Teachers’ workload, turnover intentions, and mental health: perspectives of Australian teachers

Abstract

Teaching has long been recognised as a demanding profession. Despite growing acknowledgement of the stress and emotional exhaustion experienced by teachers, limited research has considered how these experiences may be associated with mental health. Accordingly, the present research aimed to address this gap by identifying the current levels of depression, anxiety, and stress among Australian teachers and by considering the extent to which workload—a frequently cited source of stress—was associated with teachers’ mental health and turnover intentions. This cross-sectional study involved an online survey of 4,959 Australian primary and secondary school classroom teachers. Results revealed disproportionately high levels of depression, anxiety, and stress among Australian teachers, relative to the general population. Furthermore, path analysis revealed that teachers’ workloads were correlated with greater levels of depressive symptoms, which in turn was correlated with higher levels of turnover intentions. The findings of the present study highlight the pressing need to address teachers’ working conditions and to acknowledge and redress the significant levels of poor mental health in this population.