From Strain to Strength: Faculty Self-Care as a Pathway to Burnout Prevention
Start Date
November 2025
End Date
November 2025
Keywords
Faculty Wellbeing, Resilience, Health and Wellness
Abstract
Faculty members face increasing demands in higher education, including teaching loads, research/scholarship expectations, administrative responsibilities, and student support. These demands may heighten the risk of burnout, which is characterized by emotional exhaustion and reduced professional efficacy. Burnout not only diminishes faculty well-being but also negatively impacts student learning, institutional effectiveness, and retention of academic team members. This necessitates faculty self-care. In this presentation, participants will explore self-care as a multidimensional phenomenon and identify self-care practices as essential tools for preventing burnout and sustaining professional vitality. They will also discuss how to integrate self-care practices into their everyday routines to prevent burnout and build resilience. Self-care practices will be discussed in the dimensions of physical, emotional, and social (relational) wellness. By integrating self-care practices into their daily lives, faculty can enhance their well-being and capacity to manage workload demands while maintaining a sense of meaning, purpose, and satisfaction in their roles. Ultimately, intentional self-care practices serve as proactive measures against burnout, contributing to the healthier academic environments that benefit both educators and learners.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to
- explore self-care as a multidimensional phenomenon and examine the eight dimensions of wellness in the context of self-care,
- identify self-care practices in physical, emotional, and social (relational) dimensions to prevent burnout, and
- discuss implementing self-care practices into their everyday routines.
Track
Health and Wellbeing
Session Type
50-Minute Session
From Strain to Strength: Faculty Self-Care as a Pathway to Burnout Prevention
Faculty members face increasing demands in higher education, including teaching loads, research/scholarship expectations, administrative responsibilities, and student support. These demands may heighten the risk of burnout, which is characterized by emotional exhaustion and reduced professional efficacy. Burnout not only diminishes faculty well-being but also negatively impacts student learning, institutional effectiveness, and retention of academic team members. This necessitates faculty self-care. In this presentation, participants will explore self-care as a multidimensional phenomenon and identify self-care practices as essential tools for preventing burnout and sustaining professional vitality. They will also discuss how to integrate self-care practices into their everyday routines to prevent burnout and build resilience. Self-care practices will be discussed in the dimensions of physical, emotional, and social (relational) wellness. By integrating self-care practices into their daily lives, faculty can enhance their well-being and capacity to manage workload demands while maintaining a sense of meaning, purpose, and satisfaction in their roles. Ultimately, intentional self-care practices serve as proactive measures against burnout, contributing to the healthier academic environments that benefit both educators and learners.