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What one district leader is doing about the hidden costs and causes of an employment crisis

It鈥檚 3 a.m. in an emergency room packed with critically ill patients. The air is thick with the sounds of beeping machines, frantic families and the urgency of trauma care. For the ER doctor who鈥檚 been on her feet all night, it鈥檚 just another Wednesday, a typical shift in a career marked with constant intensity.

Despite years of enduring long hours in high-stress, high-pressure environments, the ER doctor doesn鈥檛 suffer from burnout. Day after stressful day, she feels energized by her work and fulfilled in her responsibilities. Meanwhile, in other fields such as K-12 education, burnout has reached crisis levels, exacerbating the already severe shortages of teachers and administrators across the nation.

I am intrigued by this paradox. If demanding and stressful workdays are primary culprits behind burnout, as commonly believed, how do professionals in high-pressure roles such as emergency room doctors and nurses, first responders and surgeons manage to avoid it? And how can burnout be mitigated? To uncover the answers, we must delve deeper into the root causes of burnout and explore potential solutions.

Self-Care Education

Over the past handful of years, it has become nearly impossible to pick up a professional journal or scan an online resource without stumbling upon the topic of self-care in education. Experts frequently advise educators to eat well, exercise, take breaks and set boundaries. While these personal health tips serve as helpful reminders, they can feel like a Band-Aid approach to a tourniquet-necessary problem.

The notion that burnout can be reset with rest and recovery misses the deeper issue. Addressing burnout is much more than carving out time in busy schedules for deep breathing and yoga or work-life balance and mindfulness techniques. Each of those is a priority in living a healthy life and dealing with stress, but burnout is more complicated than simply minimizing stress.

Work stress and pressure contribute to burnout, but they are neither the sole cause nor the full story. Attempting to address burnout through self-care cannot be the only solution. These techniques alone fall short in the battle against burnout.

For superintendents, it is especially important to recognize that burnout is not a reflection of an individual employee鈥檚 weakness or lack of commitment, as it often is mischaracterized. Burnout is not simply a fleeting period of stress or a reaction to demanding job tasks. Rather, it is a deep, systemic problem that requires more than surface-level solutions like deep breathing and yoga.

Our biggest mistake is assuming that what distinguishes strong individuals from weak ones is the level of stress they can endure before burning out, as if only we could rest and recharge, we could somehow reset burnout and reengage in our work.

When an individual succumbs to burnout, it often is misunderstood as a personal failing 鈥� a sign that an employee simply was not strong enough to endure the pressure. This misunderstanding places the burden on individuals, pushing them to take short breaks or vacations to 鈥渄e-stress.鈥� But temporary relief from stress does little to address the real issue at hand. Instead, employee burnout is a systemic issue that leaders must address by understanding its root causes and implementing strategies to best address it within our organization.

Causes of Burnout

Burnout often stems from a combination of factors, including a lack of recognition from employers and, more significantly, a misalignment between one鈥檚 work and personal strengths or sources of joy.

During the pandemic, many educators experienced this disconnect firsthand. The joy and inspiration typically found in the learning process were overshadowed by repetitive, compliance-driven tasks. This shift not only diminished their sense of fulfillment but also contributed to widespread burnout.

In our district alone, I witnessed dozens of young educators leave the profession, seeking work opportunities outside education. Talented teachers, including the one my daughter described as her favorite, resigned to seek employment in medical office settings or private businesses. One became a social media influencer, another a photographer, while others transitioned to business roles such as medical sales. Despite their passion for teaching, they expressed deep disappointment at having to leave a career they had once loved 鈥� overwhelmed by the inescapable weight of burnout.

Individuals who experience burnout report feeling the following at work: lack of appreciation, disconnect between job tasks and personal strengths, lack of collaboration/community, micromanagement, disconnection from core values, limited opportunities for professional advancement, little time for creative work and struggles with mental health.

The World Health Organization refers to burnout as an 鈥渙ccupational phenomenon with mental health risks.鈥� Specifically, the WHO includes the following as risk factors:

underuse of skills or being underskilled for work;

excessive workloads or work pace and understaffing;

long, unsocial or inflexible hours;

lack of control over job design or workload;

unsafe or poor physical working conditions;

organizational culture that enables negative behaviors;

limited support from colleagues or authoritarian supervision;

violence, harassment or bullying;

discrimination and exclusion;

unclear job role;

under- or over-promotion;

job insecurity, inadequate pay or poor investment in career development; and

conflicting home/work demands.

