Resentment and Teacher Burnout: Recognising the Warning Signs
Feeling drained but can't pinpoint why? Explore the hidden link between resentment and teacher burnout, plus gentle strategies for recovery.
We often think of burnout as exhaustion from working too hard. Too many emails, too many deadlines, too much of everything. But quietly, tucked underneath the busy-ness and stress, another feeling can be growing. Not loud, not obvious, but slowly and steadily building. It's resentment.
Let's just take a moment with that.
What Is Resentment and Why Does It Matter?
Resentment is one of those emotions that doesn't always shout. Sometimes it simmers. It's a mix: anger, frustration, disappointment, a sense of being wronged or let down. You might not even notice it at first. But it sticks. It lingers. And left unchecked, it can weigh you down more than you realise.
According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, resentment is "a feeling of persistent ill will or anger due to a perceived insult or injustice." For me, that word persistent is key. It's not always big or dramatic, but it lasts.
We might hold onto resentment as a shield. A way to protect ourselves from sadness. Or to stop us from having to let go. Either way, it takes up space, emotional space.
Can Resentment Serve a Purpose?
Absolutely, yes. Like most emotions, resentment has a message. It tells us that something's off. That a boundary has been crossed. That our values are being nudged, maybe even ignored. Psychology Today puts it beautifully: it may have a bad name, but it keeps us safe. It helps us notice the wrongdoing. It might even push us toward making a change.
In that way, it can be part of a healing journey.
But, if we don't notice it or do something with it, resentment turns stale. It festers. It stops being protective and starts being corrosive.
When Resentment Helps
- Shows us unmet needs
- Highlights where boundaries are needed
- Signals that something can't carry on as it is
When Resentment Hurts
- Traps us in rumination
- Drains our energy and empathy
- Fuels passive-aggressive behaviour
- Disconnects us from what matters
What Does Resentment Sound Like in Teachers?
Sometimes, resentment doesn't come out as a full confession. It slips into our everyday words:
"Why am I always the one who has to…?" "No one even notices what I do." "They just expect me to pick up the slack." "I'm running on empty but no one cares." "It's not fair."
Listen out for these types of phrases. Are you using them a lot? They're little flares. Signs that something deeper is stirring if being used frequently. These statements reflect a simmering sense of being taken for granted. The impact of feeling this over a prolonged period can lead to teacher burnout.
Where Does Teacher Resentment Come From?
Resentment doesn't appear overnight. It is an emotion, and it is information. It's usually a cumulative emotional response to unmet needs, ignored boundaries, and prolonged imbalance. Common causes include:
Chronic Overfunctioning – You're doing too much, too often, with too little return.
Lack of Boundaries – You say "yes" even when your gut says "please say no."
Unspoken Expectations – Hoping others just know what you need or want.
People-Pleasing – Putting others' needs ahead of your own, over and over again.
Perceived Injustice – Watching others be recognised while you stay invisible.
Understanding these patterns is part of reflective practice, which helps teachers develop greater self-awareness.
The Burnout Link: How Resentment Drains Your Resources
Resentment is more than a feeling. It's a drain on internal resources. When it becomes chronic, it wears down our capacity for empathy, creativity, and motivation. It narrows our perspectives and keeps us linked to the past. Bearing in mind our pull towards negativity bias, it can leave us in a prolonged state of negative thinking.
A 2018 study in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology found that emotional dissonance (when employees must suppress true feelings like frustration or resentment) was strongly correlated with emotional exhaustion, a key component of burnout (Grandey et al., 2018).
The questions to ask ourselves are: how well is it serving us holding on to this? What is the benefit to us of this emotion? How can we use it as a positive thing?
Resentment, unspoken and unprocessed, quietly chips away at us. It saps our motivation. It narrows our focus. It holds us in a loop of negative thinking. And we don't always notice until we're already burned out. Supporting teacher wellbeing means addressing these underlying emotional patterns.
Coaching Tools to Gently Work With Resentment
Let's not pretend resentment is easy to face. It can feel tangled. But that's where coaching can be a gentle, safe space. A space to become curious and explore.
This exploration will come about through questions. Sandra Whiles suggests these might look like this:
"What feels most frustrating about this?" "What expectations did you have that weren't met?" "What's the cost of holding on to this?" "What might be possible if you let this go?" "What boundary needs to be drawn here?"
Coaching conversations don't always mean you are talking all the time. There are activities that may be undertaken to work through this resentment. You might try letter writing to the person to whom the resentment is aimed (not to send!), poetry writing about this emotion and its drain on you, metaphor work like "cutting the cord" (Jayne Morris), or even somatic work to connect mind and body. Resentment shows up in our thoughts, but it lives and can be felt in our bodies too.
