You became a teacher to help others. You keep showing up for your students, even when the work is hard or the days are long. That dedication matters, but it can also leave you feeling worn out.
Feeling burned out does not mean you have failed. In fact, 76% of education staff in the UK say they feel stressed at work, according to Education Support’s Teacher Well-being Index 2025. Despite this growing pressure, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
This article is for teachers who feel something is not right, and for school leaders or HR who want to understand burnout and how to support staff. You will find practical steps, clear answers, and a way forward.
What does a burnout actually feel like?
Burnout rarely appears all at once. It tends to build up gradually, often over months of not quite recovering and continuing to work when you are already tired. By the time many teachers reach out for support, the signs have often been present for some time.
Education Support’s Teacher Well-being Index 2025 found that 77% of UK education staff experience physical, psychological, or behavioural symptoms related to their work. If you recognise several of the signs below, it may be time to take notice.
Physical signs
- Constant exhaustion that does not improve with sleep.
- Difficulty sleeping or waking unrefreshed.
- Frequent headaches or stomach complaints.
- A faster heartbeat or a persistent sense of physical tension.
- Dizziness or a feeling of not being quite present.
Emotional signs
- Getting angry or tearful more quickly than before.
- Ongoing worry or feeling like your to-do list is always catching up with you.
- Feeling detached from students you used to enjoy teaching.
- Finding classroom noise and energy harder to tolerate.
- A lingering feeling that you are not doing enough, even when you are meeting all the expectations.
Cognitive signs
- Concentration drops during lessons or meetings.
- Forgetting things more often than usual.
- Even small decisions start to feel like they take more effort than they should.
- Losing motivation for parts of teaching that once gave you energy.
The Teacher Well-being Index 2025 also found that 43% of UK education staff think their symptoms might be signs of burnout. Many teachers keep these feelings to themselves, believing that finding things hard is just part of the job.
“In my conversations, I often hear teachers say: ‘I knew rationally it was too much — but my body had already given me the answer.’ That moment when the body puts the brakes on — that is something you see very often with burnout.”
— Britt Slief, Psychologist at OpenUp
These signs are not a weakness. They are a natural response to ongoing stress. Noticing them early is one of the most important things you can do.
Why are so many Teachers in the UK experiencing burnout?
Burnout does not come from one bad day or a tough class. It builds up over time because teachers do not get enough time to recover between busy periods.
1) Teaching is a marathon without a recovery phase
The school year is full of busy times. Exams, reports, parents’ evenings, and OFSTED all follow each other, with normal lessons in between. Many teachers spend evenings planning lessons, and often use holidays to catch up on work instead of taking a break.
Education Support’s Teacher Well-being Index 2025 found that 63% of UK education staff feel they do not have enough time to get everything done. For most, this is the case during at least three-quarters of their working hours.
When there is no time to recover, the workload keeps growing until it becomes too much to handle.
2) The teacher shortage multiplies the pressure on everyone still in the classroom
If a teacher is off sick, others have to cover their work. When there are not enough supply staff, or they are too expensive, the remaining teachers have to pick up the extra tasks. This adds more pressure to a job that is already difficult.
According to DfE School Workforce Statistics (2024), 66% of teachers in England took sick leave in the 2023/24 academic year, averaging 8.3 sick days per teacher. That translates to over 2.5 million school days lost in 2022/23 alone and a post-pandemic total of 8.5 million teaching days lost to staff illness since in-person learning resumed.
This sets up a cycle: when someone is away, others have to do more, which can lead to even more people needing time off.
3) The emotional load goes far beyond delivering lessons
Teachers are asked to do much more than just teach. They help students with mental health problems, deal with more parent complaints, and manage behaviour, often without enough help. All these extra jobs add up and are hard to keep up with.
“I wasn’t just a teacher — I was also a counsellor, a mediator, and a social worker. And my lesson still had to go ahead.”
