https://doi.org/10.

15625/2615-8965/22410405

Factors Influencing Burnout during the Pandemic:

A Case of Vietnamese Teachers
Hiep-Hung Pham1, Duc Minh Vu2*
1
[email protected] ABSTRACT: Online teaching has become the new norm both during and beyond
(1) Reduvation Research Group the pandemic, with teachers at the center of enacting this change. Although
Thanh Do University, Hanoi
COVID-19 has passed, many lessons and insights can still be drawn to inform
(Vietnam)
school leaders and policymakers on how to better support teachers through
(2) University of Education,
Vietnam National University, Hanoi, such transitions, as well as to prepare them for any future pandemics. This
(Vietnam) study investigates factors contributing to teacher burnout in Vietnam during
2
[email protected] the COVID-19 period by re-examining existing survey data on educators’
(1) Vietnam National University, Hanoi perceptions of online teaching and its impacts. Guided by relevant literature,
(Vietnam) selected survey items were used to approximate perceived burnout, and
(2) Innovation Academy, University College
regression analysis was conducted to explore four potential contributing
Dublin (Ireland)
factors. Strong statistical evidence was found for work overload and the
*
Corresponding author
perceived negative impact of COVID-19 on life in predicting Vietnamese
teachers’ burnout. Weak statistical support was found for the effectiveness of
online teaching and learning, while no evidence was found for perceived social
support. This paper takes a novel approach by reanalyzing data collected from
a previously published study to generate new understandings and insights. It
also serves as a preliminary study, highlighting areas that future research on
teacher burnout may consider in theoretical models.

KEYWORDS: online teaching, online learning, teacher burnout, COVID-19, Vietnam education
Received 12/06/2024 Revised manuscript received 15/12/2024 Published 30/12/2024.

1. Introduction valuable insights and lessons that can help shape

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a future policy to better support teachers, students,
significant impact on various aspects of life. and their online learning experiences.
The education sector is not an exception, with However, much of the existing research on
many challenges and disruptions in teaching, online T&L during COVID-19 has only focused
learning, and assessment due to the sudden on students’ perspectives, with scant literature
and unexpected transition to the online format. on the impacts of such transition on teachers and
Although much of the impact from COVID-19 how they cope with such changes (Kim & Asbury,
has now been contained, with life returning back 2020), despite their important role in shaping and
to normal, online teaching and learning (T&L) influencing students’ learning. Teaching is an
are not likely to fade away. Defined as a form of emotionally demanding job, and teachers cannot
distance education conducted over the Internet, perform to their best if their basic emotional
either partially or fully, digital learning is argued needs are not met (Phan & Pham, 2023). And
to be the new normal in the post-COVID-19 yet, as difficult as it was for students, teachers
era (Lockee, 2021). This is especially the case also had to cope with numerous stress factors
for Vietnam, with the great emphasis on the and challenges during COVID-19’s transition to
digital transformation of its education system, online T&L (Westphal et al., 2022).
which is evident in the government’s project When exposed to negative emotions and
– “Strengthening IT Applications and Digital experiences for an intensive and prolonged
Transformation in E-Education for the Period period of time, it can affect both the teachers’
2021–2025 and Orientation to 2030.” Hence, mental and physical health, which will then
the experiences from the intensive period of have a subsequent effect on their students. In
online teaching during the lockdown can provide other words, teachers would start to develop

