What is causing the most stress for Scottish secondary teachers?

Excessive workplace demands, including high workload and tight deadlines, are identified as the primary cause of stress by over 93% of Scottish secondary teachers.

What is the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA) doing about teacher stress?

The SSTA is launching a demands reduction project to audit and challenge non-essential administrative tasks and is urging school leadership to collaborate on strategic changes.

How many Scottish secondary teachers are affected by workload stress?

A recent SSTA survey found that 93.7% of Scottish secondary teachers ranked excessive demands as the number one cause of stress in their workplace.

Home / Education / Scottish Teachers: Workload Pushing Us to Breaking Point

Scottish Teachers: Workload Pushing Us to Breaking Point

8 Dec

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Summary

Over 93% of Scottish secondary teachers cite excessive demands as a major stressor.
A union survey reveals workload is the primary cause of workplace stress.
The SSTA is launching a project to audit and challenge administrative tasks.

Scottish Teachers: Workload Pushing Us to Breaking Point

A significant majority of Scottish secondary teachers, over 93%, are experiencing severe stress due to excessive workplace demands, according to a new survey by the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA). The findings indicate that workload and deadlines are the leading contributors to mental health strain within the profession. This data points to a critical situation where teachers feel they are operating at their breaking point.

The SSTA's Health, Safety, and Wellbeing committee conducted the survey, using a recognized framework to measure stress. "Demands" were ranked the number one stressor, followed by a lack of support and difficulties managing organizational changes. The union emphasizes that this is not subjective complaining but hard data indicating a serious health and safety risk.