Association between working overtime and psychological stress reactions in elementary and junior high school teachers in Japan: a large-scale cross-sectional study

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between working overtime and psychological stress reactions among school teachers. It also evaluated the interaction of overtime work types (on weekdays, on holidays, and bringing work home) and task content (educational, peripheral and both). This cross-sectional study was conducted on Japanese elementary and junior high school teachers. Primary outcome was psychological stress reactions measured with the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire. Participants were asked how long they work overtime on weekdays, holidays, and at home. Participants were also asked whether they engaged in educational tasks and/or peripheral tasks during that overtime work. Multiple linear regression analyses were applied and 6,135 participants were included in the analyses after imputing missing data. Working hours of all three types were significantly correlated with higher psychological stress reactions. Moreover, engaging in both educational and peripheral tasks showed higher psychological stress reactions than in only educational tasks when working overtime on weekdays and holidays. In conclusion, reducing overtime work regardless of work types is crucial for mitigating psychological stress reactions for teachers. It might also be possible to manage the psychological stress reactions by splitting the role of task contents, when working overtime on weekdays and holidays at school.