Teacher Satisfaction and Burnout During COVID-19: What Organizational Factors Help?

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-22-2021

Abstract

When an external crisis exacerbates an internal crisis, do organizational factors still matter? Given the crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and teacher burnout, it may be unlikely for organizational decisions to matter. However, this research using a representative sample of US K-12 teachers (n = 1,061 teachers instructing youths aged 5 to 18) presents important insights into how school organizations matter during times of crises. Although there is a crisis of teachers feeling burned out and intending to leave the profession, organizational factors still make a difference. In particular, organizational support and satisfaction with school decisions were associated with greater personal satisfaction and reduced burnout. Despite unions’ demands to suspend in-person instruction, this instructional modality was associated with higher teacher motivation and greater satisfaction with school decision. We explore broader implications in terms of education during internal and external crises, and the role of organizational intentionality during these times.

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