Teaching identification as a protective and risk factor for teacher burnout in the context of role stress

Work-related stress has been linked to severe negative mental health outcomes. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, this stress has been exacerbated, with particularly adverse consequences for schoolteachers, who are often referred to as the forgotten frontline workers due to their critical yet overlooked role in sustaining education during crises. The current study was framed within the Job Demands-Resources model and explored the relationship between role stress, as operationalized by role conflict and role ambiguity, and components of burnout. Participants were schoolteachers (n = 355) in South Africa who completed the Role Conflict and Ambiguity Scale, the Professional Identification Scale, and the Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization subscales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Mediation and moderation analyses revealed that teaching identification had a significant negative association with role conflict (r = − 0.19, p < 0.001), role ambiguity (r = − 0.40, p < 0.001), emotional exhaustion (r = − 0.42, p < 0.001), and depersonalization (r = − 0.38, p < 0.001). Teaching identification significantly predicted lower emotional exhaustion (β = −0.29, p < 0.001) and depersonalization (β = −0.27, p < 0.001). However, in the case of role ambiguity, teacher identification played an aggravating rather than a moderating role as the relationship between role ambiguity and burnout was stronger at high levels of teacher identification. These findings highlight the paradoxical nature of professional identification in shaping teachers’ well-being. The study underscores the organizational need to minimize role stress by providing clear job expectations and structured support systems. It reinforces the importance of implementing measures to enhance teachers’ professional pride while ensuring that their commitment does not lead to burnout.