Reframing and Acceptance: Practical Strategies
Counterbalance activities such as gratitude journaling or guided acceptance work may be undertaken to stop the resentment taking over. Reframing your thinking is a powerful tool, drawing on principles from cognitive behaviour therapy.
And if you're familiar with Byron Katie, you'll know her four powerful questions that cut through the mental noise:
- Is it true?
- Can you absolutely know that it's true?
- How do you react when you believe that thought?
- Who would you be without the thought?
When reflected on truthfully and with full self-awareness, these questions are powerful. This type of inquiry supports both emotional intelligence and self-regulation.
Using the Emotion Wheel to Name Your Feelings
Sometimes we need help identifying exactly what we're feeling. The emotion wheel can be a valuable tool for distinguishing between frustration, disappointment, anger, and resentment. Naming our emotions with precision is the first step toward processing them effectively.
Recognising Resentment as a Signal for Change
Recognising and addressing resentment is not just a therapeutic exercise. It's a preventative health strategy. For anyone vulnerable to burnout, it's crucial to listen to the message from this internal signal, honour the needs it reveals, and take restorative action.
Resentment doesn't crash in like burnout. It creeps. Its slow burn can quietly erode wellbeing, purpose, and motivation. The good news? If we learn to notice it, we can listen to what it's trying to tell us.
It might just be the clue we need to make a change.
Recent Research on Teacher Burnout
The following five studies offer valuable insights for anyone exploring the complex causes and effects of teacher burnout. They examine how emotional exhaustion, workload, class sizes, coping strategies, and institutional pressures shape the wellbeing of education staff across different contexts. Together, these papers provide a useful starting point for understanding how mental health challenges in teaching can develop, and how resilience, support, and professional training might help reduce them.
1. Agyapong, B., da Luz Dias, R., Wei, Y., & Agyapong, V. (2024). Burnout among elementary and high school teachers in three Canadian provinces: prevalence and predictors. Frontiers in Public Health.
Summary: This large-scale cross-sectional study of 780 teachers found high rates of emotional exhaustion (76.9%), particularly among those with low resilience and high stress levels. Male teachers and those in physical education were more likely to experience depersonalisation, while teachers with strong resilience reported lower burnout overall. The study recommends systemic stress reduction and resilience training to improve teacher wellbeing.
2. Ozoemena, E. L., & Agbaje, O. S. (2021). Psychological distress, burnout, and coping strategies among Nigerian primary school teachers: a school-based cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health.
Summary: This study found that 36% of Nigerian primary school teachers experienced burnout and nearly 70% reported psychological distress. Emotional exhaustion and low personal accomplishment were linked with poor mental health. Teachers using problem-focused coping strategies reported less distress, while dysfunctional coping (avoidance or denial) worsened outcomes. The authors call for mental health training in teacher education.
3. Ishibashi, S., Tokunaga, A., Shirabe, S., Yoshida, Y., Imamura, A., et al. (2022). Burnout among kindergarten teachers and associated factors. Medicine.
Summary: Among 442 Japanese kindergarten teachers, burnout was strongly correlated with time pressures, interpersonal tensions, and poor supervisory support. Emotional exhaustion was highest among those reporting a lack of time and conflict with colleagues. Support from supervisors and better understanding of student behaviour reduced burnout symptoms significantly.
4. Nwoko, J. C., Emeto, T., Malau-Aduli, A. E. O., & Malau-Aduli, B. (2023). A systematic review of the factors that influence teachers' occupational wellbeing. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
Summary: This review identified personal capabilities, socioemotional competence, and professional relationships as key determinants of occupational burnout. Teachers with low self-efficacy and weak social-emotional skills were more prone to emotional fatigue and disengagement. The review stresses the role of supportive school environments and collaboration with colleagues in reducing burnout risk.
5. Whitehead, A., Ryba, K., & O'Driscoll, M. (2000). Burnout among New Zealand primary school teachers. New Zealand Journal of Psychology.
Summary: In this study, New Zealand primary teachers showed significantly higher emotional exhaustion than U.S. teachers. Teacher shortages, workload intensification, and administrative demands were identified as major stressors. The authors link burnout directly to class sizes and systemic under-resourcing, warning of its negative effect on student learning.
Some Beautiful Reads to Dive Deeper
📘 Burnout to Brilliance – Jayne Morris 📘 Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle – Emily and Amelia Nagoski 📘 The Language of Emotions – Karla McLaren 📘 Set Boundaries, Find Peace – Nedra Glover Tawwab 📘 Atlas of the Heart – Brené Brown 📘 The Work – Byron Katie 📄 Grandey et al. (2018), Journal of Occupational Health Psychology