Beyond Work-Life Balance

Burnout manifests as a dread of each commute to work and a constant search for an escape to another job or different career. It results when the fire of creativity, energy and interest in a career are extinguished. The joy that once ignited work is replaced with dullness, aridity and a psychological detachment from daily tasks.

Tackling burnout therefore requires more than scheduling time for deep breathing exercises, yoga or work-life balance practices.

Stress has been misvalued as a badge of honor and a symptom of hard work. Those who show vulnerability and a need for support are seen as not being resilient enough to handle long hours or stressful situations. It is misunderstood as a shortcoming of the individual employee.

Addressing the roots of burnout requires a systemic approach that might include the following.

Stay interviews. Rather than relying on exit interviews to uncover weaknesses in culture and climate as employees resign, leaders should use stay interviews or annual anonymous staff surveys. These tools allow employees to highlight issues that may not be visible to leadership, offering valuable insights into areas needing improvement. Some employees will feel more comfortable with an anonymous survey than a face-to-face interview. Therefore, offering both options will glean the clearest picture of employee needs.

Professional advancement opportunities. Providing pathways for professional growth is crucial for retaining and motivating staff.

Paraprofessional-to-teacher programs. In my school district, paraprofessionals can pursue teaching certification through a partnership with a local university with the district covering 95 percent of tuition for those selected to participate. Program participants commit to teaching for at least two years post-certification, ensuring a return on investment.

Aspiring leader programs. Our district hosts an aspiring leader cohort. Teachers who seek to become leaders participate in evening sessions focused on administrative skills and knowledge. The participants receive hands-on leadership tasks and opportunities for shadowing and observations.

Aspiring superintendent cohorts. As superintendent, I lead a cohort for current leaders who hope one day to serve in the superintendency. We meet after school hours where the participants gain hands-on experience with tasks such as budgeting, insurance renewals, contract negotiations, legal matters and human resources.

Formal recognition. Programs such as Teacher of the Month and service awards celebrate achievements.

Informal recognition. Handwritten notes of appreciation, highlighting specific accomplishments, provide a personal touch that fosters motivation and engagement. I set a goal to write by hand three to five personal notes per week to staff members or colleagues.

Professional support resources. Every district should ensure employees have access to free, confidential counseling and resources through an employee assistance program. Often included in medical insurance plans, EAPs support employees with matters of mental health, legal, wellness and personal challenges. Administrators should actively promote these services to ensure staff are aware of the support available.

Connections to core values and strengths. We learned from the pandemic that forcibly removing educators from the work they love, notably face-to-face collaboration with peers and students, led to widespread burnout. To address this, reconnecting employees with their strengths is a highly effective strategy. Assigning tasks that leverage individual talents, such as involving a detail-oriented teacher in master schedule planning, fosters engagement and reinforces a sense of purpose.

At the same time, employees should be encouraged to reflect on areas where their interests and daily responsibilities may not align. By identifying and reducing redundant, energy-draining tasks, they can free up time and energy to focus on the most fulfilling and impactful aspects of their roles. This dual approach can reignite passion and sustain long-term well-being in the workplace.

Reduction in micromanagement. Offer clear expectations and parameters but allow employees the autonomy to complete the tasks in their own style. This approach not only fosters trust and respect for their professional expertise but also promotes independence, boosts confidence and empowers them to take ownership of their work.

Building a work community. Foster a sense of community through inclusivity and planned collaboration opportunities.

Scheduled collaboration time. Regularly provide opportunities for joint work and idea-sharing.

Inclusive environment. Promote psychological safety where staff feel respected, welcomed and supported. Achieving this requires collective effort from all employees, not just administration.

A Wake-Up Call

Burnout serves as a critical wake-up call, signaling the need for change. When left unaddressed, it can lead to severe consequences such as energy depletion, apathy, emotional disengagement from work, increased cynicism and diminished productivity and effectiveness. By embracing a holistic, systemic approach, school districts can tackle the underlying causes of burnout and foster a supportive, resilient and thriving work environment.

Superintendents must not only attend to their employees鈥� potential burnout, but also their own. Leaders hesitate to share their personal feelings of burnout because they are afraid to be seen as weak or vulnerable. We鈥檝e been sold the narrative that burnout is an individual weakness, rather than a system failure.

Burnout isn鈥檛 a sign of weakness. It is a sign that we鈥檙e chasing the wrong picture of success 鈥� and that we have become disconnected from our areas of strength that motivate us individually.

Framing burnout as a problem that can be addressed through self-care activities places the responsibility on individuals and overlooks the organization鈥檚 role in providing meaningful solutions. n

Carrie Hruby is superintendent of the O鈥橣allon Community Consolidated School District 90 in O鈥橣allon, Ill.