Bruce (2009: 58) states that “Employees who feel unhappy and unfulfilled for extended periods of time are more likely to burn out.” Thus, due to teachers focusing their attention on the needs of others, the boundary between helping their students and taking care of themselves tends to become blurred and “the self-care component erodes.” The key to successful coping is, therefore, finding a balance between addressing the needs of others and the needs of oneself. Lisa agreed saying, “I often don’t make time for myself. First I see to the things that my students need, prepare for my classes and do marking, then I see to my family and only after that, if there is time, do I see to myself. The result is that I feel as if I never have any time to do
to just sit and think about something deeply. I’m on the go all day long and into the evenings as well. So everything becomes superficial, you just want to get it all done before you collapse into bed and get some sleep and then start it all over again the next day.”
McEwen (1998: 2) maintains that “the things which really affect most people’s health over long periods of time are not dramatic life events, but are really the day-to-day problems…and that these effects may accumulate over months and years to cause problems.” Steptoe’s (1991) comment that what is important is teachers’ perception of stressors bears repeating here. If TESOL teachers perceive something as stressful, then it will be so. Furthermore, McEwen (1998: 2) states that teachers are most vulnerable to chronic stress “in work situations of low control that are accompanied by high performance demands. Such situations are exacerbated if there is also a lack of intellectual challenge and they can be compounded by the boredom of strict daily routines and time pressures.” This description is typical of many TESOL teachers’ working days. Nina noted that, “I find that the only control I have concerns what I teach on a particular day and when you have taught the same course over and over again, it does become boring. So the routine nature of teaching is actually something I didn’t expect when I started and it is
something that I have found to be stressful. I often go home and think that I taught others something today but learned nothing myself.”
In terms of coping strategies, Munt (2004: 585-586) states that research into stress and burnout has “spawned a bewildering array of competing discourses” and has become “subject to a legion of new consultants, counsellors, therapists and management gurus [touting] their solutions to the problems of teacher stress and burnout.” Munt feels that many coping
strategies address the individual with the stressed teacher exhorted to “effect self-cure through diet, exercise and lifestyle regimes.” However, such advice fails to address the root cause of the stress and consequent burnout. Furthermore, providing teachers with stress management techniques and a personal resilience stress management plan, while useful, does not address the existing problems in the workplace as “Society and the work environment must be included in any serious study of stress” (Munt, 2004: 585-586).
Mearns and Cain (2003: 72) state that people have different coping styles and the way that people cope with stress will affect the outcomes of that stress. The researchers also maintain that maladaptive responses to stress such as increased smoking, drug use or alcohol abuse can actually lead to more intense experiences of stress and burnout. This supports Woods (1999: 123) who described a number of avoidance and maladaptive strategies used by teachers to cope with stress and burnout. These include survival strategies in which surviving the day, week, term or course and the year with mental and physical health intact is the primary aim. Such strategies also include absence and withdrawal from the stressful situation, strategic
compliance in which the teacher goes along with things hoping the circumstances will soon change and moonlighting in which teachers channel their energies and creativity into another sphere while still holding down the original job for financial reasons. None of these responses will alleviate the original causes of the stress, assist the teacher in coping adequately with the stressors or prevent possible burnout.
The literature abounds with ways of coping with stress and burnout. Bruce (2009: 61) mentions the importance of putting one’s health first by means of regular exercise, good nutrition and getting enough sleep, maintaining a work-life balance, reserving time to focus on personal growth and development and establishing boundaries at work. Other suggestions include obtaining a clear description of work duties so as to avoid work overload and role ambiguity, identifying mentors and starting a support network, learning to be more assertive and
recognising the value of solitude which gives one space and time to reflect. Zemach (2006: 16- 17) suggests that teachers “say no to any schedule that leaves no time to yourself”, “build a professional network” and be aware of the fact that schools tend to encourage a sense of “pride in workaholism.” In a questionnaire-based study of stress among 624 teachers in Nigeria, teachers attempted to cope with stress by watching television, listening to music, browsing the internet, talking to friends, playing sport and praying. Recommendations to reduce stress included supplying teachers with social facilities such as satellite television and access to the internet, encouraging physical exercise by building recreation centres on the school premises and allowing teachers to create time for themselves within their work day so that they could relax (Olaitan, Oyerinde, Obiyemi and Kayode, 2010: 341-342).
Cherniss (1992: 1) concluded that meaningful work could counteract stress and teachers who are able to combat burnout are those who have discovered a way of making their work more rewarding and personally meaningful. Holmes (2005: 168) advocates journal writing as a means of reflecting on daily experiences and highlighting stressors while Horn (2009: 170) states that it is vital for teachers to have hobbies and interests outside of work saying, “Recreational
activities promote…well-being and create avenues to achieve a more abundant family and social life. As hobbies require attention and time, the mind is taken away from the daily routine.” This supports Sonnentag (2001: 196) who, in a diary study of one hundred Dutch teachers, discovered that involvement in high and low-effort leisure time activities contributed to the individual’s well-being. High-effort activities included cycling, dancing and sports while low-effort activities included watching television, speaking to a friend on the phone and reading a magazine.
