Burnout among senior teachers: Investigating the role of workload and interpersonal relationships at work

• Interpersonal relationships are differentially related to the burnout dimensions.
• Relations with students are most strongly related to the three burnout dimensions.
• Supervisors play a crucial role in giving teachers more autonomy.
• More autonomy leads to less dissatisfaction with non-teaching-related workload.
• Our data support the sequential process model of burnout.

According to the ‘intensification’ thesis, external pressures from policymakers, supervisors, parents, and experts fuel an ever-expanding teaching role and associated workload. Against that background, we examined how four interpersonal relationships (students, colleagues, supervisors, and parents), teaching-related and non-teaching-related workload (e.g., paperwork), and autonomy are related to teacher burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment). The participants were 1878 Flemish teachers 45 years of age or older. The data were analyzed by means of structural equation modelling. Interpersonal relationships were differentially related to burnout. Teaching-related and non-teaching-related workload were both related to emotional exhaustion. Autonomy was most strongly related to non-teaching-related workload.