As of 2025, teaching remains one of the most emotionally intensive and logistically demanding professions worldwide. Despite advancements in digital tools and increased awareness of teacher wellbeing, the reality remains unchanged: teacher work-life balance in 2025 is still a struggle.
Recent data from the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) reveals that over 68% of educators in 2024 reported burnout, with workload and lack of flexibility being major contributors. Calls to legislate a “right to disconnect” have grown louder across various industries — but is this really the right solution for education?
The Unique Reality of Teacher Workload
While corporate professionals enjoy benefits like:
- Paid overtime
- Remote work options
- Annual bonuses
- Flexible leave
…teachers often operate under a completely different set of expectations. In 2025, most teachers still face:
- Unpaid after-hours work
- Inflexible school calendars
- Limited work-from-home capabilities
- High administrative burdens
The classroom may be quiet after 3 PM, but the workload is just beginning. Teachers routinely spend hours outside school on:
- Lesson planning and curriculum updates
- Marking and providing feedback
- Report writing and student assessments
- Attending staff meetings and co-curricular activities
- Communicating with parents and external stakeholders
This “invisible workload” is part of what makes teacher work-life balance so complex in 2025.
Why Legislating Disconnect Time Could Backfire
While the right to disconnect legislation has gained traction — notably in France, Spain, and even some Australian corporate sectors — applying it rigidly to education could worsen challenges for teachers.
Here’s why:
- Teachers often work best after family time, using late evenings to plan or catch up.
- Some prefer early morning preparation to ensure smooth, engaging lessons.
- Disconnect policies could remove the very flexibility that helps them manage their load.
The grey area of teaching — that spillover time where the lines between work and personal life blur — needs flexible boundaries, not fixed laws. Otherwise, we risk making a difficult job even harder.
A Better Alternative: Supportive Policies Within Schools
Rather than enforcing legislation, schools should implement smart, teacher-focused strategies that support healthy boundaries:
- Clear communication protocols (e.g., no expectation to respond to emails after 6 PM)
- Delayed email delivery tools (e.g., Outlook/Google Workspace settings)
- Professional Codes of Conduct for staff, students, and parents
- Designated admin days or marking weeks in school calendars
These measures offer structure while still allowing teachers to work in sync with their own rhythms.
The Reality: Teaching is a Daily Performance
Let’s not forget — teachers are on stage every single day. A mix between a stand-up comedian and a strategist, they must:
- Engage and inspire
- Manage behaviours
- Deliver complex material
- Adapt in real time
All while facing high expectations from students, principals, and increasingly, fee-paying parents.
Preparedness is non-negotiable. And if that means spending time after hours to connect with colleagues or prepare resources, then teachers should have the autonomy to do so — on their own terms.
The Solution? Trust Teachers to Manage Their Time
In 2025, it’s more important than ever to retain passionate, dedicated educators in the sector. That means supporting teacher work-life balance, not legislating more red tape.
Let’s replace:
🚫 Rigid laws
✅ With practical school-based strategies
🚫 One-size-fits-all solutions
✅ With flexible, teacher-led time management
🚫 Top-down policies
✅ With open dialogue and trust in educators
Teachers are professionals. They know when they need to disconnect, and when they need to dial in and get the job done.
Instead of imposing additional barriers, let’s empower them. Let’s let common sense prevail in 2025 — and avoid legislating it out of the education system.
