Factors Contributing to Job Burnout among Teachers (2015–2025): A Systematic Review

Abstract

Teacher burnout has emerged as a serious global issue and has serious implications for teachers' well-being, quality of instruction and students’ performance. This paper pre-sents a systematic literature review of studies published in the period 2015–2025, exam-ining important factors, outcomes, and research gaps related to teacher burnout in K–12. Guided by Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Model, the review synthesized evidence from 15 carefully chosen studies utilizing PRISMA 2020 standards and mixed-evidence (quantitative and qualitative) analysis. Findings show that workload and job demand, es-pecially burdensome administrative responsibilities, and time pressures, are the con-sistent predictors of burnout. Moreover, limited support and resources are organizational factors that worsen stress levels. The COVID-19 pandemic provided added challenges, especially in terms of digital fatigue and rapid transitions to online teaching. As a result, emotional and psychological factors, such as persistent stress and decreased profes-sional efficacy are both outcomes and mediators for burnout. Personal characteristics, including individual resilience and coping strategies, carry variable influence. Further-more, the review also points out the far-reaching consequences of burnout, such as in-creased teacher turnover, diminished teaching effectiveness, reduced student perfor-mance and adverse effects on teachers’ mental health. Despite extensive research, gaps remain in longitudinal studies, post-pandemic analyses, and intervention-based research. The results construed the importance of strong institutional support systems, balanced workloads, and individual-welfare initiatives to mitigate burnout and increase teachers’ effectiveness and retention in evolving educational contexts. Keywords: Teachers’ burnout, Workload, Job demand, Time pressure, Individual resili-ence, Coping strategies