New research has found that more than two-thirds (67 per cent) of teachers say their job has adversely affected their mental health over the last 12 months.
A survey by the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union in the UK, revealed that 78 per cent of respondents also reported work-related anxiety, 84 per cent sleeplessness and 33 per cent poor health.
More than one in ten (11 per cent) said the strain of their job had led to relationship breakdown and a quarter (25 per cent) reported increased use of alcohol, tobacco and caffeine to help them cope.
More than eight in ten (84 per cent) said their job had had a negative impact on their health and wellbeing in the last 12 months. Nearly half (48 per cent) of respondents said they had seen a doctor in the last 12 months as a result of work-related physical or mental health problems, with 37 per cent taking medication, 13 per cent receiving counselling and almost five per cent admitted to hospital.
Almost two per cent said they had self-harmed as a result of work-related pressures.
Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said on 6 April: “These figures make frightening and disturbing reading. The scale of the problem is unprecedented. Teachers are being broken and damaged and their lives blighted.”
Employers have duties under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, to assess the risk of stress-related ill health arising from work activities and under the Health and Safety at Work Act to take measures to control that risk.
The Health and Safety Executive has issued improvement notices relating to work related-stress where employers have failed to assess the risk of this in the workplace or, where having carried out a risk assessment, they have failed take adequate steps to address those risks. Employers could also expose themselves to the risk of civil action by employees if they fail to fulfil their legal responsibilities.
Palmers can provide expert advice to employers on actions they need to take to safeguard their employees from stress, including putting in place legally compliant policies and procedures for managing absence through stress or other conditions. For more information, please visit our website or contact Lara Murray.