资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters

Stress Topped the Reasons Why Teachers Quit, Even Before COVID-19

Before the pandemic hit, stress was the most common reason public school teachers quit their jobs—and COVID-19 has only made matters worse. That's according to a new RAND survey, which asked nearly 1,000 former public school teachers about why they left the profession.

Here's an overview of the responses:

• Three out of every four teachers said work was “often” or “always” stressful in the most recent year in which they taught.
• Teachers cited stress nearly twice as often as insufficient pay as their reason for quitting. (In fact, most former teachers went on to take jobs with less or equal pay.)
• Almost half of respondents who left teaching early and voluntarily since March 2020 listed the pandemic as the main reason for their departure.

Fortunately, there is some good news for school districts. A substantial share of those we surveyed are willing to return to teaching under certain conditions—for example, once most staff are vaccinated or there is regular COVID-19 testing of staff and students.