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symptoms of burnout, which refers to one’s educators felt anxious and frustrated during
exhaustion and deteriorating commitment due COVID-19’s transition to online T&L due to the
to long-term exposure to stress in the caregiving increase in workload with limited guidance and
profession (Madigan & Kim, 2021; Westphal et support. In their follow-up study, Phan and Pham
al., 2022). Maslach et al. (2001) defined burnout (2023) found that suppressing negative emotions
as a syndrome with three dimensions, which had been one of these teachers’ coping strategies
include (i) emotional exhaustion (the physical in response to online T&L’s difficulties. As some
and emotional weariness due to one’s work), (ii) of the few studies focusing on teacher burnout,
depersonalization (feelings of detachment from these two studies provide initial evidence
others’ needs and wants in the working context), highlighting the need for future inquiry into
and (iii) inefficacy (feelings of inadequacy in this overlooked research area. Furthermore,
conducting and completing one’s job). while these two studies have focused explicitly
Teachers face substantial demands from on university language teachers, there is also
their job and are constantly exposed to different a need to examine teacher burnout across the
stressors on a daily basis, which make teaching Vietnamese education system to create a more
one of the most stressful occupations (McCarthy complete picture. Such knowledge will also
et al., 2016). Research on this topic has found help to enrich the limited and growing body of
various negative outcomes associated with literature on teacher burnout globally.
burnout for both teachers themselves and their To address this research goal, the current
students. For the former, teachers suffering from study seeks to quantitatively examine the factors
burnout have more symptoms of mental health influencing teacher burnout during the COVID-19
illness, and lower work engagement, and greater lockdown. To do so, it utilizes an existing dataset
turnover intention (Lee, 2017). For the latter, on Vietnamese teachers’ perspectives during the
Madigan and Kim (2021), in their literature COVID-19 pandemic, collected by Hoang et
review, found that teacher burnout has a negative al. (2020). An estimate for teacher burnout was
effect on students’ academic achievement. computed based on relevant items. Regression
In addition to the existing challenges of analysis was then conducted to examine the role
their day-to-day job, teachers had to face many of different factors in predicting teacher burnout
new difficulties during the pandemic, as they during the COVID-19 lockdown.
had to quickly adapt both their personal and
professional lives to remote T&L. Such a rapid 2. Literature review
and unexpected transition can give rise to higher 2.1. Teacher burnout and work overload
levels of stress and burnout in teachers (Westphal Prior to COVID-19, work overload had always
et al., 2022). Hence, it is important to identify been one of the major factors contributing to and
which factors contribute to such teacher stress predicting teacher burnout. It refers to assigning
and burnout so we can better support them in the employees more tasks and responsibilities than
future, especially when teachers’ well-being has they can manage without providing the necessary
been found to be connected to students’ well- supporting resources (Abdulaziz et al., 2022).
being (Madigan & Kim, 2021). As a result, there In the case of teachers, apart from their main
has been a growing interest in recent years to teaching duties, they also have to attend to other
understand the drivers of teacher burnout during administrative tasks such as writing reports,
the COVID-19 pandemic (Westphal et al., 2022). attending meetings, etc. Furthermore, they also
However, the same research trend cannot be have to respond to unplanned changes, which
observed in the context of Vietnam, albeit their results in them not having enough time to meet
priority on digital transformation, as the literature the many demands of their job (Westphal et al.,
on this topic is quite limited. For instance, in their 2022). The COVID-19 lockdown had a profound
interview of seven Vietnamese English language impact on this complex workload, as Phan and
teachers, Pham and Phan (2023) found that these Pham (2023) found that Vietnamese teachers had

