Australian teacher burnout rates soar with stress levels 40 per cent above the average Aussie worker

Teachers are reaching breaking point with burnout rates soaring far above other professions – and a major new Australian study has found it’s also harming their families.

Australia’s teacher burnout crisis has reached new heights with educators experiencing stress at rates of up to 40 per cent higher than the average working population, prompting urgent calls for education system reform.

Those working in education are more likely to experience wellbeing challenges compared to those in retail, manufacturing, health, science and finance roles, a new Deakin University study has found.

A survey of more than 870 government school teachers and 2440 Australian workers revealed educators have a greater workload, are required to work at a faster pace and need to use a significantly higher level of brain power to do their jobs than those in non-teaching fields.

Those working in education are more likely to experience wellbeing challenges compared to those in other professions.

Primary teachers reported stress levels nearly 40 per cent higher than the average worker, and secondary teachers around 25 per cent higher.

Emotional demands were higher for teachers too, but this didn’t stop them from concealing their feelings more frequently than those in non-education jobs.

Teachers also experienced significantly higher levels of work-family conflict as a result of bringing stress acquired from their job back home.

Researchers said this indicated the demands of teaching more frequently intruded on an educator’s personal time.

Lead investigator Dr Ben Arnold, from Deakin University’s School of Education, said the profession could quickly become draining due to the combined toll of emotional and workload pressures, and the fast-paced, cognitive nature of teaching roles.

“Primary and secondary school teachers report significantly higher workloads, a faster work pace and greater cognitive and emotional demands than the general working population,” he said.

“This is largely due to a mismatch between the work expected of them and the time available to complete it, combined with the inherently challenging nature of working in schools, especially in the government school sector where resources are stretched and students’ needs are more complex.”

Dr Arnold added teachers had to juggle “a multitude of tasks” which people in other roles may not necessarily have to deal with, further impacting their wellbeing.

“These include emotionally supporting students and parents, managing the personal issues students bring to school, completing excessive paperwork and data reporting, engaging with parents and communicating with external supports,” he said.

“At the same time, teachers are expected to think critically and problem-solve continually throughout their day.”

On a more positive note, teachers have reported significantly more opportunities for career development, they have more variability in their work and they find greater meaning in their work than the average worker.

The research was the first Australian study to combine detailed, validated measures of teachers’ work environments with direct comparisons to the broader workforce.

Emotional demands were higher for teachers too, but this didn’t stop them from concealing their feelings more frequently.

Victorian high school teacher Sarah said the results made her feel “validated” because there was research to support teachers’ feelings of stress and burnout.

“The biggest challenge in terms of stress for teachers is obviously workload and it always has been, but it’s workload at a time when we’re dealing with the a youth mental health crisis … magnified to a level that is beyond what it was before,” she said.

“People find data convincing, so (this research) is just reinforcing what teachers have been saying for a long time.”

Deakin University co-researcher Dr Mark Rahimi said the research highlighted urgent changes were needed to teachers’ working environments to safeguard their wellbeing.

“We must improve work environments (by) reducing excessive admin, ensuring support for complex needs, setting realistic workloads and giving teachers a genuine voice in shaping the policies that affect their work,” he said.

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Originally published as Australian teacher burnout rates soar with stress levels 40 per cent above the average Aussie worker