problems also tended to have higher burnout scores, while those who felt disrespected showed less commitment to their work.
The research, published in the International Journal of Educational Innovation, examined responses from 131 kindergarten and elementary school educators in Western Greece. The anonymous survey was conducted in November and December 2023, with 72 participants from Achaea, 38 from Aetolia-Acarnania, and 21 from Elis. Researchers used stratified random sampling.
Average burnout was rated 2.70 on a five-point scale, a moderate level overall. Exhaustion was the most pronounced problem, with an average score of 3.26. Yet the study’s breakdown classified 44% of participants as having high burnout and another 25% as having very high burnout.
Work demands and lack of respect linked to teacher burnout in Greece
Heavy workloads were a major concern. Thirty-nine percent of teachers strongly agreed that they faced excessive work demands, including long teaching hours, assessments, and preparing classroom materials. Those who reported heavier workloads also had significantly higher burnout scores. The report said 30% faced a lack of respect alongside heavy workloads.
The findings also linked a perceived lack of respect to greater burnout and lower job engagement. Teachers who strongly agreed their work was not respected recorded higher burnout than those who disagreed. A similar pattern emerged among educators who felt school administrators failed to recognize their efforts.
Nearly half of participants reported insufficient support from school management, while limited resources added to workplace pressures.
Questionnaires also measured difficulty concentrating, emotional problems, and detachment from work, with average scores of 2.29, 2.51, and 2.74, respectively. Psychological complaints, including stress and sleep problems, averaged 3.00, while physical complaints, including headaches and muscle pain, averaged 2.71.
Permanent staff and parents show higher burnout scores
Some groups reported more burnout than others. Educators with two or three children and those with permanent jobs had higher scores. No demographic factor was significantly linked to job engagement. Differences by gender were observed but did not reach statistical significance.
The study recommends easing workloads, improving access to resources and giving teachers greater recognition and support. Its findings suggest that changes to school working conditions could help reduce exhaustion and strengthen teachers’ connection to their jobs.
The researchers cautioned that the findings cannot automatically be applied to teachers elsewhere. The survey focused on one region and captured experiences at a single point in time. They called for longer-term research and interviews to better understand how burnout develops.
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