Creating a Culture of Care: Enhancing Workplace Well-Being for Educators
Educator well-being has never been more critical—or more at risk. Findings from the 2024 State of the American Teacher Survey show that teachers report significantly lower well-being than their peers in other professions, with higher rates of stress, burnout, and difficulty coping. These challenges have persisted for years and now represent a major obstacle to educator retention and school success. For this reason, we have dedicated a new webpage and targeted resources to help support Ohio educators.
“A recent study sponsored by Rand indicates that teachers experience burnout at nearly double the rate of professionals in other fields (Doan et. Al, 2024). ”
Wellness is not a luxury—it is a necessity. When schools prioritize educator well-being, they cultivate resilience, motivation, and job satisfaction among staff—ultimately building stronger learning environments for students. However, workplace wellness often takes a backseat to daily demands, leading to stress and high turnover. A proactive approach to educator well-being is essential for retaining talent and fostering a thriving school environment.
Why Educator Well-Being Matters
Teacher well-being encompasses multiple dimensions—physical, emotional, social, financial, and occupational wellness. Without proper support, stress and burnout become pervasive. These issues directly impact retention and performance, making wellness a critical component of human capital management.
“When schools prioritize educator well-being across all dimensions—emotional, physical, social, financial, and occupational—they don’t just support teachers. They also build stronger, more sustainable learning communities. As a result, educators often feel more valued and motivated to stay in the profession.”
A Framework for Educator Wellness
The Ohio School Wellness Initiative (OSWI) provides a structured approach to integrating staff wellness into school culture, including:
Establishing a Framework: Define a vision for wellness aligned with school goals.
Wellness Conversations: Engage stakeholders in discussions on well-being.
Assessing Strengths and Needs: Use data to identify gaps in support.
Implementation Planning: Develop tailored wellness activities.
Addressing Wellness Dimensions: Provide support across multiple areas.
Sustaining the Effort: Regularly evaluate and refine wellness programs.
Three Levels of Wellness Intervention
A successful wellness strategy operates on multiple levels:
Organizational interventions: Related to systems, procedures, and policies. These interventions address the root causes to mitigate stress in the workplace.
Example: leadership training and support
Organizational-individual interface interventions: Focused on cultivating coworker skills and social support to foster trusting and respectful relationships. These interventions help educators manage stress in the workplace.
Example: mentoring and induction programming
Individual intervention: Addresses educator well-being at the individual level and includes mindfulness-based, psychological-based, and physical-based interventions. These interventions offer support to recover from stress in the workplace.
Example: providing relaxation and meditation sessions to staff
This resource, Educator Well-being Intervention Tiers, provides more information about the three levels.
Addressing the Eight Dimensions of Wellness
A well-rounded approach to educator well-being should also incorporate multiple wellness dimensions, including:
Physical: Health awareness programs and ergonomic workspaces.
Emotional: Mindfulness exercises and counseling services.
Occupational: Professional learning opportunities aligned with career goals.
Financial: Access to financial literacy training.
Social: Staff events to build relationships.
Intellectual: Support for attending workshops and conferences.
Spiritual: Inclusive policies for diverse beliefs.
Environmental: Creating calming and supportive school environments.
Taking Action: Conduct a Wellness Inventory
Before launching new initiatives, schools should assess current wellness programs using an Educator Wellness Programming Inventory.
This helps identify:
Existing programs and who has access to them.
Data on participation and effectiveness.
Gaps where additional support is needed.
Sustaining a Culture of Well-Being
By embedding wellness into daily operations, schools create environments where educators thrive, leading to better outcomes for students. To maintain long-term impact:
Secure Leadership Buy-In: District leaders must prioritize wellness.
Regularly Assess Impact: Collect educator feedback and adjust programs.
Encourage Staff Ownership: Co-create initiatives with teacher input.
Integrate Wellness into Professional Development: Make well-being a key focus of teacher training.
Refer to this resource with Educator Well-being Promising Practices to explore more detail.
“A school’s greatest asset is its people. When leadership prioritizes educator well-being and embeds wellness into daily practice, schools become places where teachers thrive—and students succeed.”
Learn More
This blog was inspired by a recent training series The Heart of It All: Recruiting & Retaining Educators for Ohio Students, where the Ohio Human Capital Resource Center hosted a session focused on Creating a Culture of Care: Improving Workplace Wellbeing.
