Two thirds of teachers affected by stress 60% of the time, NEU finds

Almost two thirds of teachers (62%) believe that stress affects them more than 60% of the time, the National Education Union (NEU) revealed.

In the latest survey of National Education Union members, conducted ahead of the Annual Conference in Harrogate, over 14,000 teachers in English state schools were surveyed about their personal experiences with stress in the workplace and their ability, or otherwise, to balance the demands of work with their personal lives. 

Across the key demographics, the survey revealed that stress is a major factor in the workplace. Very few – around 1.5% – consider themselves so unaffected by stress that they “haven’t thought about” it at any point, or “never” experience it. Around nine in ten teachers in the survey experience stress at work 20% or more of the time.  

The rate of those suffering the highest level of stress – 80% or more of the time – varies significantly according to personal characteristics. Male teachers (27%) and those teachers aged fifty or over (29%) are slightly less likely to experience this level of stress, with the most extreme cases being amongst female teachers (34%), teachers in their thirties (34%) and those working in primary schools or nurseries (also 34%).  

The survey also asked teachers to talk about their work-life balance, and to what extent work intrudes on their personal lives. Three quarters of respondents (75%) are regularly unable to switch off from work when at home. For two in five (41%) this is “always” the case. 

Working at home in the evenings is typical for 62% of respondents, and at weekends for 55%. Around a quarter (27%) are “always” or “often” contacted by their employer, either by phone or email, outside working hours. 

According to the government’s own research for 2024, full-time teachers typically work 51.2 hours per week and leaders 57.6 hours per week. The TUC’s annual survey for Work Your Proper Hours Day finds that 38% of teachers are doing unpaid overtime, and that it is the profession most likely to do so. 

To show the lived experience of teachers working in England’s state schools, the survey asked what the respondents have observed in the past year in their workplace with regards to staffing levels. 

The most significant findings include increased staff absence due to sickness (71%). The rate of staff leaving has also worsened in the past year for 56% of respondents at their workplace. 

Around half of respondents have seen the number of teaching posts unfilled or temporarily filled getting worse (48%). A corresponding 61% report saw an increase in “doubling up” of teaching roles and leadership responsibilities in order to make ends meet. Two thirds (67%) are also concerned about the lack of specialist staff to support, for example, SEND pupils. 

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Teachers have no hesitation in doing their utmost for pupils. It is a vocation and a profession that takes pride in delivering the best for young people. But we have to face up to the immense toll this takes on teachers every day. It cannot be right that we have a working culture which invades every aspect of a teacher’s life. The government’s own figures show that working hours are out of hand and they are getting worse.  

“Leaders are forced to stretch staff ever more and the persistent problems with recruitment and retention compound the problem. Our members are working long hours in the knowledge there is no army of new colleagues riding to the rescue.” 

He added: “Underfunding of schools and colleges is at the heart of the problem, but so is the undervaluing of teachers and support staff. We need to see a major pay correction not only to attract more into the profession, but also to keep them. It is short-sighted of any government to continue to ignore the root-and-branch solutions that are so obviously needed.”