‘Teachers face increasing challenges and pressures related to evolving technology, social changes and a rapidly changing educational landscape.’
PETALING JAYA: Teachers in the country are increasingly vulnerable to burnout as heavier administrative loads, shifting policies and rising expectations from parents and students take their toll, an academic said.
University of Nottingham Malaysia School of Psychology associate professor Dr Siti Khadijah Zainal Badri said the warning signs of harmful workplace stress could be seen through persistent changes in employee behaviour, emotional state and ability to function at work.
She said burnout could manifest through prolonged exhaustion, emotional detachment or cynicism towards work, as well as a gradual loss of motivation or enjoyment in tasks employees once valued.
“The reality we must acknowledge is that the teaching occupation today is no longer what it used to be.
“Teachers face increasing challenges and pressures related to evolving technology, social changes and a rapidly changing educational landscape.”
She added that the changes have also affected education policies, attitudes of students and learning behaviours, as well as society’s expectations of teachers.
She also said the constant need to adapt could become exhausting, particularly when teachers were expected to respond to growing demands without adequate resources, support or clarity.
“A rapidly changing educational landscape also means that work demands evolve rapidly in parallel.
“This could create a continuous gap between policy and practice, placing pressure on educators to constantly adapt and keep up.”
Siti Khadijah said ambiguity, complicated administrative systems, poor communication between school leaders and teachers, and an unsupportive workplace culture could further leave educators feeling unsupported and emotionally unheard.
She added that work pressures could be compounded by family and financial concerns, while teachers faced growing demands beyond classroom teaching, including technology, policy changes, student needs, parental expectations and institutional targets.
She also said managing the competing demands could become emotionally overwhelming as teachers were increasingly responsible for both education and wellbeing of students.
Siti Khadijah called for a rethink of the growing competitiveness in education and the tendency to use academic performance of students as a measure of the effectiveness of teachers or the success of a school.
She said education should not be reduced to rankings and numbers, but should also focus on developing human values, potential and holistic growth.
“All stakeholders, including parents, need to understand that children’s success and achievement can transcend academic results.”
She also urged employers and institutions to pay attention to persistent changes in the psychological state of teachers, their behaviour and engagement with work.
However, she emphasised that not everyone experiencing excessive workplace stress would display obvious signs of distress.
“Some may become quieter, less engaged or simply appear persistently exhausted.
“This is why supportive communication and regular check-ins are important, because as humans, we express and experience distress differently.”
Siti Khadijah said to prevent burnout from reaching a crisis point, schools should establish a supportive workplace culture in which employees could discuss their struggles without fear of stigma or judgement.
She also called for institutions to review unnecessary administrative duties, excessive key performance indicator pressures and work processes that take teachers away from their core educational responsibilities.
“We cannot continuously increase what teachers are expected to carry while assuming that their capacity to cope is unlimited.”
She said individual schools should also be more responsive in identifying teachers who need help and provide a clear and flexible recovery framework to allow them to reduce pressure before reaching a crisis point.
Siti Khadijah also advocated greater workplace mental health support through Employee Assistance Programmes and other structured psychological support.
“This is particularly important for schoolteachers, who are among our most important educational assets and play a fundamental role in shaping the quality and development of our next generation.”