Stress and resilience factors against the background of mental exhaustion and approaches to health promotion in the teaching profession

Background For several years, attention has been drawn to the high level of mental exhaustion among educational staff and there are programs to promote health. Against the background of health promoting programs, it is of particular interest which (resilience) factors protect the health of teachers. Objective The study examined the mental exhaustion and job-specific stress factors in teachers in comparison with other workers. In addition, resilience factors will be identified that reduce the effect of stress factors and strengthen the mental health of teachers. Material and methods The study analyzed the data of the "BIBB/BAuA Employee Survey - Work and Profession in Change, Acquisition and Exploitation of Professional Qualifications 2018" carried out by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) with respect to mental exhaustion, stress and resilience factors among teachers compared to other workers. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were carried out. Results The mental exhaustion of teachers is higher than that of other gainfully employed persons. The strongest stress factor is the emotional burden on teachers and the strongest resilience factor is the social support of the teaching staff. Conclusion The health-promoting programs should tie in with the identified resilience factors and focus on health-promoting school development in order to stabilize the health situation of teachers in the long term.