Tes Global: 73% say workload unmanageable

Tes has put fresh numbers on a problem school leaders and teachers have been describing for years: workload. In its 2026 Global Teacher Wellbeing Report, the education publisher said 73% of teachers surveyed identified workload as their leading cause of stress, and 59% said that workload was unmanageable. Tes said the findings came from a teacher wellbeing survey conducted in late 2025 and published as part of its 2026 report. The company said the global report drew on responses from more than 2,800 educators across 196 countries. ### Where do the headline numbers come from? Tes said the 2026 global report is based on a December 2025 survey of teachers around the world. On its wellbeing pages, the company said the report explores teacher mental health and wellbeing across workload, student behaviour, inclusion, motivation and opportunities for growth and progression. More than 2,800 educators from 196 countries took part, according to Tes material cited by NASBTT, a UK teacher-training body that promoted the report in April. (tes.com) Tes’s own report page says the study was designed to show “the patterns behind wellbeing, morale and retention” and to identify areas where school leaders can focus support. (tes.com) ### How severe did teachers say the workload problem was? Tes said 73% of teachers named workload as the leading cause of stress in the global survey. In a separate Tes blog post on workload published on March 10, the company said 59% of teachers around the world described their workload as unmanageable. Tes linked those workload figures directly to wellbeing. (nasbtt.org.uk) In its March reporting on the 2026 wellbeing findings, the company said teachers had been “nearing burnout for years” and that the late-2025 survey indicated many were “reaching breaking point.” That characterization came from Tes’s own summary of the survey results, not from an outside regulator or academic review. ### Is this a global report or a UK-only one? Tes is publishing both global and UK-focused wellbeing material in 2026. The global report covers responses from more than 2,800 teachers worldwide, while a separate UK Teacher Wellbeing Report 2026 is based on more than 1,400 UK school staff, according to Tes pages and third-party summaries. That distinction matters because some Tes pages cite different workload figures depending on the audience measured. (tes.com) A Tes blog post about global workload said 59% of teachers worldwide found workload unmanageable, while the UK report page describes a separate sample of school staff and different pressures, including SEND and support capacity. (tes.com) ### What else did Tes say was shaping teacher wellbeing? Tes said workload was one part of a broader set of pressures that also included leadership support, professional growth, school culture, student behaviour and inclusion. On the report landing page, the company said those factors were shaping staff experience “in complex ways.” A Tes magazine article on the UK report said school staff also raised concerns about supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, pupil behaviour, career progression and flexible-working opportunities. (tes.com) Those findings were reported alongside, not instead of, the workload data. ### Where can readers check the underlying report? (tes.com) Tes has posted the 2026 wellbeing report through its schools and advice pages, where readers can download the report and related workload analysis. The company’s March 10 workload article and its broader 2026 wellbeing pages set out the survey timing, the sample size and the headline percentages that have circulated in recent days. (tes.com 1) (tes.com 2)