Study: Teachers, principals facing a lot of stress

A new survey finds that teachers and principals in the United States are faced with excessive amounts of stress.

Researchers from the Rand Corporation conducted surveys in January of public school teachers, principals and working adults.

The individuals were asked about several aspects of their well-being – including frequent job-related stress, ability to cope with job-related stress, burnout, symptoms of depression and resilience of stressful events.

The survey found that principals and teachers are experiencing frequent job-related stress at nearly twice the rate of the general population of working adults.

Close to half of those teachers surveyed said they experienced the most stress when they were supporting student’s academic learning, and nearly two-thirds said they took on added responsibilities during the pandemic.

The top source of stress for principals was staffing.

Nearly 20% of principals and 25% of teachers said they did not have access to employer-provided mental health supports.