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Teacher stress is rising due to heavy workloads, classroom demands, research pressure and administrative responsibilities. Experts stress the need for better work-life balance and stronger institutional and policy support to protect teacher wellbeing.

Teaching is widely recognised as a profession of profound social value and demanding responsibility. Beyond the delivery of curriculum content, teachers are tasked with fostering students’ cognitive, emotional, and social development, engaging with parents and communities, pursuing research activities, and adapting to evolving policy and technological demands. Consequently, teaching is inherently stressful, and sustained occupational stress can impair teacher wellbeing, classroom effectiveness, and student outcomes. Maintaining a balanced professional and personal life is therefore not merely a matter of individual welfare but a systemic necessity for education quality and sustainability.

Sources and Nature of Teacher Stress:

Teacher stress arises from multiple, often interacting sources. Workload and time pressure are primary contributors: planning lessons, grading, preparing materials, and meeting administrative requirements frequently extend beyond scheduled work hours. Classroom management and student behavioural issues demand continuous emotional labour and can be particularly taxing in contexts of insufficient support or large class sizes. Resource limitations, insufficient instructional materials, inadequate facilities, and constrained budgets, exacerbate job strain by impeding teachers’ ability to deliver effective instruction.

And then there is excessive research pressure particularly at HEI level. The pressure of publication is enormous and often a huge source of stress. Everything is linked to research outcomes in terms of publication in so called premier publications and that by itself is telling on health of many young teachers.