2017 Educator Quality of
Work Life Survey
Randi Weingarten
Lorretta Johnson
-
Mary Cathryn Ricker
OUR MISSION
e American Federation of Teachers is a union of professionals that champions fairness; democracy;
economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for our students,
their families and our communities. We are committed to advancing these principles through community
engagement, organizing, collective bargaining and political activism, and especially through the work our
members do.
Copyright © American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO (AFT 2017). Permission is hereby granted to AFT state
and local aliates to reproduce and distribute copies of the work for nonprot education purposes, provided that
copies are distributed at or below cost, and that the author, source, and copyright notice are included on each
copy. Any distribution of such materials to third parties who are outside of the AFT or its aliates is prohibited
without rst receiving the express written permission of the AFT.
e Badass Teachers Association (BATs) is a national grass-roots education activist organization
with over 200,000 in our network. BATs mission statement clearly states we are educators who
refuse to be blamed for the failure of our society to erase poverty and inequality. BATs are
educators who refuse to accept assessments, tests and evaluations imposed by those who have
contempt for real teaching and learning.
2017 EDUCATOR QUALITY OF WORK LIFE SURVEY i
2017 Educator Quality of Work Life Survey
Executive Summary
In 2015, the American Federation of Teachers and the Badass
Teachers Association conducted an 80-question survey of
30,000 teachers and school staff on the quality of their work life,
in response to concerns regarding work stress that educators
had reported. Our 2017 Educator Quality of Work Life Survey
was shortened to 30 questions. This year, we surveyed a random
sample of 830 AFT members as well as educators in two New York
school districts where educator unions have built strong collabo-
rative labor-management practices. More than 4,000 additional
educators responded to a public version of the survey online.
Educator Stress Matters
Safe, welcoming, healthy schools ourish when teachers and
school staff are empowered by support and respect on the job.
Educator working conditions have a direct effect on the learning
environment of our students. Teaching is a difcult job, and
working conditions are a strong predictor of teacher turnover—
more so than other factors like teaching in a high-poverty school.
Studies have shown that teachers in high-poverty schools with
good, supportive working conditions are likely to stay.
1
The
people who know teachers best—those who are part of their
school and local communities—respect them the most. There’s a
large and growing body of research that shows that community
engagement and collaborative practices in schools and districts
improve student outcomes.
2
We can ensure safe, welcoming,
supportive learning environments for kids when communities,
parents, educators and administrators work together to build
supportive working environments for teachers and school staff.
Fostering safe, welcoming environments in schools is even
more critical in our current political climate. A study released by
UCLA in October 2017 shows that since January’s presidential
inauguration, high school teachers across the United States
are reporting more stress, anxiety and bullying among their
students than before.
3
Teachers in the UCLA survey called for
more support from school leadership, as well as from national,
state and local leaders, to encourage greater civil discourse and
understanding. Our 2017 survey suggests that educator stress
has also increased since the election. In 2015, 34 percent of our
respondents noted that their mental health was “not good”
for seven or more of the past 30 days. In 2017, among the more
than 4,000 respondents to the public version of our survey, that
number had climbed to 58 percent.
2017 Survey Highlights
Our 2017 survey demonstrates that schools still struggle to
provide educators and, by extension, students with healthy and
productive environments. Districts that fail to recognize the
importance of educator well-being may be faced with higher
turnover, more teacher and staff health issues, and greater
burnout, all of which leads to higher costs, less stability for kids
and, ultimately, lower student achievement.
KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE:
• The people who know teachers the best—parents, co-work-
ers and students—showed much more respect for teachers
than elected ofcials and media members, many of whom
rarely set foot in a classroom.
• While educators felt most respected by their colleagues,
they also indicated that their direct supervisors showed
them much more respect than their school boards, the me-
dia, elected ofcials and U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy
DeVos (86 percent of respondents did not feel respected by
DeVos).
• While the majority of educators felt they had moderate
to high control over basic decisions within their classroom,
their level of inuence and control dropped signicantly on
policy decisions that directly impact their classroom, such as
setting discipline policy, setting performance standards and
deciding how resources are spent. This lack of voice over
important instructional decisions is a tangible example of
the limited respect policymakers have for educators.
• Policies that support healthy interactions in schools are
tremendously important. The survey found that educators
experience workplace bullying at a much higher rate—more
that three times as high—than other workers. While most
educators reported that their schools have workplace ha-
rassment policies prohibiting bullying, a smaller proportion
of respondents said that their schools or districts offered
regular training on bullying.
• These and other factors contribute to an unhealthy work
environment. Teachers reported having poor mental health
for 11 or more days per month at twice the rate of the
general U.S. workforce. They also reported lower-than-rec-
ommended levels of health outcomes and sleep per night.
