Occupational stress and burnout in elementary and middle school teachers

The purpose of the present study was to classify occupational stressors among Japanese elementary and middle school teachers, and to explore the relation between occupational stressors and burnout. The Maslach Burnout Inventory and a questionnaire on intrinsic stressors on the job, workplace conflicts, and private stressors were distributed to 1,200 elementary and middle school teachers, of whom 710 returned useable responses. Relations between intrinsic stressors of the job, workplace conflicts, and burnout were analyzed by an analysis of covariance structure model. Intrinsic stressors were found to be a direct cause, and workplace conflicts an indirect cause of burnout. In addition, interactions between private stressors and (a) intrinsic stressors of the job, (b) workplace conflicts, and (c) burnout were also analyzed.