In late 2006, Teacher Support Cymru began research on teacher wellbeing in Wales, with the support of Healthy Minds at Work. The final report for this research was produced in December 2007.This report presents a summary of the research findings and looks at the implications for policy and practice to support teacher wellbeing in Wales.

Employee wellbeing is not just a matter of health or duty of care.

There is a tangible link between employee wellbeing and effectiveness in the workplace. Many employers now realise that promoting positive wellbeing in their workforce leads to concrete business outcomes, for example improved productivity and performance.

Excessive levels of stress can have a negative impact on wellbeing in the workplace. The results of this study show that teachers in Wales believe that they work in a high-stress environment and that this stress impacts on their general health and wellbeing. This perception is supported by evidence from the Health and Safety Executive and from numerous other studies.

There is now a significant body of evidence that individual and organisational effectiveness are influenced by employee wellbeing, and in particular stress. The Health and Safety Exective set out what it described as the ‘business case’ for tackling stress in the workplace. Referring to research, they suggest that work-related stress affects an organisation adversely in terms of:

• Commitment to work.
• Performance and productivity.
• Staff turnover and intention to leave.
• Attendance levels.
• Recruitment and retention.
• Customer satisfaction.
• Organisational image and reputation.
• Potential litigation.

Until recently, most of the evidence on the relationship between employee wellbeing and effectiveness has not been specific to schools or teachers; however, research conducted by Briner and Dewberry in 2007 for Worklife Support found a significant relationship between both primary and secondary school teacher wellbeing and pupil performance. The authors suggest the possiblity of a ‘virtuous circle’ in which teacher wellbeing and pupil performance may be reciprocally related; in other words pupil performance may cause more positive teacher perceptions of wellbeing and vice versa.

A wealth of research identifies teachers as an 'at-risk' group. The Health and Safety Executive recognises schools as high-stress environments. Research by psychologist Matt Jarvis explains why stress is so prevalent in teaching and why it affects teachers so much. Based on a review of international research, he concluded that ‘teacher stress is a real phenomenon and that high levels are reliably associated with a range of causal factors’. Jarvis divided these factors into three broad inter-related areas:

• Factors intrinsic to teaching.
• Cognitive factors affecting the individual vulnerability of teachers.
• Systemic factors that operate at an institutional and political level.

In a comparative study into ill-health retirement for teachers and health care workers in Scotland, a greater proportion of teachers were found to suffer from circulatory, mental, respiratory and nervous system disorders. Evidence from other research studies, notably the Healthy Working Lives Group (HWLG) research in Scotland4 and research by Hoel et al (1999)5, point to high levels of burn-out and early retirement due to psychological problems, including depression.

Clearly, developing a better understanding of teacher wellbeing and how to support it in Wales is critical to improving the effectiveness of our schools.

You can read or download the report here.