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. 2024 Dec;40(6):e3491.
doi: 10.1002/smi.3491. Epub 2024 Oct 8.

The role of individual differences in environmental sensitivity in teachers' stress and burnout at work

A Sperati  1 , M E Persico  1   2 , R Palumbo  1 , M Fasolo  1   2 , M Spinelli  1   2 , M Pluess  3 , G D'Urso  1   4 , F Lionetti  1   5
Affiliations

The role of individual differences in environmental sensitivity in teachers' stress and burnout at work

A Sperati et al. Stress Health. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

School teachers are among workers most exposed to stress and burnout-a relevant occupational phenomenon leading to psychological and economic costs. The Environmental Sensitivity individual trait-as captured by the psychological marker of sensory processing sensitivity (SPS)-has been found to have a relevant role in stress and emotional exhaustion at work. Yet, little is still known about heightened SPS in the educational field and on underlying mechanisms occurring in the relationship between SPS, stress and burnout. The current work aimed to explore the association between SPS and burnout among teachers as well as the moderating role of perceived stress and school climate in this association. One hundred and ninety eight teachers (44.3 years; SD = 9.7, 94% F) reported on their levels of SPS, occupational burnout, perceived stress and school climate quality. In line with a vulnerability effect, we found heightened SPS largely associated with burnout. This was particularly evident in a context of high-perceived stress, suggesting that teachers high on SPS may experience more challenges in the face of elevated stress with the need of more support. When exposed to positive and supportive school climate, highly sensitive teachers showed a decrease in burnout, suggesting high SPS as a valuable strength for benefiting from positive experiences. Findings have the potential to inform the customisation of support programs, assisting both schools and work agencies in increasing their awareness of the role of individual differences in responding to both work-demand-related stress and to positive work environments.

Keywords: burnout; education; environmental sensitivity; school climate; sensory processing sensitivity; stress; teachers.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial or non‐financial interests to disclose.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Conditional interaction plot. Each line represents the relation between SPS and burnout conditioned to low (−1SD) medium and high levels (+1SD) of perceived stress. Bands represent the uncertainty of estimates (N = 172). SPS, sensory processing sensitivity.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Three‐way interaction plot. Each line represents the relation between SPS and burnout conditioned to low (−1SD) medium and high levels (+1SD) of school climate among teachers teaching working in primary schools (school degree = 1 on the left) and teachers working in secondary school grade (school degree = 2 on the right). Bands represent the uncertainty of estimates (N = 172). SPS, sensory processing sensitivity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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