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to take on major extra work to restructure and of online T&L is negatively associated with
redesign their courses into a digital format. While their perceived level of burnout.
familiarizing themselves with online platforms,
they also had to guide and instruct students who 2.3. Teacher burnout and COVID-19 impact on life
were similarly inexperienced. On the other hand, quality
they had competing responsibilities at home, such In terms of non-work-related factors
as taking care of their own children and/or other contributing to burnout, teachers’ concerns
sick family members, etc. Hong et al. (2021), in about the general impact of COVID-19 on their
their study of Chinese pre-school teachers, found quality of life is one such factor. In their study
that the stress of parenting and work overload of how language teachers coped with the switch
are positively linked, with both negatively to online T&L, MacIntyre et al. (2020) found
associated with job satisfaction. Hence, this anxiety about one’s own and their family’s
study proposes the following hypothesis: health to be the second strongest stressor after
H1: Vietnamese teachers’ perceived work workload. Indeed, various Vietnamese teachers
overload is positively associated with their expressed concerns about the adverse effects
perceived level of burnout. on their physical health as a result of looking at
screens and teaching online classes for extended
2.2. Teacher burnout and online T&L effectiveness periods (Phan & Pham, 2023). Another source
While the effectiveness of online T&L of burnout due to deteriorating life quality may
has often been examined from the students’ come from the blurred boundary between life and
perspective, this concept is less studied from work (Phan et al., 2025). With the assumption
the perspective of educators. It refers to the that working from home would grant teachers
teacher’s perception and satisfaction with the more free time, many were forced to take up
quality and impact of online teaching on student additional and urgent work even outside working
learning (Smith et al., 2021). Experience with hours (Phan et al., 2025). Adding to this were
online teaching can be another source of burnout additional childcare and household duties, which
for teachers, as lower satisfaction with online made it even more difficult for teachers to strike
T&L has been found to be associated with a balance between life and work.
higher levels of burnout (Mosleh et al., 2022). On the other hand, financial well-being is
Due to issues with online T&L such as internet another factor affecting teachers’ quality of life
connection and lack of interaction between and, subsequently, their stress levels (MacIntyre
teachers and students, teachers often do not find et al., 2020). Teachers’ sources of income were
this method as effective as face-to-face teaching, severely affected due to the drop in student
which can contribute to dissatisfaction and, enrollment during COVID-19, which led to
subsequently, burnout. Furthermore, student feelings of distress and burnout. The same can be
engagement during online T&L could be another argued in the case of Vietnamese teachers, as a
source of teacher burnout, as lower engagement major source of income for public school teachers
can lead to teacher anxiety, contributing to comes from private tutoring (Nguyen et al., 2021).
burnout (Wang et al., 2022). The same was With these in mind, this study hypothesizes that:
observed for Vietnamese teachers, as Pham and H3: Vietnamese teachers’ perceived general
Phan (2023) found that they felt discouraged impact of COVID-19 on their life is positively
by the lack of engagement with students in associated with their perceived level of burnout.
online T&L. They also found that Vietnamese
teachers faced pedagogical challenges in a 2.4. Teacher burnout and social support
virtual environment, which further contributed Referred to as the support received from an
to their sense of frustration. Hence, this individual’s social network to help them deal
study proposes the following hypothesis: with stressful situations and/or achieve personal
H2: Vietnamese teachers’perceived effectiveness goals, perceived social support can have a direct