• The stressful workload, the feeling of having to be “always
on,” the lack of resources, and the burden of ever-changing
expectations take a toll on educators, and the health prob-
lems educators face are compounded by decient building
conditions, equipment and staff shortages, and insufcient
time to prepare and collaborate with colleagues.
• Respondents overwhelmingly agreed that
strong educator unions are vital.
ii AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS and BATs
Educators responding to our survey across the country report
limited feelings of respect, control and inuence in their
work, but there are also signs that this is a problem that can
be addressed. Forthcoming research from Saul Rubinstein and
John McCarthy shows that union-district partnerships produce
increased school-level collaborative environments and, in turn,
improved student outcomes.
4
We surveyed educators in two New York school districts—the
Solvay Union Free School District and the North Syracuse Central
School District—that have high levels of collaboration, including
vibrant teacher mentoring programs and peer evaluation systems.
Our survey shows that educators in these districts:
• Were less likely to nd work “always” stressful.
• Felt that they had good mentoring and support systems,
especially for new teachers.
• Felt more respected by their supervisors.
• Were signicantly less likely to be bullied by
their supervisor.
• Slept about 15 minutes more each night.
• Felt better about their work-life balance, and were more
likely to say that it is not hard to take time off to address
personal or family matters.
• Were less likely to say they planned to leave
the profession, especially among young teachers.
Since President Trump took ofce, stress and anxiety in schools
is on the rise, and we now have a secretary of education who
educators in our survey overwhelmingly feel does not respect
them. State and federal cuts to education spending will only
make things worse. The rst step toward reducing educator and
student stress is to nd out what is happening in our schools, and
to build good, collaborative labor-management relationships.
Collaboration requires time and trust. Top-down, mandated
“quick xes” do not work. School districts, school communities
and education unions can play a role in improving educators’
working conditions and students’ learning environments.
Educators feel most respected by the people closest to their
work—those within their school communities—suggesting that
the opportunity exists for districts, schools and parents to work
together with educators and their unions on a path forward to a
supportive and safe learning environment for every child.
Endnotes
1 J. Papay & M. Kraft. (2017). “Developing Workplaces Where Teachers Stay.” Teaching in Context.
2 E. Quintero, ed. (2017). Teaching in Context.
3 J. Rogers. (2017). “Teaching and Learning in the Age of Trump: Increasing Stress and Hostility in America’s High Schools.”
UCLA Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access.
4 S. Rubinstein & J. McCarthy. (2017). “National Study on Union-Management Partnerships and Educator Collaboration in US Public Schools.”
2017 EDUCATOR QUALITY OF WORK LIFE SURVEY 1
2017 Educator Quality of Work Life Survey
Background
In 2015, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the Ba-
dass Teachers Association (B ATs) conducted a survey of teachers
and school staff on the quality of their work life in response to
concerns regarding work stress that educators had reported to
BATs. The 80-question survey was developed by a group of AFT
and BATs members, with guidance from a workplace stress expert
and professional pollster.
More than 30,000 respondents lled out the 2015 survey, which
was distributed via email and social media, with results indicating
that major sources of stress for teachers and school staff include
uncertain job expectations, negative portrayals of educators in
media, and adoption of new initiatives without proper training.
Educators also felt pressed for time, including lack of time to use
the restroom at work. Mandated curricula and large class sizes
were the top issues stressing teachers and staff in the classroom.
They also faced bullying, harassment and violence, with30 per-
cent of respondents reporting having been bullied, and 18 per-
cent reporting having been threatened with violence at school
within the past 12 months. The 2015 stress survey garnered
national attention, including an article in The Atlantic on teachers
lacking sufcient time to go to the restroom while at work.
What’s New in 2017?
After the overwhelming response to the 2015 survey, the AFT
and BATs began to develop a follow-up survey. Based on lessons
learned in the rst survey, planning for the 2017 survey included
efforts to collect data from a more representative sample of
educators, to compare results on educator stress with national
stress data for other professions, and nally, to compare gen-
eral survey results with educator stress in districts with strong,
collaborative labor-management partnerships. Although 30,000
educators participated in the 2015 survey, the large number of
respondents did not comprise a representative sample.
The 2017 survey collected data from four groups: a large conve-
nience sample that any public educator or school staff was able
to participate in, again reached publicly via email and social
media; a random sample of AFT members who were reached via
email and telephone; and two oversample districts in which the
survey was emailed to all public school teachers and staff, where
local education unions had well-established labor-management
collaboration practices in place. With input from the National In-
stitute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and academ-
ic experts in teacher stress and mental health, the 2017 survey
instrument was shortened to 29 questions, plus an open-ended
nal question.
