Author
Valentine Chinonso Nwaugo
Department of Sociology
Abia State University
ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2475-1186
valentine.nwaugo@abiastateuniversity.edu.ng
+2347032564904
Abstract
The issue of teacher welfare has increasingly attracted
scholarly and policy attention within contemporary
educational systems, particularly in relation to salary
improvements and workplace well-being. While salary
increases are often introduced as mechanisms for
motivating teachers and improving educational
productivity, many educators continue to experience
occupational exhaustion, emotional burnout, excessive
workloads, and declining quality of life. This study
empirically examined the relationship between salary
increases, teacher burnout, occupational exhaustion, and
quality of life among secondary school teachers in South-East Nigeria. The study adopted a quantitative
survey research design involving 400 respondents
selected from public secondary schools across Abia,
Anambra, Enugu, and Imo States. Data were collected
using structured questionnaires and analyzed using
descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment
Correlation, and multiple regression analysis. Findings
revealed that although salary increases moderately
improved teachers’ living standards and reduced
financial stress, remuneration alone was insufficient for
significantly improving teachers’ overall quality of life.
The study further revealed that excessive workload,
administrative pressure, emotional labour, and
workplace stress significantly contributed to teacher
burnout and occupational exhaustion. Burnout was also
found to negatively affect job satisfaction, teaching
effectiveness, morale, and professional commitment
among teachers. The study concludes that sustainable
teacher welfare requires a holistic approach that
combines fair remuneration with healthier working
conditions, psychosocial support systems, manageable
workloads, professional autonomy, and improved worklife balance policies. The paper contributes to broader
sociological and educational debates on labour,
occupational health, and teacher well-being in
contemporary educational systems.
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