The purpose of this study was to understand K-12 school department chairs' lived experiences with burnout, a condition caused by chronic workplace stress that manifests as exhaustion, cynicism and mental distancing from one's work, and a sense of ineffectiveness (World Health Organization, 2019). Semi-structured interviews conducted over Zoom with eight K-12 school department chairs provided the data for this phenomenological study, set in the theoretical framework of job demands-resources theory, to answer the following question: What are the lived experiences of K-12 school department chairs who self-report experiencing burnout in their roles as department chairs? Four themes emerged from this study. First, "spectrum" of burnout, reveals that participants' burnout experiences ranged in degrees of severity based on cyclical patterns of stress or significantly challenging events in their personal or professional lives. Second, "death by a thousand paper cuts," refers to the ever-increasing demands that most participants had been experiencing throughout their careers. Third, students matter most, shows how the relationship dynamics between department chairs and their students appeared to bring their biggest sense of accomplishment and greatest challenges. Finally, creating space, involves participants' efforts to set healthy boundaries between themselves and their work at school. The study's findings suggest that school administrators support K-12 school department chairs by establishing clear expectations for their department chair responsibilities, adopting best practices for addressing student misbehavior and apathy, and exercising caution when imposing additional demands on teachers. Furthermore, the study's findings also suggest that educators create personal space away from work to prioritize their physical and mental well-being. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]