The Common Causes for ECE Burnout and Tips on How to Manage It
A recent article by Zero to Three addresses the common causes for early childhood educator burnout and provides tips on how to manage or prevent it.
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The article by Zero to Three - a national nonprofit focused on the healthy development of infants and toddlers - notes that burnout in early childhood education goes beyond fatigue. It is “described as a state of mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion” that can be a response to intense or prolonged stress.
According to the Zero to Three article, burnout may be disguised as cynicism, detachment, or feelings of helplessness or ineffectiveness. Physical symptoms can manifest as headaches, stomachaches, changes in appetite, and continuing to feel drained after adequate rest.
Common Causes
The three most common causes of early childhood educator burnout are:
Emotional labor - the effort required to manage emotions, especially when meeting workplace demands; for example, this may look like patience with young children even when their behavior is challenging.
High workloads - due to early childhood staff shortages, educators often find themselves juggling more demands, often leaving little time for breaks or relaxation; as a result, this can lead to impaired work-life balance that can result in everything from headaches to sleep issues.
Lack of resources - limited access to specialized materials can make it challenging to support children with developmental delays, disorders, or disabilities; also, teachers may experience feelings of guilt or inadequacy if they sense they’re being forced to cut corners or compromise their quality of service.
Self-Care Tips
Zero to Three provides tips on how educators can cope with stress and frustration to avoid burnout, arguing that self-care is “nonnegotiable.”
Three areas to focus on include:
Mindfulness - the intentional practice of being fully present in any given moment and approaching it with openness and acceptance. In the early childhood education sphere, the advantages of mindfulness include: reduced anxiety, higher empathy and compassion, and improved well-being.
Seeking peer support - consider forming a peer support group or establishing individual mentorships to help with stress management in child care settings.
Setting boundaries - establishing healthy boundaries help to prevention overextension or over-commitment, reduce emotional exhaustion and stress, reinforce self-worth and self-respect by promoting the prioritization of well-being, and protecting enthusiasm for serving young children and their families.
To learn more, read Zero to Three’s recent article.