Association Between Stress and Burnout Syndrome Among School Teachers - An Exploratory Study

Purpose: This article is an exploratory study which investigates the association between stress and burnout syndrome found among schoolteachers. It shows how schoolteachers can handle healthily their pressure to experience satisfaction in their job. It is also an attempt to resolve the question of whether stress is the real cause of burnout, which results in mental illness and dissatisfaction and thereby to quit one's teaching profession. This paper seeks to propose and test some hypothesized relationships between stress attribution domains and burnout syndrome. Design/Methodology/Approach: To explore the relationship between stress and burnout, the methodology employed here is the exploratory study with an inductive approach. This study uses qualitative methods for data collection. In this exploratory method, both primary and secondary data are mixed intermittently to identify the depth of the association between stress and burnout. A total of 15 teachers were included in this study. The questionnaires such as DASS-21 and Life Satisfaction Scale were provided to collect evidence regarding how their stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout negatively influence the quality of their lives. Finding/Result: After exploring and analyzing the facts, it is found that there is a strong association between stress and burnout. It is also noted that in some teachers, stress will not end up in burnout syndrome if those teachers are zealous about their profession. Neverthless, those teachers who are not passionate have a high risk of ending up in burnout when they come across failures that lead to dissatisfaction in life due to various factors. Originality/Value: This exploratory study illustrates that those teachers who are not passionate about their profession when confronted with stress can end up in one of the three stages of burnout while those teachers who are passionate easily cope with the stress they undergo. However, when the former group is sufficiently made aware of the causes of their stress, they can gradually come out from the first and second stages of burnout and become capable of facing those challenges in their lives. At the same time, if they are in the third stage of burnout, it will take years to come out with the assistance of proper guidance and medication. Paper Type: Exploratory Study Article.