Data collection was conducted over several weeks in May and
June 2017. More than 4,000 educators completed the public
version of the survey. The random sample of AFT members had
830 respondents.
Overview of Respondents
(AFT member sample, n=830)
JOB TITLES
• Teachers: 84 percent
• Teacher’s aide/paraprofessionals: 5.4 percent
• Other professional staff, librarians, and nurses: 8 percent
• Support staff: 1.7 percent
AVERAGE YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AS EDUCATORS
• 0-10 years: 33 percent
• 11-20 years: 33 percent
• More than 20 years: 21 percent
• Respondents on average have taught 15 years and have
been working at their current schools for nine years.
RESPONDENTS’ SCHOOL CHARACTERISTICS
• Average percentage of students receiving free
and reduced-price lunch: 59 percent
• 41 percent urban, 29 percent suburban,
17 percent town or rural
• 67 percent of respondents teach in Title I schools.
DEMOGRAPHICS: RACE, ETHNICITY AND GENDER
Race
• White: 76 percent
• Black or African-American: 13.7 percent
• Asian: 2.5 percent
• Other: 4.8 percent
Hispanic origin
• 12 percent were of Hispanic, Latino, and/or Spanish
origin.
• Respondents who said they were Hispanic, Latino or of
Spanish origin could be of any race: 34 percent identied
their race as “white.” 26 percent identied their race as
“other” and another 25 percent did not select a race.
Gender
• Male: 22.5 percent
• Female: 77.5 percent
2 AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS and BATs
Survey Results
(AFT member sample, n=830)
How Often is Work Stressful?
• In response to the question “How often is work
stressful?” nearly a quarter of respondents said “always”
(Chart 1)
• Educators and school staff nd their work “always” or
“often” stressful 61 percent of the time, signicantly high-
er than workers in the general population, who report
that work is “always” or “often”stressful only 30 percent
of the time.
“As a special education teacher, we have many hours of paper
work to accomplish in addition to our teaching and planning.
Time for this is not taken into consideration.”
“is job is stressful, overwhelming and hard. I am overworked,
underpaid, underappreciated, questioned and blamed for
things that are out of my control.”
• More than half of the respondents reported that they
have less enthusiasm now than at the beginning of their
careers (Chart 2).
Respect
“Our elected ocials’ lack of support for educators impacts my
level of stress more than what goes on at my local school.”
“Teachers are generally not treated with the respect they deserve.
e young people in this country do not want to go into teaching
because of the way we are perceived and treated. It is sad.”
• Respondents felt most respected by their co-workers, stu-
dents and their students’ parents and least respected by
elected ofcials, the media, and U.S. Secretary of Educa-
tion Betsy DeVos (Chart 3).
•
o 60 percent of educators and school staff disagreed that they were treated with
respect by the media and by state and federal elected ofcials.
o Respondents overwhelming disagreed that they felt respected by Betsy DeVos.
o Almost 95 percent of respondents either somewhat or strongly agreed that they felt
respected by colleagues, with nearly 60 percent strongly agreeing.
o However, respect was also lacking at the local level. While a smaller proportion
disagreed that they were respected by individuals at the school and community level
than by media and individuals at the national level, only 23 percent strongly agreed
that they felt respected by their local school boards.
o Less than half of respondents strongly agreed that they felt respected by their
supervisors.
Chart 2
ALWAYS: 23 PERCENT OFTEN: 38 PERCENT SOMETIMES: 30 PERCENT
HARDLY EVER: 7 PERCENT NEVER: 1 PERCENT
SurveyResults(AFTmembersample,n=830)
•
o
o
o
o
o
•
“Asaspecialeducationteacher,wehavemanyhoursofpaperworktoaccomplishinadditiontoour
teachingandplanning.Timeforthisisnottakenintoconsideration.”
“Thisjobisstressful,overwhelmingandhard.Iamoverworked,underpaid,underappreciated,
questionedandblamedforthingsthatareoutofmycontrol.”
•
HowoXenisworkstressful?
smcrae 10/23/2017 12:09 PM
Comment [1]:
Chart 1
ControlandInfluenceatWork
•
o
o
o
o
o
19%
36%
31%
20%
10%
9%
3%
8%
67%
25%
28%
12%
2%
4%
2%
8%
Percentdisagreeingwiththestatement:"Iamtreatedwithrespectby..."
Chart 3
4
Respect
“Ourelectedofficials’lackofsupportforeducatorsimpactsmylevelofstressmorethanwhatgoesonat
mylocalschool.”
“Teachersaregenerallynottreatedwiththerespecttheydeserve.Theyoungpeopleinthiscountrydo
notwanttogointoteachingbecauseofthewayweareperceivedandtreated.Itissad.”