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impact on teachers’ well-being and the quality their perceptions of factors influencing their
of their teaching (Šimunović et al., 2024). Such teaching, and (iii) their feelings towards school
support can come from both work and non-work resources and teaching effectiveness. All of the
channels and serves as an important resource variables of interest for this paper fall under
during times of crisis (Šimunović et al., 2024). groups (ii) and (iii), which are measured using
It provides a buffer against stress by satisfying a 5-point Likert scale (1 – Strongly disagree, 2
basic psychological needs and improving one’s – Disagree, 3 – Neither agree nor disagree, 4 –
sense of control over negative events and Agree, 5 – Strongly agree).
experiences (Zhou & Yao, 2020). Furthermore, The measurements for all the variables of
social support helps individuals cope with interest in this study are computed as follows:
adverse circumstances by boosting self-esteem Teacher burnout (Burnout): As research has
and alleviating negative emotions (Zhou & Yao, shown that stress and job satisfaction are good
2020). Conversely, the lack of social support can predictors of burnout (Ogresta et al., 2008),
intensify teachers’ feelings of loss and frustration the measurements for these two items from
with online T&L. This was particularly the survey were combined to construct the
experienced by Vietnamese teachers, as some estimation for the dependent variable of the
expressed a lack of institutional support at the study. These included (i) stress associated with
beginning of the pandemic, which made them feel online T&L (Onl_stress) and (ii) dissatisfaction
unequipped and anxious (L.T.T. Pham & Phan, with online T&L (DisSatis_teach_learn). Since
2023; Phan et al., 2025). As such, it is likely that the original dataset only contains a measurement
social support can reduce psychological distress for teachers’ satisfaction with online T&L (Satis_
in unexpected and stressful situations such as teach_learn), it was reversed to obtain an estimate
online T&L during COVID-19. This leads to the for dissatisfaction, which is more relevant to the
following hypothesis: purpose of this study. For Onl_stress, respondents
H4: Vietnamese teachers’ perceived social were asked to self-report their level of stress
support is negatively associated with their regarding online teaching activities, while for
perceived level of burnout. Satis_teach_learn, they were asked to self-report
their level of satisfaction with online T&L.
3. Methodology Perceived workload (Onl_workload): The
This study utilized the data collected by Hoang original survey’s measurement for this item was
et al. (2020) between April 6, 2020, and April 11, used, which asked respondents whether they
2020, about Vietnamese teachers’ perceptions agreed that COVID-19 increased their workload.
of different aspects of online T&L during the Perceived online T&L effectiveness
COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected using (Effectiveness): In accordance with the rationale
a self-report survey questionnaire, which was first outlined in section 2.2, this variable is the total
tested with 30 teachers and 4 principals in Hanoi of two items: teachers’ perceived teaching
to ensure the validity of the measurement. After effectiveness (Onl_effective) and their perceived
being revised, the survey questionnaire was then student engagement in online T&L (Onl_active).
distributed to the two largest online Facebook For the former, respondents were asked if online
groups of Vietnamese teachers at the time, which teaching activities were as effective as normal
were Microsoft Innovative Educator (38,600 classes; for the latter, they were asked if students
members) and Vietnam Innovative Education were more active during online T&L.
Forum (14,000 members). After one week, the Perceived impact of COVID-19 on life
research team collected 373 potential responses, (Feel_impact): This paper follows Pham et al.
but 79 were excluded due to violations of the cross- (2021)’s approach to obtain a measurement for
checking question. The final dataset contains this variable by combining two questionnaire
294 observations, comprising three groups of items: teachers’ feelings about the impact of
information: (i) participants’ demographics, (ii) COVID-19 on their lifestyle habits (feel_habit)

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and economic situation (feel_fin). Respondents effectiveness, the impact of COVID-19 on life,
were asked if the pandemic affected their living and perceived social support. The conceptual
habits in the former, and their financial status in framework for the study is portrayed in Figure
the latter. 1. Bivariate regression analysis between teacher
Perceived social support (Total_sup): As the burnout and each of the independent variables
survey included four items—one for each level (i.e., burnout vs. workload, burnout vs. teaching
of support from school, parents, union, and effectiveness, etc.) was first conducted to examine
government—the measurement for this variable their individual relationships. Multivariate
is the total of these individual responses. For each regression analysis then followed, in which
level of support, respondents were asked to self- all the independent variables were included in
report the support received from the school board
one model to study their partial effects while
of management (Sup_bod), parents’ association
controlling for other variables.
(Sup_parents), teacher union (Sup_union), and
government (Sup_gov).
Given the current study’s research goal, linear 4. Results
regression analysis was employed to examine the 4.1. Descriptive statistics
relationship between teacher burnout and four Table 1 presents the summary statistics for all
other variables: perceived workload, online T&L of variables in the model. On a scale of 10, impact

Table 1. Summary statistics for the independent and dependent variables.

Variable Mean Std. Dev. Min Pctl. 25 Pctl. 75 Max
Burnout 6.051 1.301 3 5 7 10
Effectiveness 5.993 1.821 2 5 7 10
Onl_workload 3.701 0.874 1 3 4 5
Feel_impact 6.571 1.45 2 6 7 10
Total_sup 8.823 2.956 4 8 11 20
N = 294

Figure 1. Conceptual framework of the influences of perceived workload, online T&L effectiveness,
impact of COVID-19 on life and perceived social support on teacher burnout.

