Excessive Workload Damages Your Health

It has long been recognised that teaching is one of the most stressful occupations.

It ranks among the most stressful professions in workforce surveys due to factors like overwhelming workloads, immense pressure from testing and accountability, student behaviour challenges, insufficient resources, and a lack of work-life balance, leading to high rates of burnout and mental health issues. 

In essence, the 2025 EIS National Survey shows that members are:

• Working too many hours per week, as they are unable to complete all their work in their contractual 35-hour working week.
• Not having sufficient time to carry out tasks in the Preparation & Correction element of the 35-hour working week. 
• 70% of members feel stressed in their job either frequently (48%) or all of the time (22%). 
• Over a third (35.5%) of all members said that their stress levels were so high that it affected their work and/or personal life.  

It is not only EIS collected data that shows teachers are working excessively. The EIS facilitated independent research on workload, which found that:

• “On average, teachers reported spending 11.39 hours in the week outside of contracted hours on work-related activity undertaken in the morning before work, into the evening and at home at the weekend.” 
• “Work beyond teachers’ contracted hours was the strongest predictor of perceived stress irrespective of sector or role. Workload burden leaves teachers feeling stressed within all aspects of their lives.” 
• “Interviewees reported negative effects of extended working hours on family life, including reduced participation in social and leisure activities, less time spent with their own children, and increased reliance on partners to manage family responsibilities.”  
• “Workload was a contributing factor influencing teachers’ career decisions i.e., whether to seek promotion, move schools, move into education-related work, or exit the profession.” 

The UK-wide 2024 Teacher Wellbeing Index found that 76% of staff were stressed, and 77% experience symptoms of poor mental health.

An estimated 170,000 education workers in the UK are currently suffering from work-related ill health – around 4.8% of workers in the sector, compared with 4.1% for workers across all industries. Of those, 53% report stress, depression or anxiety and 19% musculoskeletal disorders (UK Health and Safety Executive, 2024). 

Our EIS 2025 National Survey found that almost half (48%) of members who said they plan to leave teaching within the next 5 years are considering doing so because the workload is too high. 

Excessive Work is Bad for You - It Increases the Risks of Strokes and Heart Disease

According to work jointly published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) and previously published work in the Lancet, working long hours is now known to be responsible for about one-third of the total estimated work-related burden of disease, and it is established as the risk factor with the largest occupational disease burden.

The study concludes that working 55 or more hours per week is associated with an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared to working 35-40 hours a week. Put simply, the more hours you work the more likely you are to have a stroke or heart disease.

Prolonged stress and fatigue increase the likelihood of burnout, anxiety, and depression. Physically, overwork is linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, and weakened immunity. These issues don’t just affect teachers as individuals— they impact the quality of their work, mood and relationship with others – both professional and personal.  

We Need to Act: Work Should Not Hurt 

Work should not hurt or exhaust you; you should not be spending your time-off or holidays “recovering from work”. The workload balance in teaching is wrong at the moment, and it is harming teachers.

We need to work together to win this workload dispute so that every teacher loses some teaching time and gains some extra time for preparation every week. If we do nothing, then nothing will happen.

We need to protect and prioritise healthier working, and the best first step is to vote and post your ballot paper to ensure the Scottish government keeps to its Manifesto promise.

We need to take responsibility and make this change happen; please play your part and vote YES and YES in the two-question workload statutory postal ballot, post it today, and please encourage your colleagues to vote!