The vast majority of teachers say there’s not enough time in the workday to accomplish all that’s expected of them. Some 84% say they don’t have enough time during their regular work hours to do tasks like grading, lesson planning, paperwork and answering emails.
Reasons it’s so hard to get everything done during the workday
We asked teachers who say they don’t have enough time to get all their work done in their regular work hours about some of the possible underlying causes.
Most say simply having too much work is a major reason they don’t have enough time to get everything done.
Smaller shares say these factors are major reasons:
- Often having to perform non-teaching duties such as hallway or lunch duty (24%)
- Often spending time helping students outside class time (22%)
- Often having to cover for another teacher’s class when they aren’t available (16%)
Shares ranging from 51% to 72% say each of these is at least a minor reason they don’t have enough time to get all their work done during regular work hours.
Staffing issues
Staffing shortages in K-12 public schools have been widely reported. These shortages extend from classroom teachers to non-teaching staff. Seven-in-ten public K-12 teachers say their school is understaffed, with 15% saying it’s very understaffed and 55% saying it’s somewhat understaffed.
This pattern is consistent across elementary, middle and high schools.
Teachers in medium-poverty schools (18%) and high-poverty schools (19%) are more likely than those in low-poverty schools (11%) to say their school is very understaffed.
Balancing work and personal life
Given all of these challenges, it’s not surprising that a majority of teachers (54%) say it’s difficult for them to balance work and their personal life – 16% say this is very difficult, and 37% say it’s somewhat difficult.
About one-in-four say it’s very easy (6%) or somewhat easy (20%) for them to balance work and their personal life. And 20% say it’s neither easy nor difficult.
Work-life balance is more difficult for teachers who are women than for those who are men (57% vs. 43% say this is very or somewhat difficult).
How teachers experience their jobs
Large majorities of teachers say they find their job to be stressful (77%) and overwhelming (68%) extremely often or often.
Smaller majorities say their job is frequently fulfilling (56%) or enjoyable (53%).
Among teachers, women are more likely than men to say their job is frequently stressful or overwhelming. For example, 74% of women teachers say they find teaching to be overwhelming extremely often or often, compared with 49% of men.
Feeling stressed or overwhelmed is also more common among elementary and middle school teachers than among high school teachers.
When it comes to experiencing positive emotions, teachers who are newer to the profession are more likely than those with longer tenures to say they frequently find their job to be fulfilling.
Among those who’ve been teaching for less than six years, 67% say their job is fulfilling extremely often or often. This compares with 52% among those who’ve been teaching for six to 10 years, and 54% among those with more than 10 years of teaching experience.
Newer teachers are also more likely than those who’ve been in the profession for more than 10 years to say they frequently find their job to be enjoyable.
