Walking Into Stress in 2025? Take Steps Now To Prepare [Video]

TLDR: Research highlights that while educators often use individual strategies like exercise to manage stress and burnout, systemic organizational changes and outdoor professional development are crucial for lasting well-being.

Five years ago, I began a research project into emotional labour, compassion fatigue and burnout in Alberta’s educational workers.

The results from the earliest study suggested a wide scope of emotional and mental distress among teachers, educational assistants, school leaders and support staff.

This distress has been documented globally and across Canada, suggesting educator mental and emotional well-being continues to decline and interventions are needed.

How educators manage burnout

Recently, my research team analyzed the specific interventions that our 4,000 survey respondents used to manage their symptoms of compassion fatigue and burnout. Educational worker respondents were recruited online through Alberta Teachers’ Association and internal newsletters and social media. Responses were collected across three periods (2020, 2021 and 2023). We defined intervention as a practice or strategy used to address distress or suffering.

Overwhelmingly, our respondents indicated that they used …