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from Covid-19 (Feel_impact) has the highest 4: β = -0.05, p = .066) did not reach statistical
mean of 6.57, while effectiveness of online T&L significance in isolation.
(Effectiveness) centres around the mean of 6. In the multivariate analysis (Model 5), the
The latter also has the highest standard deviation predictors collectively explained 20% of the
out of the three (1.82) indicating the more diverse variance in teacher burnout. Work overload
teachers’ opinions about the effectiveness of remained the strongest predictor (β = 0.41, p
online T&L. Lastly, given the wide range of < .000), followed by impact on life quality (β
values between 4-20, the low mean of 8.83 for = 0.26, p < .000), providing strong support for
the reported level of total social support may H1 and H3. Perceived online T&L effectiveness
potentially suggest that teachers didn’t feel much also showed a marginally significant negative
supported during Covid-19. association (β = -0.13, p = .001), though its
confidence interval was narrow and close to zero
4.2. Regression results in both bivariate (-0.20; -0.04) and multivariate
Table 2 shows the results of the regression (-0.20; -0.05) models, indicating only weak
analysis. Model 1 tested the effect of work support for H2. Interestingly, social support
overload (H1), Model 2 assessed perceived became statistically significant (β = -0.05, p =
effectiveness of online teaching and learning .039), despite the upper limit of its confidence
(T&L) (H2), Model 3 evaluated the impact on interval close to 0. This change may be attributed
life quality (H3), and Model 4 examined social to reduced residual error and improved model
support (H4). Model 5 was a multivariate model fit when additional variables were included.
incorporating all four predictors simultaneously to Nevertheless, based on the lack of statistical
assess their combined and relative contributions. evidence, H4 is not supported.
The bivariate analyses (Models 1–4) revealed
statistically significant relationships between 4.3. Diagnostic check
teacher burnout and three predictors: work Firstly, no multicollinearity is found in the
overload (Model 1: β = 0.39, p < .000), perceived multivariate regression model, as the variance
online T&L effectiveness (Model 2: β = -0.12, inflator score is low for each of the independent
p = .005), and impact on life quality (Model variables. No strong correlation between
3: β = 0.32, p < .000). Social support (Model any of the independent variables as shown

Table 2. Regression results for both bivariate and multivariate model.

Independent Dependent variable: Teacher’s perceived burnout
variables
Bivariate analysis Multivariate analysis
Two Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5
(Intercept) 4.60* 6.75* 3.97* 6.47* 4.03*
[3.98; 5.23] [ 6.24; 7.25] [3.32; 4.61] [ 6.00; 6.94] [ 3.07; 4.99]
Onl_workload 0.39* 0.41*
[0.23; 0.56] [ 0.25; 0.57]
Effectiveness -0.12* -0.13*
[-0.20; -0.04] [-0.20; -0.05]
0.32* 0.26*
Feel_impact
[0.22; 0.41] [ 0.16; 0.35]
-0.05 -0.05*
Total_sup
[-0.10; 0.00] [-0.09; -0.00]
*
Null hypothesis value outside the confidence interval.

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Table 3. VIF and correlations

VIF Onl_workload Effectiveness Feel_impact Total_sup
Onl_workload 1.101 1
Effectiveness 1.107 0.241*** 1
Feel_impact 1.059 0.135* -0.155** 1
Total_sup 1.008 0.067 0.069 -0.017 1
*** significant at the 1% level; ** significant at the 5% level; * significant at the 1% level

