This blog post examines influences on teacher wellbeing and professional sustainability in Scotland’s education system. The Teacher Workload Research Project (Hulme et al., 2024), funded by Scotland’s largest teaching union, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), explored workload challenges currently faced by teachers in Scotland. The research was the result of a resolution from the 2022 EIS Annual General Meeting to contract ‘independent research that considers the workload of teachers, the extra hours they work beyond their contractual hours as a consequence of their workload and the main reasons for the failure to achieve a 35-hour working week for teachers.’ Thematic analysis of time-use diaries from 1,834 teachers and 40 in-depth interview transcripts identified adverse effects of workload intensification on wellbeing, job satisfaction and career sustainability.

The findings show teachers in Scotland work 11 hours above their contracted hours across the working week. Teachers face a triple burden: workload intensification (characterised by escalating task complexity without proportionate resources); diminishing professional autonomy; and a proliferation of administrative requirements that do not always align with core educational priorities.

Almost 80 per cent of participants reported contemplating leaving the profession within two years. Turnover intentions correlated positively with perceived stress and negatively with job satisfaction. Four interrelated factors emerged as primary drivers of intentions to leave:

• prolonged working hours
• challenging student conduct
• erosion of trust in teachers (including parental pressures)
• complex learner needs amid declining specialist support.

‘Teachers in Scotland work 11 hours above their contracted hours across the working week.’

The study illustrates how cognitive wellbeing (self-efficacy) and social-relational wellbeing (connectedness) influence teachers’ subjective, physical and mental wellbeing (Hulme et al., 2025). Stelmach et al.’s concept of ‘moral distress’ describes the values conflict experienced when professional expectations cannot be realised – ‘when one knows the right thing to do but cannot do it because of institutional constraints’ (2021, p. 834). As job demands increase and protective resources decline, teachers’ self-perceptions deteriorate from ‘good’ to ‘good enough’, and eventually to ‘not good enough’ regardless of effort.

Primary threats to cognitive wellbeing include inability to exercise professional judgment and limited discretion in addressing priorities. Teachers described operating in ‘reactive mode’ to external mandates imposed by authorities, informally called ‘huv taes’ (‘have tos’ or obligatory requirements). These demands frequently arrive without justification, depleting reserves and shifting attention from core pedagogical work. This resonates with Stelmach et al.’s observation that ‘Overwork does not threaten one’s professional identity when autonomy to decide how to address it is still available’ (2021, p. 847).

Teachers’ social-relational wellbeing suffers from reduced access to specialist student support services in three key areas:

• language and communication
• social-emotional development
• neurodiversity including autism.

Participants noted that Scotland’s presumption to ‘mainstream with support’ was effectively reduced to ‘mainstream with scant support’, leaving many teachers feeling isolated in addressing complex needs.

Findings indicate that teachers operate in reactive environments dominated by urgent demands, leaving insufficient capacity for essential professional activities such as pedagogical innovation, curriculum development, collegial mentorship or enquiry-based practice. These constraints impact professional fulfilment, sense of efficacy and longer-term career trajectories. The cumulative effect of unsustainable workloads is likely to undermine reform implementation. Particularly concerning is the potential deterioration of the leadership pipeline, as excessive responsibilities discourage teachers from pursuing promoted posts they perceive as untenable (Dempster, 2024).

‘Teachers operate in reactive environments dominated by urgent demands, leaving insufficient capacity for essential professional activities such as pedagogical innovation, curriculum development, collegial mentorship or enquiry-based practice.’

The findings support scholarship that reframes teacher wellbeing as a structural rather than personal phenomenon (Ainsworth & Oldfield, 2019). The consistent pattern of extended working hours across diverse settings suggests policy responses must transcend both individual coping strategies and isolated institutional measures to counter the risk of attrition among experienced teachers.

In sum, our research reveals tensions in educational governance: while teachers are expected to serve as learning leaders, curriculum makers and mentors, they often operate within environments that systematically compromise their professional growth and wellbeing. Creating a sustainable profession demands improved working conditions, institutional frameworks that prioritise community wellbeing and professional environments where educators can assert agency and fulfil moral purpose with integrity. Addressing these structural contradictions is essential for the future vitality of Scotland’s education system.

References

Ainsworth, S., & Oldfield, J. (2019). Quantifying teacher resilience: Context matters. Teaching and Teacher Education, 82, 117–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.03.012

Crawford, E. R., LePine, J. A., & Rich, B. L. (2010). Linking job demands and resources to employee engagement and burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95, 834–848. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019364

Dempster, G. (2024). AHDS Workload Survey 2016-2024. https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/foi-eir-release/2024/11/foi-202400434716/documents/foi-202400434716—information-released—annex/foi-202400434716—information-released—annex/govscot%3Adocument/FOI%2B202400434716%2B-%2BInformation%2Breleased%2B-%2BAnnex.pdf

Hulme, M., Beauchamp, G., Wood, J., & Bignell, C. (2024). Teacher workload research report. University of the West of Scotland. https://www.eis.org.uk/Content/images/Campaigns/QualityEducation/WorkloadResearch.pdf

Hulme, M., Beauchamp, G., Wood, J., & Bignell, C. (2025). Workload intensification and wellbeing among primary school teachers in Scotland. Education 3-13, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2024.2448509

Stelmach, B., Smith, L., & O’Connor, B. (2021). Moral distress among school leaders: An Alberta, Canada study with global implications. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 27(4), 834–856. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2021.1926545