• Respondentsfeltmostrespectedbytheirco-workers,studentsandtheirstudents’parentsand
leastrespectedbyelectedofficials,themedia,andU.S.SecretaryofEducationBetsyDeVos.
o 60percentofeducatorsandschoolstaffdisagreedthattheyweretreatedwithrespect
bythemediaandbystateandfederalelectedofficials.
o RespondentsoverwhelmingdisagreedthattheyfeltrespectedbyBetsyDeVos.
o Almost95percentofrespondentseithersomewhatorstronglyagreedthattheyfelt
respectedbycolleagues,withnearly60percentstronglyagreeing.
o However,respectwasalsolackingatthelocallevel.Whileasmallerproportion
disagreedthattheywererespectedbyindividualsattheschoolandcommunitylevel
thanbymediaandindividualsatthenationallevel,only23percentstronglyagreedthat
theyfeltrespectedbytheirlocalschoolboards.
o Lessthanhalfofrespondentsstronglyagreedthattheyfeltrespectedbytheir
supervisors.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Idon'tseemtohaveas
muchenthusiasmnowas
IdidwhenIbeganthis
job.
Stronglydisagree
Somewhat
disagree
Somewhatagree
Stronglyagree
Chart 2
2017 EDUCATOR QUALITY OF WORK LIFE SURVEY 3
Control and Inuence at Work
• Educators report feeling some control over a number of
day-to-day classroom-level decisions, but they report hav-
ing less inuence over policy decisions (Charts 4 and 5):
o Most educators reported “moderate or a great deal of control” over selecting
teaching techniques, evaluating and grading students, and determining the amount
of homework to be assigned.
o A majority reported “moderate or a great deal of control” over student discipline
in the classroom.
o 40 percent of respondents reported having “no inuence” or only “minor inuence”
in establishing curriculum at their schools.
o Nearly half said they had “no inuence” or “minor inuence” in determining
professional development content at their schools.
o Most reported “minor or no inuence” over school budget decisions.
“Majority of stress for teachers comes NOT from students, but
from things outside the classroom like district bureaucracy,
changing state mandates and the constant ux in testing and
other requirements.”
“Biggest stress is all the testing, not the people.”
“We have too many unrealistic expectations put on us now, and
there is a constant message that we aren’t important or worth
our pay. Plus, we must teach a dictated curriculum that may not
match the needs or abilities of our students, which adds stress.”
“MajorityofstressforteacherscomesNOTfromstudents,butfromthingsoutsidetheclassroomlike
districtbureaucracy,changingstatemandatesandtheconstantfluxintestingandotherrequirements.”
“Biggeststressisallthetesting,notthepeople.”
“Wehavetoomanyunrealisticexpectationsputonusnow,andthereisaconstantmessagethatwe
aren'timportantorworthourpay.Plus,wemustteachadictatedcurriculumthatmaynotmatchthe
needsorabilitiesofourstudents,whichaddsstress.”
Chart 4
Chart 5
4 AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS and BATs
Bullying and Harassment on the Job
• Educators are much more likely to be bullied, harassed
and threatened at work than other workers:
o 26.4 percent of respondents in the random sample reported having been
bullied, harassed or threatened at work in the last 12 months. Our public survey
respondent group gave some indication that rates of bullying and harassment
for educators on the job may be even higher, as 43 percent of respondents in the
public survey group reported they had been bullied, harassed or threatened in the
last year.
o Educators and school staff reported being bullied, harassed or threatened at work
at a much higher rate than workers in the general population. National data from
2015 show that only 7 percent of employed adults in the U.S. report experiencing
bullying, harassment or threats at work.
• A closer look at those who were threatened,
bullied or harassed:
o Who was the bully?
35 percent identied a principal, administrator or supervisor.
23 percent identied a co-worker.
50 percent identied a student.
31 percent identied a student’s parent.
• Training on bullying and harassment is lacking
in many schools:
o While most respondents reported that their districts or schools had workplace ha-
rassment policies in place that included prohibitions against bullying, fewer noted
that their schools provided regular training on harassment and bullying (just over
half of the random sample and roughly a third of the public survey respondents).
Health and Well-Being
“ere isn’t much support for teachers suering from mental
health issues. We’re worried that it will be a reason to be given
negative evaluations or red.”
“Working with kids with high incidences of trauma leads to second-
ary trauma, which we just started to get some training on last year.”
• Teachers and school staff are signicantly more stressed
than other U.S. workers (Chart 7):
o Respondents in the random sample reported an average of seven days in the last 30
that their mental health was not good. Respondents to the public survey reported an
even higher average of 12 days in the last 30 that their mental health was not good.
