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K-12 Workforce Stress a Pandemic Symptom

The pandemic has had a variety of symptoms and effects beyond the obvious, and one of them is the stress employees in the education sector experience, says a recent report. 

The Mission Square Research Institute, formerly the Center for State and Local Government Excellence, reports that there is more stress and anxiety among the K-12 workforce than among other state and local employees. Further, they say, 37% of the K-12 employees said they are considering a job change due to the pandemic—which has implications not only for students, but also for retirement plans. 

While concern about the impact of the pandemic on students is part of the stress the K-12 employees feel, so is effect of the pandemic on their finances. In fact, says Mission Square, they feel such financial pain “more acutely” than their counterparts in that state and local government workforce. More precisely, 50% of teachers said that the pandemic hurt their finances, versus 35% of other state and local government employees.  

More K-12 employees than other state and local government employees expressed the view that the risks they face in working during a pandemic are not on a par with their compensation, according to the report. It says that 59% of the K-12 workforce holds such a sentiment, while 43% of state and local employees overall do so. Just below 40% of the K-12s said they are considering changing jobs, while 27% of state and local employees in general made such a report.