— A teacher supported by Britt Slief, OpenUp
Education Support’s data reinforces this: 49% of UK education staff say their organisation’s culture negatively affects their mental health and well-being. The sense of being unsupported amplifies every other source of pressure.
Burnout can be prevented. The first step is to understand what causes it.
Practical steps to help you recover from a burnout
If you recognise yourself in the signs above, you do not have to wait until things get worse. These steps are not quick fixes, but they can help make things feel a bit lighter and give you some breathing room.
1. Work out what is actually wearing you down
Name the specific things that drain your energy.
Is it dealing with parents? Admin tasks? Managing behaviour without support? It is much harder to handle stress when you do not know where it is coming from. Once you can name the moments that drain you, you can start to handle them differently or put a boundary in place.
2. Keep work to working hours
Decide on your working hours and stick to them.
Maybe you stop checking emails after 6pm, or keep one evening a week just for yourself. These boundaries will not fix everything, but even a little protected time can make a difference over a term.
3. Protect your energy
Say no to extra tasks that are not part of your main job.
It can feel like you have to say yes to every committee or project. But choosing what you take on, and saying no when you need to, is not a sign you do not care. It is how you make your work sustainable.
4. Share the weight
Talk to a colleague you trust.
You are probably not the only one feeling like this. Talking honestly with a colleague, or your manager if you feel able, can help make things feel lighter.
“Saying it out loud often reduces the pressure immediately.”
— Britt Slief, Psychologist at OpenUp
5. Access help before your symptoms escalate
Try to get professional support early, not just as a last resort.
Talking with a psychologist does not mean you are in crisis. It just means you are taking the signs seriously before things get harder. OpenUp lets you see a psychologist without waiting. You can get support for things like difficult parent conversations, exam stress, or work pressure. Sessions are available in the evenings and at weekends, so you can fit them around your week.
6. Sleep, movement, and time away from work are not luxuries
Rest is part of recovery, not something you have to earn. You need sleep, movement, and time away from work to get better. Without them, everything else takes longer.
How schools can prevent burnout among their staff
If you lead a school, manage staff, or work in HR, this matters. You know how burnout can affect every class, every colleague who covers, and every budget spent on replacements.
According to the Teacher Well-being Index 2025, 40% of UK education staff say their schools do not support mental health and well-being well. There is clear room for improvement. Acting early saves money and staff.
1. Monitor workload signals before absence cases rise
Check absence patterns by team, not just school-wide. Pay attention to staff who are present but struggling. The window between short-term issues and long-term sick leave is your chance to act. Early action is less disruptive than solving a long-term absence crisis.
2. Build a culture where stress is discussable
Support your managers to start open conversations about workload and well-being early. If teachers fear speaking up, problems grow. Making it safe to talk directly reduces sick leave.
3. Make mental health support accessible and confidential
Support only works if staff use it. Make access easy, keep it confidential, and offer help outside school hours. In a recent survey, 84% of OpenUp users felt better prepared for future challenges, and 83% improved their well-being.
Mental well-being support is more than a “fancy” initiative. It’s a key part of keeping good teachers. The cost of replacing a teacher, from recruitment to onboarding and covering their absence, is much higher than the cost of supporting them to stay.
4. Reduce administrative noise
The amount of admin work teachers face is a major reason for time pressure and burnout. Teachers usually know exactly which tasks add the least value. Ask them where time could be saved, and do what you can to protect their preparation time from being squeezed.
5. Give teachers meaningful autonomy
When teachers have real input into how and what they teach, stress drops. Autonomy helps prevent burnout. Offer flexibility in lessons, schedules, or projects where you can. It costs little and improves well-being.
6. Make coming back to work easy
Allow staff to return in stages, and adjust their duties as they get back into the swing of things. Keep support available even after they are back. This approach makes it much less likely they will need more time off. Supporting a good return is just as important as the first steps you take.
| 84% feel better equipped to handle future challenges | 83% recovered or improved their well-being challenges | 74% say their productivity at work has improved |
Source: OpenUp Impact Report 2024
How to recover from a burnout
Most people who go through burnout do recover. It can take time, but recovery does happen.