The 2017 public sample also showed a dramatic increase in the number of educators
reporting that they had seven or more days in the past 30 that their mental health
was not good—from 34 percent in 2015 to 58 percent in 2017.
o 21 percent of educators in the random sample characterized their mental health as
not good for 11 or more days in the last 30, signicantly higher than U.S. workers
generally, less than 10 percent of whom reported poor mental health for 11 or more
days in the past month, according to national data from 2014. Even after taking age
and gender into account, women aged 18-64 and men aged 35-44 in the random
sample reported signicantly more days of poor mental health than U.S. workers of
the same gender and age group.
o The majority of U.S. working adults reported zero days in the last 30 that their mental
health was not good, while the majority of educators and school staff reported that
their mental health was not good for at least one to three days of the last month.
BullyingandHarassmentontheJob
•
o
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o
!
!
!
Duringthepast12months,wereyou
threatened,bulliedorharassedby
anyonewhileyouwereonthejob?
Laura Baker, Co…, 10/21/2017 11:38 AM
Comment [2]:
smcrae 10/23/2017 12:20 PM
Comment [3]:
Chart 6
“Ifinditverydifficulttomaintainabalancewithhomelife,physicalactivityandwork.Icantellitis
takingitstollonmephysically.”
“Forthepasteightyears,mybloodpressureisconsistently20pointshigherduringtheschoolyearthan
inthesummer.”
•
o
o
•
o
o
Forhowmanydaysduringthepast30dayswasyourmentalhealth
notgood?
Chart 7
10
Note:Responsesroundedup(e.g.,5.5hourswouldbeincludedinthecategory“6hours”)
o RespondentsteachinginschoolswithschoolwideTitleIdesignationweremore
likelytosleepsixorfewerhourspernightthantheirpeersinnon-TitleIschools(51
percentvs.38percent,respectively).
“Ioftenlosesleepoverthewelfareofmyspecialeducationstudents.AsIlosesleep,Ibecomerundown
andmoreeasilyaffectedbyillness.”
“Theamountofstressrelatedtoworkisoverwhelming.SometimesIcan'tsleep.SometimesIjustfeel
depressedoranxiousaboutmystudents'performance.”
OtherStressorsFacingTeachersandSchoolStaff
• Respondentsaveragedmorethan50hoursofworkperweek.
• Educatorsandschoolstaffreportedworkingmorethantheirregularlyscheduledhours13
or14dayspermonth—overtwo-thirdsofthetotalworkingdaysinamonth.
• Amajorityofeducatorssaidthatwhentheyneedadditionalresourcestodotheirjobs,they
usuallygetthem,butclosetoone-thirddidnot.
• One-thirdofrespondentsdisagreedthatteachersandfacultyattheirschoolsfeltsafe
bringingupproblemsandaddressingissues.
• 62percentofeducatorssomewhatorstronglydisagreedthattheirschoolshavegood
systemsofpeerevaluationinplaceaspartoftheteacherevaluationsystem.
2%
11%
35%
32%
18%
Lessthan5hours 5hours 6hours 7hours 8ormorehours
Howmanyhoursdoyousleepina24-hourperiod?
Chart 8
2017 EDUCATOR QUALITY OF WORK LIFE SURVEY 5
“I nd it very dicult to maintain a balance with home life,
physical activity and work. I can tell it is taking its toll on me
physically.”
“For the past eight years, my blood pressure is consistently 20
points higher during the school year than in the summer.”
• Educators’ physical health is more likely to suffer than
other U.S. workers:
o 18 percent of respondents characterized their health as “fair” or “poor,” higher than
employed people nationally, 12.4 percent of whom reported their health as “fair” or
“poor” on the 2014 NIOSH Quality of Work Life survey. Even after taking into account
gender and age, a signicantly higher proportion of female educators and school staff
ages 45 to 54 and male educators and school staff ages 35 to 44 reported “fair” or
“poor” health than all U.S. workers.
o Educators and school staff were more likely to have ever been told by a health pro-
fessional that they had hypertension or blood sugar conditions, such as prediabetes or
impaired glucose tolerance, than workers nationally. In addition, male educators and
school staff ages 18 to 44 were more likely to have been told by a health professional
that they had hypertension compared with men of the same age nationally.
• Teacher and school staff sleep (Chart 8):
o Respondents slept an average of 6.6 hours per night.
o 48 percent of respondents slept six or fewer hours per night,
which may contribute to worse health outcomes.
o Respondents teaching in schools with schoolwide Title I designation were more
likely to sleep six or fewer hours per night than their peers in non-Title I schools
(51 percent vs. 38 percent, respectively).
