A key tool amongst the strategies used by teachers to combat stress at work is the construction and development of a professional identity. The underlying idea is that professional identity has the potential to prevent or help teachers to overcome burnout, a problem that is increasingly common within the profession. We conducted a multiple case study and analysed five subjective learning experiences recounted by novel teachers working in Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, Spain and Australia. Results show that (i) teachers constantly experience scenarios that lead to stress or exhaustion and involve various negatively valenced emotional evaluations; (ii) the substitution of these evaluations is particularly relevant, as it contributes to the formation of new meanings and positions relative to the situation; (iii) this repositioning may be connected to particular objects, to the subjects themselves, or to positions within the community in question; (iv) positively valenced emotional evaluations may be substituted for negatively valenced emotional evaluations, reflecting that positional changes are not always fruitful; and (v) some emotionally valenced evaluations endure over time and are key generators of professional stress. © 2024 Pedagogy, Culture & Society.