Figure 2. Plot of residuals

in Table 3, which further support the finding and development. To answer this question, the
that no multicollinearity exists. Secondly, current study adopted a unique approach by
homoscedasticity also accounted for which re-examining an existing dataset by Hoang et
assumes random errors normally distributed with al. (2020) during the COVID-19 pandemic on
a constant variance. Vietnamese teachers’ perspectives during the
The plot of residuals against the predicted early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. This
values was examined in Figure 2, which found that dataset provides a unique viewpoint into teachers’
all the residuals fluctuate approximately around 0 experiences during a period of unprecedented
with no obvious trend. The Studentized Breusch- and rapid educational transformation, which is
Pagan test was then conducted to generate a of great value today. As such, an exploratory
p-value of 0.5358. Hence, the null hypothesis is stance was adopted by identifying and analysing
NOT rejected, and homoscedasticity is assumed, the potential relationships among variables
which provides confidence and validation for the based on the dataset, rather than testing a
model. predefined theoretical model. Four factors were
investigated: feelings of work overload, online
5. Discussion T&L effectiveness, the life impact of COVID-19,
Given the growing trend and importance of and social support. Regression analysis was
e-learning, it is important to understand the factors employed to examine the strength and direction
influencing teacher burnout during online T&L, of associations between these variables and
which can hinder their engagement with such teachers’ self-reported levels of burnout.
teaching methods and impact students’ learning With the largest coefficient estimate, work

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overload constitutes the strongest predictor of pandemic, as Rahman et al. (2023) found that
teacher burnout in our model. This relationship kindergarten teachers experienced mental stress
is consistent with prior research in both during- due to income loss and financial hardship caused
COVID-19 (Minihan et al., 2022) and pre- by school closures. Such reality also existed in
COVID-19 contexts (Pedro & Kumar, 2020). Vietnam, as various Vietnamese news outlets
There are a number of potential reasons that can reported teachers missing out on wages and
contribute to this overload. First and foremost, taking on side jobs to make ends meet (Tien Bui
adapting face-to-face learning materials for et al., 2022). In their research, Phan et al. (2025)
online classes is a demanding task, not to mention also documented that teacher-mothers had to
the additional work required to find and develop resort to moonlighting classes to supplement
new resources to keep students interested and their income, which further contributed to their
engaged (Kebritchi et al., 2017). It is estimated work-life imbalance and conflicts. Given the low
that preparing and teaching online doubles the baseline salaries of Vietnamese teachers, they
time spent by a teacher compared to face-to- are especially exposed to financial shocks, which
face mode (Kebritchi et al., 2017). Phan and can contribute to burnout.
Pham (2023) also observed similar findings, as In addition, this study highlights another
the workload of Vietnamese language teachers factor associated with teacher burnout: the
increased significantly during the transition to effectiveness of online T&L. Indeed, the many
online T&L. This resulted from additional time challenges of online education—including both
spent on redesigning the course, preparing back- technical issues (e.g., internet connection, video/
up plans for internet failure, and assisting students. sound delays) and student-related issues (e.g.,
On top of these duties, the lockdown also forced engagement and behavioral problems)—can
teachers to take on additional responsibilities, undermine teachers’ confidence in delivering
such as overseeing the learning of their children quality education, contributing to their burnout
and caring for other family members (Spadafora (Wang et al., 2022). This is reflected in our
et al., 2022), which was also experienced by many hypothesis, as we anticipated that Vietnamese
Vietnamese university teacher-mothers (Phan et teachers’ burnout would be negatively associated
al., 2025). These overlapping roles intensified with online T&L effectiveness. Yet, there is
emotional exhaustion and stress, especially when only weak statistical evidence supporting this
institutional expectations remained unchanged. relationship, as its coefficient estimate is small
The second strongest predictor in our model and the lower bound of the confidence interval
is teachers’ perception of COVID-19 in terms is very close to 0. A possible explanation is
of its impact on their life habits and financial teachers’ growing familiarity with the new
security. With increased demands from both mode of instructional delivery over time, which
family and work, a time-based conflict is was found to increase learning interactions
unavoidable, as they have to juggle multiple roles and generate positive experiences (Pham and
simultaneously, knowing that prioritizing one Phan, 2023). Interestingly, a more positive
role may affect the performance of another (Phan online teaching experience was also found to be
et al., 2025). Furthermore, the dependency on positively associated with increased workload,
technology resulting from their job makes it easy as shown in Table 3’s correlation matrix. As
for students, parents, and colleagues to contact there were no clear institutional guidelines and
teachers at any time, generating unwanted out- expectations for teachers to follow in assessing
of-hours requests (Minihan et al., 2022). This the effectiveness of their online classes (Kebritchi
work-home interference can alter teachers’ life et al., 2017), they could only experiment and
habits, making it difficult for them to differentiate improve teaching quality based on students’
between the two and strike a balance. feedback and experiences, which contributed to
On the other hand, financial insecurity the increased workload.
was another concern for teachers during the Finally, no practical or statistical significance