“I often lose sleep over the welfare of my special education
students. As I lose sleep, I become run down and more easily
aected by illness.”
“e amount of stress related to work is overwhelming. Some-
times I can’t sleep. Sometimes I just feel depressed or anxious
about my students’ performance.”
Other Stressors Facing Teachers
and School Staff
• Respondents averaged more than 50 hours of work
per week.
• Educators and school staff reported working more than
their regularly scheduled hours 13 or 14 days per month—
over two-thirds of the total working days in a month.
• A majority of educators said that when they need addi-
tional resources to do their jobs, they usually get them,
but close to one-third did not.
• One-third of respondents disagreed that teachers and
faculty at their schools felt safe bringing up problems and
addressing issues.
• 62 percent of educators somewhat or strongly disagreed
that their schools have good systems of peer evaluation in
place as part of the teacher evaluation system (Chart 9).
• In response to the public Educator Quality of Work Life
Survey’s open-ended question, educators and school staff
identied additional stressors, including:
o Sick buildings;
o Rising healthcare costs and stagnating wages;
o Teacher shortages that affect school-level stafng;
o Lack of sufcient, trained professional staff to help students experiencing
trauma and mental health concerns; and
o Lack of time to collaborate with colleagues.
“ere is no time to collaborate with co-workers. ere is barely
any time to even go to the bathroom. at in itself is a stressor.
Also, with all the extra paperwork needed for special education
students, there is minimal time to teach.”
“Buildings are in poor condition. Leaks are prevalent, and no one
knows if mold is growing. Classrooms are so hot at times. If a
classroom does have air-conditioning, it makes so much noise
that it’s hard to teach.”
“What my school really needs is more social and emotional sup-
port for students (more counselors, social workers, etc.). We have
students who have experienced trauma, and we struggle with
behavior because of it; it causes a lot of stress for everyone.”
“My health suers because I cannot aord the treatment that my
physician would like. e cost of healthcare, for me and my wife,
is too high. It causes a great deal of nancial stress.”
•
o
o
o
o
o
“Thereisnotimetocollaboratewithco-workers.Thereisbarelyanytimetoevengotothebathroom.
Thatinitselfisastressor.Also,withalltheextrapaperworkneededforspecialeducationstudents,there
isminimaltimetoteach.”
“Buildingsareinpoorcondition.Leaksareprevalent,andnooneknowsifmoldisgrowing.Classrooms
aresohotattimes.Ifaclassroomdoeshaveair-conditioning,itmakessomuchnoisethatit'shardto
teach.”
“Whatmyschoolreallyneedsismoresocialandemotionalsupportforstudents(morecounselors,social
workers,etc.).Wehavestudentswhohaveexperiencedtrauma,andwestrugglewithbehaviorbecause
ofit;itcausesalotofstressforeveryone.”
Peerevaluadon
Chart 9
6 AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS and BATs
Labor-Management Collaboration Districts:
Solvay and North Syracuse
e 2017 Educator Quality of Work Life Survey included oversample data collection in two New York school districts, Solvay
Union Free School District and North Syracuse Central School District, where local unions and districts have forged strong,
collaborative labor-management relationships. Both districts have also participated in the AFT’s Center for School Improve-
ment for many years. Responses to several of the survey questions in these districts diered signicantly from the public
survey responses and the AFT member random sample.
• Although the majority of educators in each survey group
found work “often” or “always” stressful, a signicantly
smaller percentage of respondents in the labor-manage-
ment districts characterized work as “always” stressful
compared to the public survey respondents. Although
the nding was not statistically signicant, respondents
in Solvay and North Syracuse were also less likely to
nd work “always” stressful than those in the random
sample (Chart 10).
• Respondents in the two labor-management districts
were also more likely to agree that their schools have
good teacher mentoring programs. is nding was
especially strong in Solvay (Chart 11).
• Respondents in the labor-management districts were
signicantly more likely to agree that they felt respected
by their supervisors compared with the public sample.
Some 67.5 percent of educators and school sta in Sol-
vay and 54.8 percent in North Syracuse strongly agreed
that their supervisors treated them with respect vs. 35.2
percent of the public survey respondents. Although
the dierence between the random sample and the
labor-management groups was not statistically signif-
icant, only 48.3 percent of the random sample respon-
dents strongly agreed they were treated with respect by
their supervisors.
• Of educators and school sta who said they were
threatened, bullied or harassed in the past year, re-
spondents in Solvay and North Syracuse were signi-
cantly less likely to say the person who bullied them
was a principal, administrator or supervisor.
• Respondents in Solvay and North Syracuse slept an av-
erage of 10-12 minutes more per night than respondents
in the random sample, closer to the recommended
seven to eight hours per night, and worked two to three
fewer hours per week than those in the random sample.
