Shock new government figures show high rates of teacher burnout

Two thirds of public school teachers say they feel burnt out according to new NSW Government research that lifts the lid on the impact of unsustainable workloads and uncompetitive salaries.

The 2022 People Matter Employee Survey also shows less than one third of teachers say they can keep their work stress at an acceptable level and less than 1 in 5 believe they have time to do their job well and are fairly paid for the work they do.

NSWTF president Angelo Gavrielatos said the shock new figures confirmed the extent of the classroom crisis in NSW, with the results far worse than those seen in previous years.

This is the government’s own research confirming we have a crisis in the teaching workforce due to unsustainable workloads and uncompetitive salaries, Mr Gavrielatos said.

The 2022 survey shows:

  • Only 13 per cent of teachers disagreed with the statement ‘I feel burned out by my work’. 67 per cent agreed or strongly agreed. (This is the first time this has been asked).
  • Only 32 per cent agreed they can keep their work stress at an acceptable level (14 points lower than 2021 and 26 points lower than the public sector average)
  • Just 19 per cent agreed they have time to do their job well (16 points lower than 2021 and 33 points lower than the public sector average)
  • 63 per cent say they will leave within the next 10 years. Almost one in 10 say they will be gone within a year and 21 per cent within 2 years.
  • Only 19 per cent agreed they are fairly paid for the work they do (19 points lower than 2021 and 29 points lower than the public sector average)

Mr Gavrielatos said the high rate of teacher burnout and overwork was reflected in the growing shortages of teachers across NSW.

The Perrottet Government is failing teachers and failing students, he said.

Kids are missing out in public and private schools because of the shortages and teachers are burning out.

You can’t fix the teacher shortage problem without fixing the wages and workload problem.

The government’s own briefings show NSW is facing a large and growing shortage of teachers and the situation is only going to get worse with rising enrolments, an ageing workforce and 30 per cent decline in the number of people studying to become a teacher

The number of early career teachers leaving public schools is also at a 13 year high.

The Perrottet Government has known about these worsening problems for years and they have done nothing meaningful to fix them.

The decision by the Perrottet Government to cap pay increases at 2.53% a year for three years when inflation is 7.3% and rising defies their own research that shows the uncompetitive salaries of teachers are a major reason why the number of people studying to become a teacher has plummeted.