Gold and Roth (1993: 56) maintain that a carefully planned stress-reduction programme can assist teachers in developing coping skills. The authors advocate becoming aware of “emotional
and physical needs”, “keeping records of emotions, feelings and behaviours”, “paying attention to exercise, diet and sleeping habits” and “learning relaxation techniques.” None of the TESOL teachers in this research study had a formal stress-reduction plan. Thus the coping strategies used tend to be somewhat haphazard and applied if and when the teachers had time.
Most of the teachers felt that organisation and time management were important strategies in coping with a stressful work environment. Anne said, “I try to be very organised so that I don’t lose track of things. I use a diary, I note down important information, I try to action things straight away. I think that it helps to reduce the stress a bit. You know, always being prepared makes you feel as if you are in control.” Rachel agreed saying, “I used to be a person that ran into class at the last minute, everything with me was spontaneous. I never prepared for lessons. It doesn’t work long-term though. The students are not stupid. So I have had to become more organised and plan my day more carefully. I have found that it helps a bit because I don’t feel as stressed about the actual teaching anymore.” Joanne also noted that she felt that actively managing her time and her day had reduced her stress levels in the classroom. She maintained that, “I always make sure that my administration is well-prepared. So for example, I set up the final reports on my computer when the course begins and as I go along, I just add the details. This saves a lot of time at the end. But it is still only a small part that I can control, there are many things that are stressful that I can’t control.”
A popular strategy for dealing with stress can be termed taking care of the self and this includes self-nurturing, taking time for oneself and doing solitary activities. Lisa said that “In my spare time I read a lot of books. I can read four books a week. I love detective and mystery fiction. I just lose myself in the story and find that I feel better. I bring a book to work as well so I can read before work and during my lunch.” Rex described how he made a point of spending time alone over the weekend saying, “I paint or listen to peaceful Buddhist music or watch a movie. The main point is I do this alone. I don’t want to talk or have someone around me. Being alone with my thoughts is what I need and that helps me to face the coming week.” Furthermore, Shaleeda noted how she always made time for herself after work and over the weekends in which she “tried out a new recipe, read a book, listened to classical music or caught up on reading linguistic journals — time to be by myself and do something for myself.”
Most of the teachers said that listening to their favourite music alleviated stress and enabled them to forget about work temporarily. Warren felt that “If it weren’t for my iPod, I’d be lost. I listen to music in the morning on the way to work and it makes me feel more positive and then after a stressful day, I put my earphones in and just let the music take over. It really does help.” Joanne agreed saying, “I listen to music a lot. I have a whole range of songs for different moods
but there is one CD of traditional Asian music that I always have on in the background in the evenings. It comforts me, it is sad, haunting music but also relaxing.”
Good nutrition, exercise and getting enough sleep was viewed by almost all the teachers as a vital part of coping with their stressful work environment. This supports Horn (2009: 161) who states that a common component of stress intervention programmes is a “Healthy diet with fruit and vegetables, high fibre and freshly cooked food. Thomas agreed saying, “I play a lot of sport. I run every day, cycle on the weekends and make sure that I eat right. If I didn’t do that, I’d go off my head. At least it’s the one thing I can control.” Fern felt that eating well and exercising was very important saying, “I watch what I eat, I take a lot of vitamins and go to gym every day after work. When I am in the gym, I can actually feel my stress disappearing. Without that release, I’d be in a bad way. Often when I’m at gym, I use the punching bag and pretend that the bag is all the people who make my life difficult. It may sound strange but it seems to work.” Mark described a similar strategy saying, “I have a small home gym and I can’t wait to get in there every night to sweat the stress and irritation away. The problem is you come back to the same stress the next day.”
It should be noted, however, that some of the teachers said that it was difficult to find the energy and the time to devote to a good nutrition and exercise programme. In addition, getting adequate sleep was not easy for everyone. These are typical symptoms manifested by people suffering from emotional exhaustion. Sara maintained that “Eating healthily is expensive. It is actually cheaper to eat badly. And when you are tired and fed up, it is difficult to make the time and put in the effort. I know I should but I simply can’t. I normally eat junk food, prepare for class the next day and fall into bed. At this stage, I simply can’t see myself preparing healthy meals and exercising every day.” Vicky agreed saying, “Maybe that works for single people but not for people like me who have small children who take up so much time. I’m lucky if I get into bed at 11.00 pm. I wouldn’t know where to find the time to exercise!” Jonathan felt that
teaching was not only emotionally but also physically exhausting saying, “I’m so tired at the end of each day that the thought of exercising makes me sick. I try to go to bed early but find that I wake up in the early hours of the morning with all these random thoughts going through my head — about my students, stuff that happened at work and what I’m going to teach
tomorrow. It’s as if I can’t relax at all.”