• Respondents in Solvay and North Syracuse were
more likely to say that it is not hard at all to take time
o from work to take care of family or personal mat-
ters compared with those in the public sample.
• A smaller percentage of educators in Solvay and North
Syracuse said they were “very likely” to leave the profes-
sion in the next year compared with the public sample.
• Fewer educators in the youngest age group (ages
18-34) in Solvay and North Syracuse than in the ran-
dom sample said they were “very likely” to the leave
the profession in the next year. In North Syracuse,
educators ages 35-44 said they were “very likely” to
leave the eld of education in the next year at a much
smaller rate than any of the other samples.
13
• Respondentsinthetwolabor-managementdistrictswerealsomorelikelytoagreethat
theirschoolshavegoodteachermentoringprograms.Thisfindingwasespeciallystrongin
Solvay.
• Respondentsinthelabor-managementdistrictsweresignificantlymorelikelytoagreethat
theyfeltrespectedbytheirsupervisorscomparedwiththepublicsample.Some67.5
percentofeducatorsandschoolstaffinSolvayand54.8percentinNorthSyracusestrongly
agreedthattheirsupervisorstreatedthemwithrespectvs.35.2percentofthepublicsurvey
respondents.Althoughthedifferencebetweentherandomsampleandthelabor-
23%
31%
19%
15%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Random
sample
Publicsurvey
respondents
Solvay NorthSyracuse
Respondentswhoreportworkis"always"
stressful:
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
NorthSyracuse
Solvay
Publicsurveyrespondents
Randomsample
Myschoolhasagoodmentoringprogram,especiallyfornewteachers
Stronglydisagree
Somewhatdisagree
Somewhatagree
Stronglyagree
Chart 10
13
• Respondentsinthetwolabor-managementdistrictswerealsomorelikelytoagreethat
theirschoolshavegoodteachermentoringprograms.Thisfindingwasespeciallystrongin
Solvay.
• Respondentsinthelabor-managementdistrictsweresignificantlymorelikelytoagreethat
theyfeltrespectedbytheirsupervisorscomparedwiththepublicsample.Some67.5
percentofeducatorsandschoolstaffinSolvayand54.8percentinNorthSyracusestrongly
agreedthattheirsupervisorstreatedthemwithrespectvs.35.2percentofthepublicsurvey
respondents.Althoughthedifferencebetweentherandomsampleandthelabor-
23%
31%
19%
15%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Random
sample
Publicsurvey
respondents
Solvay NorthSyracuse
Respondentswhoreportworkis"always"
stressful:
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
NorthSyracuse
Solvay
Publicsurveyrespondents
Randomsample
Myschoolhasagoodmentoringprogram,especiallyfornewteachers
Stronglydisagree
Somewhatdisagree
Somewhatagree
Stronglyagree
Chart 11
2017 EDUCATOR QUALITY OF WORK LIFE SURVEY 7
What the Future Holds
• Responses indicated teachers’ and school staff’s belief in
their local school communities. Although they face many
stressors in the profession, educators largely agreed that
their individual schools focus on what is best for student
learning when making important decisions; that there is
a great deal of cooperative effort among staff members;
and that they feel respected by co-workers, students and
parents.
• In spite of the many challenges facing them, only 7
percent of respondents reported that they were “very
likely” to seek employment outside of education within
the next year. The vast majority said they were not at all
likely to do so.
• 64 percent of educators and school staff disagreed with
the statement “the stress and disappointments involved
in working at this school are not really worth it.”
• Nearly 95 percent of educators and school staff in all re-
spondent groups agreed that teachers and faculty need
strong unions to protect their interests.
What Do These Differences Mean
for Educators and School Staff?
• Educators’ survey responses and open-ended comments
both indicate that major stressors for teachers and school
staff are largely systemic and not the result of an individ-
ual’s inability to cope.
• In the random sample, educators who strongly agreed
their schools had good teacher mentor programs were
also less likely to say they would leave the profession
within the next year. This nding was particularly strong
among early and mid-career educators. Educators ages
18-34 and 35-44 who strongly agreed they had good
mentoring programs were less likely to say they planned
to leave education than those who strongly disagreed
(for instance, 14 percent of teachers in the 18-34 age
group and 12 percent of those in the 35-44 age group
who strongly disagreed that they had good mentoring
programs said they were “very likely” to leave education
in the next year, versus just 2 percent of those ages 18-34
and none of those ages 35-44 who strongly agreed they
had good mentoring programs at their schools). Simi-
lar trends were also reected among the public survey
responses.
• Educators who strongly agreed they felt respected by
their supervisors planned to remain in the eld of educa-
tion at higher rates.
