Teachers’ quality of work-life in the regions of Latvia

Abstract

In Latvia, during the COVID-19 pandemic teachers represent one of the professions with a special role in solving the problems caused by the crisis. It is important to provide the highest possible quality of education during the state-of-emergency, despite the increased risks of COVID-19 what teachers face while work in a classroom. The workload of teachers has increased and for many of them working conditions have deteriorated. Multiple factors pose a risk to the quality of work-life in general. The aim of the paper is to find out the teachers’ opinions on the factors influencing their quality of work-life, comparing the situation in the regions of Latvia, and to develop proposals for strengthening social dialogue to improve teachers’ quality of work-life. In February 2021, the Latvian Trade Union of Education and Science Employees conducted a survey “Teachers’ Salaries, Principles of Workload Formation and Risks of Professional Burnout”, in which 10 077 teachers were surveyed to study various aspects of their quality of work-life. The results revealed differences between regions in the teachers’ assessment of their quality of work-life and the factors influencing it. The quality of work-life of teachers has decreased, comparing to the situation a year and five years ago. Significantly that 9 out of 10 respondents did not feel cared for at the national level. The authors conclude that it is crucial to improve the social dialogue between the state institutions, employers and employees in order to increase the quality of teachers’ work-life.