Teachers are being put under undue pressure and stress by an unacceptable surfeit of ubiquitous work-related emails, according to a new study.

A survey by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) has found that 69 per cent of the more than 7,500 teachers polled receive work-related emails from senior staff outside school hours, with nearly 85 per cent being sent emails during weekends.

Moreover, 76 per cent said they were still sent work emails during holidays and 43 per cent received them even during periods of sickness absence.

Compounding this issue is the heavy expectations placed upon teachers to respond to the emails quickly. Indeed, 45 per cent said they are expected to reply to work-related emails outside of school hours, while around four in ten feel pressured to do so within a specific timescale.

One-quarter of teachers also say they are encouraged to communicate with parents via email in their own time and 16 per cent with pupils. As such, 58 per cent of staff believe email intrusion is having a detrimental impact on their work/life balance and workload.

This comes at a time when work-related stress is having a negative impact on teacher morale and recruitment and retention rates. Schools have therefore been urged to revise their email policies, which in some cases are seeing staff members receiving messages in the middle of the night or on New Year's Eve.

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said: "In principle, when an email is sent should not be the problem. However, it's the expectation and pressure for response that accompanies it that is the key issue of concern and blighting the lives of teachers.

"All schools should be required to have a policy and protocol on the appropriate use of email."

This comes after a separate NASUWT study also recently revealed that many teachers are also being adversely affected by abusive comments directed at them via social media.

Posted by Darryl Mydat