- Start slowly. Try working fewer hours or taking on less at first. If you go back too quickly, it can lead to setbacks.
- Set clear expectations. Talk about what you can handle and what you need to pause for now. For example, you might teach your usual classes but skip parents’ evenings or committee work for a while. This helps keep things calm and avoids confusion.
- Get support from a professional if you can. Talking to a psychologist during your return can make a difference. OpenUp offers help as you get back to work, not just when things are at their worst.
“Many people think that recovery has to follow a straight line. But learning to deal with the fluctuations is often itself an important part of recovery. There are good days and less good days. That is part of it. With the right support, you can come back stronger — step by step.”
— Britt Slief, Psychologist at OpenUp
The goal is to return to the classroom in a way that works for you and at a pace that feels right. It is possible.
How OpenUp Helps Prevent Burnout in Education
Over 100 educational organisations, such as TU/e, Curio, DKP Onderwijsgroep, and Landstede, use OpenUp to help prevent and manage burnout.
We support education teams both immediately and in the long run.
- Immediately: If burnout issues arise suddenly, OpenUp can be set up within 1 working day. Staff can quickly talk to a psychologist, which helps prevent symptoms from worsening.
- Long term: OpenUp helps prevent problems before they start. Staff can discuss stress early, which reduces absenteeism and gives HR fewer complex cases. OpenUp also makes schools more appealing places to work, which helps with staff retention.
What OpenUp offers:
- One-to-one sessions with licensed psychologists.
- Sessions for stress and burnout prevention.
- Support for difficult parent interactions and conflict situations.
- Evening and weekend sessions, so support fits around your schedule.
- 100% confidential and GDPR-compliant.
Support your education team through burnout
Frequently Asked Questions About Burnout Among Teachers
What are the consequences of burnout for teachers?
Burnout can have a big impact on both teachers and schools. For teachers, it often means taking long periods off sick, finding it harder to teach well, and sometimes having problems at home. Many end up leaving teaching altogether. For schools, this leads to more work for everyone else, disruption for students, and higher costs to hire new staff. According to the DfE, 66% of teachers in England took sick leave in 2023/24, and over 2.5 million school days were lost in 2022/23. Acting early, before burnout leads to long-term absence, can make a real difference.
Are there programmes that help reduce burnout in education?
Yes, there are programmes that can help. OpenUp gives you access to a licensed psychologist for one-to-one sessions, with no waiting lists. They focus on the real pressures teachers face, such as stress, emotional exhaustion, and tough work situations. You can book sessions in the evenings or at weekends, so it fits around your schedule. Many schools also use Employee Assistance Programmes, but these can vary widely in their usefulness. The best support is easy to access, fully confidential, and really understands what it’s like to work in education.
What strategies are there to reduce burnout in education?
Effective strategies work at two levels. For individual teachers: identifying your specific stressors, setting clear working-hour boundaries, seeking peer support, and accessing professional help before reaching a breaking point. For schools: monitoring absence data for early warning signals, creating a culture where stress is discussable without professional penalty, reducing unnecessary administrative load, giving teachers meaningful autonomy, and making confidential mental health support genuinely accessible. Education Support’s Teacher Well-being Index 2025 found that 40% of UK education staff feel their organisations do not currently handle mental health and well-being challenges effectively, indicating meaningful room for improvement at most schools.
Which platforms offer solutions for burnout in education?
OpenUp is a mental well-being platform made for workplaces. It lets teachers and school staff book confidential one-to-one sessions with a licensed psychologist, with no waiting lists and appointments outside normal hours. OpenUp helps both individuals and schools by making early support easy to get, reducing absence, and encouraging open conversations about well-being before problems get worse.