Several of the teachers advocated the use of alternative therapies such as meditation, massage, Pilates and yoga. This supports Gold et al. (1993) who maintain that light exercise and
relaxation techniques such as meditation can assist in reducing stress. Terry explained that meditation and yoga helped her to deal with stress saying, “I attend yoga classes three times a week and I try and meditate every morning. I think it does help. I feel much more relaxed
afterwards, the only problem is that the next day I have to go back to work and it starts all over again.” Lisa also did yoga and Pilates which she felt relaxed her body and her mind saying, “I think what helps is the slowness of the movements. It’s not like aerobics or dance where you jump around, it involves more of your thoughts and you have to be mindful when you do it. It takes your mind to another place which helps me.” Shaleeda went to a local spa for weekly massages which she found useful in alleviating the effects of stress saying, “I can literally feel the toxins draining out of my body. I try to imagine all the poisons leaving my thoughts and my body. It costs a fair bit but I try to have a full body massage at least once a month and then neck and shoulder massages every week. That’s where all your tension collects — you can actually feel how immobile your neck and shoulders become.”
The teachers felt that it was difficult to sustain hobbies and interests as teaching was such a time-consuming profession. However, some of the teachers mentioned various hobbies that they had started as a way of coping with stress. Douglas said that he was learning French because, “I felt I needed to challenge myself. Here I was teaching foreign students but not knowing what it was like to learn a foreign language. I don’t manage to spend time on it every day but when I do, I find that I’m able to lose myself in the language.” Lisa was taking violin lessons and said “I always wanted to learn and then when I turned forty, I thought ‘It’s now or never’ — I really enjoy it and find that I don’t even think about work when I’m playing.” Claire mentioned that she was attending cooking classes and had found it to be stimulating and an excellent way of forgetting about work. She noted that, “Maybe it is because one can become the student and have the freedom to say that you don’t know anything, you are just a student. No-one has any expectations of you.” This supports Bernier (1998: 58) who maintains that in attempts to cope with burnout, “interests (courses and hobbies)…become very important.” Thus the teachers interviewed attempted to cope with stress and burnout by using a range of strategies which included being organised and managing time well, self-nurturing, listening to music, eating healthy food and following an exercise programme, using alternative therapies and involvement in leisure interests outside of work. The teachers, however, did not use these coping strategies as part of a structured stress management and burnout treatment
programme. The coping strategies were used because they alleviated the experience of stress temporarily and enabled the individual teacher to feel a sense of relief and renewal.
Furthermore, the different coping strategies allowed the teachers the perception that they could cope with another day, week, course or year in their present positions. Both Maslach et al. (1981) and Schonfield (2001) maintain that it is very difficult for the individual to cope with stress and burnout on their own as coping strategies place the responsibility of managing stress and burnout on the individual. The actual responsibility should be on the employer to change the stressful situation.
Unfortunately, none of the language schools had instituted a stress management programme for teachers thus all of the coping strategies were practised outside of the workplace.
Furthermore, the coping strategies did not address the root cause of the stress and burnout which mainly lay within the actual work environment. Thus, this created a cycle of stress
feeding into the experience of burnout whereby teachers would become stressed over a period of time, would show signs of burnout, would attempt to cope by various means which created a false sense of relief and renewal and then would return each day to unchanged stressful
circumstances. It is doubtful whether the cycle can be broken until the source of the stressors is addressed.
4.4 Conclusion
Bruce (2009: 59) maintains that top performing teachers who leave the profession within the first five years feel unable to cope with the multiple dimensions of teaching and cite their reasons for leaving as difficult responsibilities coupled with very high expectations, the effects of constant multitasking, the lack of a boundary between home and work, high stress leading to self-doubt and low self-esteem, inability to meet day-to-day demands, frustration associated with inadequate time to prepare for classes, student behavioural issues, lack of respect, low salaries and a lack of administrative support. This supports Buchanan (2009: 9) who states that “Gone are the days when teachers commanded respect from students simply by virtue of their position.” Buchanan surveyed twenty-two Australian teachers who had left the profession and discovered that their reasons for leaving included a lack of professionalism accorded to them by employers, a crowded curriculum which resulted in superficial teaching, a lack of autonomy, student discipline issues and a rising tide of anti-intellectualism which resulted in a disdain for learning and a rejection of excellence.
This research study yields similar findings among TESOL teachers working in private language schools in Johannesburg, South Africa. According to the results of phase one, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey, twenty of the forty-three TESOL teachers who participated in this study manifested the symptoms of burnout. These teachers then
participated in phase two, the semi-structured interviews. The interviews revealed valuable