When educators’ needs aren’t met, student success suffers. Use this toolkit to prevent teacher burnout, boost K-12 staff well-being, and strengthen retention.
K-12 teachers and staff continue to experience more workplace stress, anxiety, and burnout than most other working adults. To build a supportive workplace culture that encourages more teachers and staff to stay and succeed, education leaders must understand which K-12 staff well-being practices lead to greater employee satisfaction and retention.
Download our K–12 Staff Well-Being Check-In Toolkit to learn which best practices strengthen employee support, including:
- Monitoring employee well-being
- Increasing employees’ sense of purpose
- Providing multiple tiers of support and guidance
“Teachers influence student achievement more than any other school-based factor. To effectively support students, teachers need to feel physically, mentally, and emotionally well. Improving teachers’ well-being enables them to be more effective in the classroom and form more positive relationships with students and colleagues. As stress levels decrease and morale improves, teachers also typically have fewer absences and less turnover.”
Why K-12 Staff Well-Being Matters
Each day, teachers and staff diligently create meaningful learning experiences in schools and shape how students see themselves personally and professionally. However, staffing shortages, behavioral challenges, district politicization, and academic recovery challenges leave teachers working longer hours and responding to greater student needs while earning limited wages.
Educators’ stress and burnout have negative consequences not just for them personally, but for everyone around them. Over time, if a school or district does not address employee stress, it can lead to a cascade of effects, including lower performance, decreased health, increased absenteeism, turnover, staffing shortages, larger class sizes, and lower student success rates.
To keep educators in the classroom — and ensure they’re fully able to give students their best — K-12 leaders must recognize which actions nurture employee well-being and implement multiple tiers of support to address teacher and staff efficacy, agency, and satisfaction. Adopting multiple care strategies can help teachers and staff feel more respected and valued, which will, in turn, fuel their resolve to remain in the profession and make a positive difference for students.
