Teachers who want to be happier should not try to please everyone and should have a greater say in setting targets, a new survey has revealed. Figures released from the University of Kent, in association with Teacher Support Network, show that teachers with career aspirations and a goal to learn were happier than those facing unrealistic expectations.

"Most teachers only suffered from burnout if they were highly stressed" said Julian Childs of the University of Kent, who performed the Wellbeing and Stress at Work Study along with Dr. Joachim Stoeber. "Yet teachers who thought other people wanted them to be perfect had high burnout and low wellbeing whether they were highly stressed or not."

Teachers who set high performance standards for themselves, in contrast, had higher levels of wellbeing. Similarly, teachers with a goal to advance their professional development had higher levels of mental energy and were more invested in their work than those who were focused on outperforming others.

Yet the study of 197 teachers, completed twice over three months, makes it clear that teachers should set these standards for themselves, rather than be imposed from colleagues or senior managers. In fact, teachers who felt that other people demanded more than they were capable of giving had higher levels of stress, stress-related ill health and burnout, as well as lower levels of wellbeing.

"Teachers need to discuss clear and achievable work goals with their managers" added Julian Childs. "Managers then need to make sure teachers have the resources to achieve these goals and are able to talk about conflicting duties and how these can be prioritised."

Higher standards are also likely to benefit students, explains Julian Childs:

"Teachers pass their goals onto students: a teacher focused on learning and developing their skills will foster the same goal in their students."

This view is echoed by Teacher Support Network.

"Stress is the leading cause of work-related illness in the UK education sector" said Julian Stanley, Chief Executive of Teacher Support Network. "We believe that great teachers are made in part by the environments in which they work. Teachers must be fully supported and developed throughout their careers, but crucially not overworked, so that they, and by extension our children, can reach their full potentials."

To read more on the study, try our new factsheet: Wellbeing and Stress at Work