Dominique Cau-Bareille, Professor of Ergonomics at the Institute for Labour Studies, University of Lyon 2; Research Laboratory on Education, Culture and Politics, explores whether teachers’ careers can be lengthened without addressing their working conditions
Making careers longer means teachers are struggling to ‘hold on’ in an ever more demanding profession. Administrative overload, continuous reform and loss of status are driving professional burnout, threatening teachers’ health and commitment.
The statutory retirement age in Europe is around 65, with some countries, including Germany, Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands, setting it at 67. In 2023, France opted to extend the working age from 62 to 64 from 2027, sparking major social unrest. That decision is of great concern to researchers interested in occupational health and safety because of the direct physical and mental consequences of a longer working life.
“Lengthening working lives with no regard for the realities of working conditions may expose older workers to higher health risks, greater constraints and cumulative occupational risk,” states Dimitra Theodori of the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI).
Understanding the specific issues encountered by the oldest workers entails an analysis of evolutions in working conditions, the changes that have had an impact on jobs and cumulative exposure over the course of a career and requires an interdisciplinary approach to workers’ health and experience in the light of health challenges and the meaning of work. European surveys of working conditions alike have noted a worrying deterioration – workload, lack of autonomy and the absence of involvement in decisions – in working conditions over several decades for all workers.
The teaching environment is no exception to this reality, and it is increasingly difficult to ‘last’ in the teaching profession, given a range of factors that cannot be reduced to issues of ageing at work, commitment fatigue in doing the work, and wear and tear on the body over time. I have held courses on ‘Staying in the teaching profession’ as part of trade union courses at the request of several union branch offices. To illustrate my argument, I shall draw on the statements given by teachers during my research.
Growing fragility generated by the system
The desire to leave the profession among the oldest age group – a situation that is becoming more common among younger teachers – stems above all from organisational fatigue associated with the frequency and scope of reforms introduced by Ministers of National Education that are often out of touch with the reality on the ground and the diversity of students, leading to a loss of meaning in the work.
‘There’s a loss of purpose in what we do; we don’t know what our jobs will look like even one year from now.’ More administrative tasks and assessments have increased the workload. Teachers find themselves in a situation where their work is hindered, even though they are aware of how vital schooling is for young students. ‘I’m dealing with a growing list of procedures that take us away from the essence of the profession. We’re not doing our core job, and that creates inner conflicts.’
They feel a growing sense of mistrust from parents, students, and even the establishment, which contributes to a sense of non-recognition of their skills and professionalism. The increasingly palpable lack of security on school premises (including verbal and/or physical assaults from parents and students and unauthorised recording during lessons) is undermining the relationship with work. This issue is seldom discussed in schools or by the establishment.
The issue is organisational
Teachers do not feel heard about these difficulties. They are increasingly experiencing dissonance between their idea of a ‘good job’, namely a high-quality job built on experience, and what they are asked to do. This impacts their health and their desire to remain in the profession. ‘The system is crushing me; it’s a steamroller! We’re constantly stopped from getting on with the job, we’re bombarded with pointless tasks, and it’s completely mad. I don’t want to do it anymore.
Even though I love my job, at some point, that’s enough! I don’t want it to consume my mental and physical health because, after a while, you feel burnt out, exhausted, you can’t take it anymore!’ They feel they have no agency over the factors that determine what they do, the requirements placed upon them, or a say in the future of their profession. Of course, they ‘muddle through’ in the confines of the classroom and try to do their best in the circumstances, but that becomes very wearing over time and cannot bring about change.
Hence the desire to jump ship as soon as possible: ‘I don’t have the strength to hold out. It will bleed me dry.’ In the absence of a collective response to the barriers to their work, everyone retreats into individual solutions, trying to leave a profession that they no longer recognise. ‘I’m not abandoning the profession, the profession’s abandoning me,’ said one teacher in the oldest age group.
In view of this, restoring some agency is essential for teacher retention. This could involve developing a critical appraisal of institutional injunctions, creating opportunities for teachers to make their own choices drawn from lived experience on the job, and developing strong labour associations and work collectives within schools that take the time to analyse and develop work prescriptions. Such a paradigm shift would require a genuine effort to reflect on actual work practices and a strong collective dynamic within schools that is not yet in place.
End-of-career problems are primarily about working conditions, occupational health and the life-long sustainability of working in a continuously changing environment. Otherwise, it is more than likely that ‘holding on until retirement’ will mean more distress, more physical and mental health problems and early departures from the labour market regardless of any penalty measures.
