A new report from the Trade Union of Education OAJ finds that every second teacher in Finland has experienced inappropriate treatment or bullying in the last year.
The union surveyed more than a thousand teachers at the end of 2017, and found increases in bullying in particular since the previous survey in 2013.
One-in-ten teachers report being subject to violence at work, with threats coming mostly from students.
Most of the bullying cases took place in elementary schools or vocational schools, and serious instances of bullying were most reported by teachers working in early childhood education and polytechnics, where the bully was often a co-worker or supervisor.
Overworked Teachers
Finnish teachers also reports being overworked and stressed by their jobs.
Two out of three teachers who responded to the survey said they felt there’s too much work - especially in early childhood education, high schools and polytechnics.
According to the survey, the amount of workplace stress experienced by teachers is clearly higher than the average Finn. Two out of five teachers often found themselves extremely tired and stressed by work.