• Educators who agreed they felt safe bringing up prob-
lems and addressing issues at work also planned to
remain in the eld of education at higher rates.
• Respondents in the random sample who strongly agreed
that their schools had good peer mentoring programs,
or who strongly agreed that they felt respected by their
supervisors:
o Were less likely to say that work is “always” stressful;
o Were more likely to feel safe bringing up problems and addressing issues at their
schools;
o Were less likely to agree that they felt less enthusiasm for their profession now
than when they began;
o Only 17 percent of respondents who strongly agreed their schools had good men-
toring programs and 21 percent of those who strongly agreed they were respected
by their supervisors reported their mental health being bad for seven or more days
in the past 30 versus 32 percent of all random sample respondents.
o Respondents who strongly agreed that their schools had good peer mentoring
programs were also much more likely to strongly agree that they felt respected by
their supervisors.
• Partnerships are a vehicle for system improvement (from
Saul Rubinstein “Strengthening Partnerships”):
1
o Partnerships create a culture of inclusion and involvement, respect for teachers,
collaborative planning, problem-solving and decision-making at the school level,
and mentoring programs that involve teacher leaders.
o Partnerships create opportunities for joint learning and building the professional
capacity of administrators and teachers.
8 AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS and BATs
Why Does Educator Stress Matter?
“All of the policies coming out of the government make this profes-
sion stressful. No wonder young people don’t want to enter the
eld: ey aren’t respected. e pay is low, especially considering
the number of hours spent in and out of the classroom. e ones
who ultimately pay for this are the children.”
• Research shows that teacher stress affects
student outcomes:
o A 2016 report on teacher stress and health by the Robert Wood Johnson Founda-
tion and Penn State University notes that teacher stress is linked to high turnover,
which in turn can result in lower achievement for students and higher costs for
school districts.
2
o The RWJ report also cites data showing that “higher teacher engagement in their
jobs predicted higher student engagement, which in turn predicted higher student
achievement outcomes.”
3
o A 2015 study shows that teacher stress and depression symptoms are linked to
lower student achievement gains in third-grade math.
4
Endnotes
1 Saul Rubinstein. “Strengthening Partnerships.” American Educator. Winter 2013-2014.
2 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Penn State University. (2016). “Teacher Stress and Health: Effects on Teachers, Students, and Schools.”
3 Gordon, G. (2010). “The Other Outcome: Student Hope, Engagement, Wellbeing.”
4 McLean, L. and Connor, C. (2015). “Depressive Symptoms in Third-Grade Teachers: Relations to Classroom Quality and Student Achievement.”
5 The University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. (2010). “Organizing Schools for Improvement.”
6 Saul Rubinstein. “Strengthening Partnerships.” American Educator. Winter 2013-2014.
2017 EDUCATOR QUALITY OF WORK LIFE SURVEY 9
Labor-Management Collaboration and
the AFT Center for School Improvement
Research has shown that strong collaborative relation-
ships between administrators and teachers can be a
vehicle for systemwide improvement, enabling schools
to thrive. A rigorous study of more than 400 Chicago
elementary schools found that the most eective schools
had developed an unusually high degree of “relational
trust” among stakeholders.
5
For nearly 20 years, the AFT’s Center for School Im-
provement (CSI) has led the way in creating a forum
for the union and administrators to work together in
innovative ways to improve teaching quality and student
performance. Case studies of a number of participating
districts reveal that partnerships create a culture of inclu-
sion and involvement; respect for teachers; collaborative
planning, problem-solving and decision-making at the
school level; mentoring programs that involve teacher
leaders; opportunities for joint learning and building the
professional capacity of administrators and teachers.
6
Both Solvay and North Syracuse have participated in the
CSI Leadership Institute, a four-day national institute
that district and school improvement teams can attend
to build collaborative skills aimed at improving student
achievement, for many years, so it is not surprising that
survey respondents from these two districts felt more re-
spected and were more likely to say they had a good peer
mentoring program in their school than did respondents
to the general survey.
Collaboration does not eliminate all of a district’s
problems, but it does enable everyone connected to a
school to develop processes that lead to joint solutions to
problems, creating a sense of shared responsibility and
agency. e CSI facilitates building this kind of relation-
ship by providing technical assistance and professional
development around the skills and structures that make
for eective communication, team building, data anal-
ysis for planning, professional development to support
student achievement, and action planning. It is precisely
this type of purposeful and solution-driven approach to
promoting a positive school climate that helps educators
improve student success, while minimizing the inevita-
ble stresses associated with the profession and their neg-
ative impact on the well-being of educators themselves.
American Federation of Teachers, -
555 New Jersey Ave. N.W.
Washington, DC 20001
202-879-4400
