A Study on the Relationship Between Burnout and Job Satisfaction of Iranian EFL Teachers Working in Universities and Schools

Abstract

A teacher plays an important role in the development of the students’ potential and helps to form their future. This research intends to study the degree of burnout and job satisfaction in English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers of universities and Schools in Iran, as well as their association with demographic characteristics. To measure teachers’ burnout, Maslach Burnout Inventory questionnaire was applied, which has also been validated by experienced teachers for the Iranian population and the Employee Satisfaction Inventory questionnaire, prepared for the Iranian population, was applied to estimate job satisfaction. Questionnaires were answered completely by 159 teachers, who work at universities and schools in Iran. After data analysis, the findings showed a negative correlation between teachers’ burnout and their job satisfaction; their experience relatively moderate burnout levels, and their job satisfaction level is high. The findings also represented that the type of workplace influences satisfaction regarding the factor “job conditions”. The study was for the first time that Iranian EFL teachers’ burnout and job satisfaction in universities and schools were investigated and the findings showed that by increasing the level of job satisfaction, the perceived burnout decreases, where burnout and job satisfaction presented medium to high negative correlation.