Teaching no more stressful than other jobs, study shows

A researcher in Brussels has concluded that teachers don’t suffer from any more stress or depression than people in other jobs. Filip Van Droogenbroeck, sociology researcher at the Free University of Brussels (VUB), compared the prevalence of stress and depression among teachers with people in 31 other professions.

While it’s generally thought that teaching is a particularly stressful job, the study – called “Too tired to teach?” – indicates that teachers don’t have extra work pressure or work more hours than average. They also don’t report more mental health problems. Van Droogenbroeck says there are too few reliable studies to make a clear comparison on the incidence of burnout.

Through interviews with about 3,200 former teachers, he found that teachers had several complaints about working conditions. “Many of them are unhappy with the amount of red tape, which convinces them to quit earlier,” he said to Radio 1. “Many also feel there are too few opportunities for promotion.”

Van Droogenbroeck believes the profession should be re-evaluated and that thorough reform is necessary; for example, giving older teachers tasks like guiding younger colleagues.

Education minister Hilde Crevits said she was already working on a package of measures to reduce red tape for teachers, which should be ready before the summer.

Photo courtesy Vlaams Ministerie van Onderwijs