The growing effect of job demands on teacher mental health: results from a longitudinal national household panel survey
Abstract Background Teacher mental health is an important predictor of student outcomes and teacher workforce retention, and has been declining for some years, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The various causes of this trend have been speculated to include a workforce that is younger and less...
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BMC
2025-05-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22372-5 |
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| author | Richard W. Morris Lisa E. Kim Alyssa Milton Nick Glozier |
| author_facet | Richard W. Morris Lisa E. Kim Alyssa Milton Nick Glozier |
| author_sort | Richard W. Morris |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Teacher mental health is an important predictor of student outcomes and teacher workforce retention, and has been declining for some years, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The various causes of this trend have been speculated to include a workforce that is younger and less experienced, as well as increasing work demands. Methods We evaluated the trends in teacher mental health between 2005 to 2022, using the 5-item Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5) from the annual Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. We tested whether the trend was due to changes in non-work related factors (i.e., changes in workforce composition), or due to workplace risk factors (i.e., high job demands and low autonomy). Results Teacher mental health was stable to 2011 then declined from a median of 80 (IQR 68–88) to 76 (IQR 60–97) MHI-5. The decline was not explained by changes in the workforce composition. The prevalence of high job demands was stable over this period (53% to 55%) while low autonomy and control increased from 34 to 58%, especially after 2018. At the same time, the strength of the association of high job demands with poor mental health increased from 1.32 [95%CI -0.45 to 3.09] MHI-5 units to 4.91 [3.34 to 6.47] MHI-5 units. Conclusions The decline in teacher’s mental health was partly explained by an increasing sensitivity to job demands. Given the reported level of demands did not increase, addressing the reduction in job autonomy over time (which enables workers to cope with high demands) may improve policies to support teacher mental health and workforce retention. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5bc4f742162a468984ffc1d8cfa949d9 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
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| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-5bc4f742162a468984ffc1d8cfa949d92025-08-20T03:10:31ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582025-05-0125111110.1186/s12889-025-22372-5The growing effect of job demands on teacher mental health: results from a longitudinal national household panel surveyRichard W. Morris0Lisa E. Kim1Alyssa Milton2Nick Glozier3ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life CourseSchool of Psychology, University of SydneyARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life CourseARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life CourseAbstract Background Teacher mental health is an important predictor of student outcomes and teacher workforce retention, and has been declining for some years, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The various causes of this trend have been speculated to include a workforce that is younger and less experienced, as well as increasing work demands. Methods We evaluated the trends in teacher mental health between 2005 to 2022, using the 5-item Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5) from the annual Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. We tested whether the trend was due to changes in non-work related factors (i.e., changes in workforce composition), or due to workplace risk factors (i.e., high job demands and low autonomy). Results Teacher mental health was stable to 2011 then declined from a median of 80 (IQR 68–88) to 76 (IQR 60–97) MHI-5. The decline was not explained by changes in the workforce composition. The prevalence of high job demands was stable over this period (53% to 55%) while low autonomy and control increased from 34 to 58%, especially after 2018. At the same time, the strength of the association of high job demands with poor mental health increased from 1.32 [95%CI -0.45 to 3.09] MHI-5 units to 4.91 [3.34 to 6.47] MHI-5 units. Conclusions The decline in teacher’s mental health was partly explained by an increasing sensitivity to job demands. Given the reported level of demands did not increase, addressing the reduction in job autonomy over time (which enables workers to cope with high demands) may improve policies to support teacher mental health and workforce retention.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22372-5Mental healthWorkplaceRisk factorsJob demandsJob control |
| spellingShingle | Richard W. Morris Lisa E. Kim Alyssa Milton Nick Glozier The growing effect of job demands on teacher mental health: results from a longitudinal national household panel survey BMC Public Health Mental health Workplace Risk factors Job demands Job control |
| title | The growing effect of job demands on teacher mental health: results from a longitudinal national household panel survey |
| title_full | The growing effect of job demands on teacher mental health: results from a longitudinal national household panel survey |
| title_fullStr | The growing effect of job demands on teacher mental health: results from a longitudinal national household panel survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | The growing effect of job demands on teacher mental health: results from a longitudinal national household panel survey |
| title_short | The growing effect of job demands on teacher mental health: results from a longitudinal national household panel survey |
| title_sort | growing effect of job demands on teacher mental health results from a longitudinal national household panel survey |
| topic | Mental health Workplace Risk factors Job demands Job control |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22372-5 |
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