A book chapter "Dissecting the effects of workload and work intensification on teacher job satisfaction. A time-diary approach to teachers' working time allocation" by Petrus te Braak, Filip Van Droogenbroeck, Joeri Minnen, and Theun Pieter van Tienoven was published in the book "Teaching and Time Poverty. Understanding Workload and Work Intensification in Schools" edited by Greg Thompson and Anna Hogan (Routledge).
When discussing teacher workload, the conversation often revolves around the number of hours worked. However, a new study by Petrus te Braak, Filip Van Droogenbroeck, Joeri Minnen, and Theun Pieter van Tienoven sheds light on an often-overlooked aspect: work intensification.
Using a large-scale time-diary study from Flanders, Belgium, where 7,500 teachers logged over 1.25 million hours, the researchers analyzed not just how much teachers work but how they work. Their findings challenge conventional wisdom: neither total workload nor workload composition significantly impact job satisfaction. Instead, factors like diversity of tasks, fragmentation of work, and time pressure play a crucial role.
This research suggests that policies aiming to improve teacher job satisfaction should move beyond merely reducing working hours. Instead, addressing the intensification of work—by managing task variety, reducing interruptions, and alleviating time pressure—may be more effective in creating a sustainable and fulfilling teaching environment.
Citation: Te Braak, P., Van Droogenbroeck, F., Minnen, J., & van Tienoven, T. P. (2025). Dissecting the effects of workload and work intensification on teacher job satisfaction: A time-diary approach to teachers' working time allocation. In G. Thompson, & A. Hogan (Eds.), Teaching and Time Poverty: Understanding Workload and Work Intensification in Schools (1 ed., pp. 127-145). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003457527
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