The summer break offers teachers something in short supply during term time: downtime
Our research explores the factors important for teachers’ wellbeing.
For many, summer is an essential opportunity to recover from the exhaustion accumulated across the year. There is time to sleep properly, reconnect with family and step away from the constant decision-making that school life demands
However, mentioning summer holidays to non-teachers can provoke strong reactions. We recently carried out research analysing social media commentary on reports of teacher stress. The dominant online discourse was that teachers “have it so easy” and are a pampered bunch. “Burnout from what exactly? A few tough days with 30 kids and a whiteboard?” But this bears little resemblance to the lived reality of teaching
Teaching is hugely emotionally demanding. Many teachers across Ireland and the UK report high rates of stress, burnout and intentions to leave the profession
Teachers do more than teach. They plan learning and assessment, manage classrooms that are growing more complex in terms of needs and student support, care for pupils’ emotional needs, communicate with families and respond to administrative requirements and ongoing policy changes. They are expected to do all this while remaining calm, empathetic and enthusiastic, even under pressure
What protects teachers’ wellbeing?
The summer break gives school leaders and policymakers a chance to consider what teachers will be returning to. Rest matters, but it cannot indefinitely compensate for working conditions that repeatedly deplete staff. If we wish to retain the brilliant and committed teachers we have in the profession, and attract new teachers to join, then the question of occupational wellbeing can no longer be ignored
In a 2025 study, we asked more than 900 primary and secondary teachers in the Republic of Ireland what protected their wellbeing at work
Teachers described personal efforts to protect their health through exercise, sleep, eating properly, meditation, prayer, gratitude journaling and quiet reflection. Many also tried to establish boundaries between work and home. They made efforts to avoid weekend emails, switch off school-app notifications and limit administrative work to a set time. They tried to mentally “switch off” after leaving school
These practices can regulate stress and replenish depleted resources, but they cannot remove the organisational conditions creating that stress. For example, most said overwhelming workloads made it difficult to avoid working late and weekends. Others described having to “wolf down” lunch because of competing and cascading tasks. Some said the setting of boundaries was not respected or upheld by school management. Similar findings have emerged in recent studies of teacher wellbeing in Scotland.
Positive workplace relationships
Relationships were among the strongest protective factors for teacher wellbeing. Teachers valued trusted colleagues who listened, shared reute planning and other responsibilities. In supportive schools, the staffroom offered solidarity and a space to decompress
Leadership was equally important. Teachers felt they could flourish when managers were accessible, listened seriously, treated staff fairly and recognised their work
However, as with positive emotions, relationships were not always protective. Some teachers work in conditions of conflict and bullying. Teachers in our study also mentioned avoiding shared spaces that were dominated by “nay-sayers”
Relationships with pupils were central to teachers’ sense of meaning. Participants described the satisfaction of seeing a pupil understand something, gain confidence or succeed with an idea. These moments reconnect teachers with why they entered the profession
But meaningful work can also create vulnerability to overextension. Teachers may take on unsustainable responsibilities because they do not want pupils to lose out. A sense of vocation therefore can strengthen resilience, but make boundaries harder to maintain. Schools should be cautious about relying on goodwill and vocational commitment as substitutes for adequate staffing and manageable workloads
Teachers experienced engagement and accomplishment when they were prepared, able to collaborate and given control over their work. Yet this depended on context. It was harder to feel effective when technology failed, quiet spaces were unavailable or buildings were of poor quality. Accomplishment depended on whether systems enabled teachers to do their jobs properly
One striking finding was the limited reference to formal wellbeing provision. Teachers relied mainly on colleagues, family, friends and their own recovery practices. Several were sceptical of what they considered “tokenistic” initiatives, such one off wellbeing workshops or gratitude practice cards
All of this is important because work-related stress should not simply be recognised as a private or individual difficulty, but as an organisational risk
This shifts attention to the systems that generate stress, rather than asking workers to adapt indefinitely. Mindfulness, counselling and other initiatives may help, but they cannot replace action on preventable organisational harm
