Is your teacher facing burnout? IIT Guwahati study links workplace culture to severe stress levels

The study highlights that when teachers are unable to be their true selves in the school, they feel stressed and dissatisfied at work.

The findings of this study have been published in the Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management journal, which explores “workplace authenticity”, the level to which teachers feel comfortable in expressing their true selves at work. The research is notably relevant in the Indian context, where hierarchical structures shape workplace environment.

The research team found that school teachers feel authentic when they interact with students, but under institutional pressure or in the presence of their senior colleagues, they may suppress their true identities. This imbalance contributes to lower job satisfaction and higher emotional strain.

Highlighting the key findings of the research, Dr. Abraham Cyril Issac, Assistant Professor, School of Business, IIT Guwahati, said, “In classrooms, authenticity breathes life into teaching; in corridors, its absence suffocates it”

To get first-hand insight for the research, the IIT Guwahati research team conducted a detailed analysis of input from 30 teachers working in higher secondary school using open-ended essay questionnaires. By using a structured qualitative approach called the Gioia method, the research team identified key themes through iterative data analysis.

This approach reduced the IITG team’s dependency on pre-set assumptions and helped develop a “Teacher Workplace Authenticity Impact Model” (TWAIM) to demonstrate how teachers’ authenticity in the workplace shapes their professional experience.

The developed model found that teachers who report higher levels of authenticity also experience stronger organisational connection and improved resilience to challenges such as heavy workloads and criticism. Contrary to this, work culture driven by organisational politics and pressure results in undermining authenticity, specifically for early-career teachers.

Speaking about the real-world application of these insights, Dr. Abraham Cyril Issac, Assistant Professor, School of Business, IIT Guwahati, said, “The most powerful reform in education isn’t structural—it’s cultural: let teachers be real, and performance will follow”

The researchers conclude that schools that promote authentic leadership and foster supportive peer environments can improve teacher well-being. Further, initiatives such as leadership training, fair workload distribution, and anti-bullying policies can elevate overall workplace culture and practices to build a holistic education hub for both teachers and students.

As the next step, the research team plans to further validate the TWAIM framework with an advanced mixed method research design. Once validated across various contexts, the developed model can help policymakers in redefining how educational institutions’ work culture can be made more teacher friendly for better retention and overall effectiveness of teachers in the system.

The research conducted by the IIT Guwahati research team strengthens the institute’s vision for a holistic education experience straight from the secondary school level to higher education and beyond, emphasizing both academic excellence and the well-being of educators and learners.