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was found for the relationship between perceived gain more autonomy in their work, which can
social support and teacher burnout. Such absence help them feel more satisfied and less burned out.
could be due to a lack of available support or the Equally important, teachers should be allocated
presence of a mediating variable not included in release time—at least initially—to set aside other
the study. For the former, since the original data duties and focus their energies on developing
were collected in early April 2020, there was high online learning materials, as this task can be very
uncertainty about whether school closures were time-consuming (Pedro & Kumar, 2020). In line
permanent or temporary. As a result, support for with the literature, we argue that some form of
teachers was not consistent or uniform across reward or incentive system should also be in
Vietnam, as reflected in the low mean scores place to recognize and compensate for teachers’
in teachers’ ratings of total support presented extra time and efforts, which can address their
in Table 1. Anecdotal evidence from Phan and concerns about financial security as identified in
Pham (2023) and Phan et al. (2025) illustrated our study.
that institutional support was often limited to Lastly, establishing clear and reasonable
technical aspects, with little attention paid to guidelines for online education—along with
emotional well-being or pedagogical adaptation. expectations about the contributing roles of
For the latter, Manuti et al. (2022) identified teachers, students, parents, and schools—can
an indirect effect between social support and help teachers navigate their work and create
teacher burnout through the mediating impact boundaries to prevent work-home interference.
of teachers’ personal resources, which they refer At the macro level, these implications also call
to as resilience and self-efficacy. A supportive for the development of a national framework
school leadership can empower teachers, helping for online education that can make such support
them to feel a stronger sense of control and more more lasting, uniform, and consistent.
confidence in navigating adversity, which lowers In closing, it is also important to acknowledge
levels of stress and emotional exhaustion (Manuti this study’s limitations. Construct validity is the
et al., 2022; Zhou & Yao, 2020). first constraint, as this paper used secondary
data that were not initially designed to
6. Conclusion measure teachers’ perceived burnout. Although
Although this study re-examined data theoretical guidance was used to construct its
collected during the early period of COVID-19, estimation based on available data, there remains
the implications of its results remain relevant the question of whether it accurately measures
today, especially as online teaching becomes the teachers’ feelings of burnout. Hence, future
new norm beyond the pandemic. Since lack of studies can use more validated measurement
social support was reported as having no effect tools and questionnaires to evaluate this study’s
in our model, it highlights the important role that findings.
supportive policies and programs can play in Second, the dataset offers a limited scope, as
lessening the negative impacts of online teaching it focuses only on teachers in Vietnam, a context
on teachers’ well-being. which might have lower levels of teacher burnout
Firstly, more professional development due to the government’s effective management
programs should be directed toward developing of COVID-19. Future research can conduct
teachers’ technical and pedagogical skills in comparative studies to gain a broader picture of
online education, which can include, but are not teacher burnout during the pandemic.
limited to, adapting and designing interactive Third, given its exploratory research stance,
online content, virtual classroom communication future studies can strengthen the theoretical
and management, online strategies and toolkits, foundation by employing the Job Demands–
and online assessments (Westphal et al., 2022). Resources (JD-R) model to better understand
Being equipped with best practices, teachers can the relationship between teacher burnout and its
improve their online teaching experience and drivers. According to the model, the interplay

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between job demands and job resources job demands (e.g., workload, impact on quality
determines one’s level of burnout, such that of life) are significantly associated with burnout,
burnout occurs when the former exceeds the while job resources (e.g., social support) show
latter (Demerouti et al., 2001). This theoretical limited buffering effects—possibly due to
lens potentially aligns with our findings, as high contextual constraints or unmeasured mediators.
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