Insights on education

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Teacher well-being is a trendy topic, and it deserves more attention in educational discussions as a part of the holistic approach. We focus too often on individual solutions like stress management or mindfulness, but do they really solve the problems if we only focus on them? Looking at factors related to the work community and organization may bring valuable perspectives to achieve better results also in the educational sector (Toivanen & Yli-Kaitala, 2025). Student well-being is already quite well addressed. It is important to understand this well-being trend from the perspective of teachers’ work as well. Horizon Report 2020  (Brown et al., 2020) and Innovating Pedagogy 2022  (Kukulska-Hulme et al., 2022) indicate that student well-being is highly understood at the core of education. But can we also look at it the other way around? How does teacher well-being influence student success? Literature (e.g. Sha Mo, 2024, Maricuțoiu et al., 2022, AISACT, n.d., Create, n.d.) shows that when teachers thrive in their roles, students benefit—academically, emotionally, and socially.

Well-being at work refers to an employee’s overall experience of health, satisfaction, and functioning in the workplace. It includes physical and mental health, a sense of purpose, positive relationships, manageable workload, and feeling valued and supported by the organization. (Barua, 2024; Anttonen & Räsänen, 2009, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, n.d., Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, n.d.). The stress experiences are lower when the educational institution’s environment is perceived as collaborative, when the teacher feels self-confident about motivating students and managing their behavior, and with the feeling of autonomy at work. Secondary tasks for teachers can include administrative tasks, responsibility for students’ achievements, and requirements from authorities. Working conditions (e.g. working hours, employment contract), working climate (working environment), and self-perception (self-confidence in one’s competences in important dimensions for work and well-being) all affect well-being. (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2021, pp. 141-149.)

A systems approach to wellbeing means that everyone shares responsibility, and each person’s role depends on what they can influence in their position. In holistic well-being, it is important to adopt a systematic approach that takes structural factors into account, without forgetting teachers in their daily work. Students should not be overlooked either, although the focus on their well-being has already been a trend for a long time. (AISACT, n.d., pp. 5, 9.)

Changes affecting working life, such as artificial intelligence, have also brought new winds to the everyday life of teachers. The information society continues its triumphant march. Discussions about the ethical use of AI have already found their place. But what about the flood of information and the challenges the new technologies bring to human cognitive load? Should this aspect be more visible in educational environments and teacher training?  And have we understood that increasing cognitive demands—and how to respond to them—are actually skills that form part of students’ general competencies, such as self-direction, critical thinking, flexibility, and communication skills? Should we, as educators, take this more into account and try to integrate those demands into the learning process? 

Work Intensification and Need for Holistic Well-Being

Structural factors, like workload, resources and leadership or working culture, affect partly how we cope at work. If we have too much work, if we are continuously busy or we don’t have enough resources or time for recovery during the day, we might feel overwhelmed. (Tapani et al., 2024, Virtanen, 2021).  In the worst cases, this can lead to burnout – an unwanted situation. The situation can be even worse if we have poor communication and lack of support from leadership or our own team.

Work has intensified in recent years, especially due to accelerating digitalization. Intensification means tightened pace of work, increased autonomous work, decision making and career planning, and increased requirements for learning in the job. Minkkinen et al. (2019) found that employees in education and research can be divided into three categories: strongly intensified, mediocrely intensified, and low intensified jobs. Strong intensification was related to stronger fatigue caused by exhaustion and cynicism. (Minkkinen, 2019, p. 255.) Daily computer use has been associated with an intensified pace of work, overlapping tasks and interruptions that are in turn related to overload of work. Intensified work also means increased demands to autonomously set goals and plan work so that those plans are reached. Finally, intensification requires more career planning and making decisions on it, along with constantly proving to employer their worth. (Kubicek, 2015 as cited in Minkkinen, 2019, p. 257.) Ways to cope with intensification of work are for example reserving enough time in work planning for learning new skills, such as a new IT system, having enough resources and time for digital skills education and having a supportive leadership and supervisor team (Minkkinen, 2019, p. 270). It is crucial to recognize that technology and digitalization require certain skills and time to learn the skills. Otherwise, insufficient skills can be a source of stress as well.

Figure 1. Illustration of work intensification (Created: Microsoft, 2025).

According to the survey by Melkko & Ilves, OAJ (2024, p. 7), experienced stressors at work are excessive workload, interruptions to work, constant hurry, tight schedules, and the load caused by secondary tasks. In Finnish Institute of Occupational Health’s study (Toivainen et al., 2025) those working in education were found to be in the profession with the most work pressure, which was especially the case if the working culture was not found to be communal. When work demands are high and work starts to spill over borders, the skill to set boundaries for work becomes important. It is a multi-faceted process combining structural, psychological, value-based, and experienced factors. Limiting work is not just an individual skill but also the responsibility of the work community and organization.  (Toivainen et al., 2025, pp. 3-5.)

It is vital to recognize and address the cognitive load that can be a strain for staff. Cognitive load refers to the brain’s functioning, memory, and information processing. Doing demanding tasks puts a toll on the working memory that is used, for example, in information processing, decision making, problem solving, and learning. Situations that strain most are when tasks are demanding or when attention needs to be shifted away from the actual task for a long time or more often. (Rauramo, 2020, p. 47.) Cognitive ergonomics means adjusting work so that it is smooth, healthy, and safe. Improving cognitive ergonomics reduces unnecessary strain on the brain and improves flow of the work. This requires individual and organizational commitments to improve cognitive ergonomics. (Työterveyslaitos, n.d.a.) Työturvallisuuskeskus has given tips on how to improve cognitive ergonomics. It is about planning the work, organizing the work environment, and ways of working that reduce strain and promote recovery. (Työturvallisuuskeskus, n.d.) This means that teachers and students need to recognize the factors that cause cognitive load so that solutions can be found to the situation.

Using digital technology in education is quite easily accepted and not questioned enough. Many countries justify the use of a certain digital technology in education more with business reasons than educational arguments. This means that attention is not paid enough to the impact of technology on learning, inclusiveness, or whether the use of that educational technology has longer-term negative effects on human rights and well-being. (Global Education Monitoring Report & Education International, 2023, p. 7.) This dilemma is notified globally. Experts warn brain health concerns and highlight that relying too heavily on technology can lead to hidden costs to brain health (Sajan, 2025). This unavoidably prompts a worrying question: Should we be more aware of the negative impacts of excessive digital device use on brain health? The Straits Times article (Sajan, 2025) suggests activities like reading a newspaper or a physical book from time to time instead of looking at a phone. Reading physical books and turning pages instead of swiping can act as an antidote to digital overload by activating multiple brain regions. (Sajan, 2025.)

From Policy to Practice

Improving well-being in education requires coordinated action across all levels—from government and leadership to work community and individual staff members. For example, the Department for Education in the UK (2021), together with several associations, has committed to a Wellbeing Charter that places staff well-being at the heart of educational policy and practice. To support implementation, the department has introduced practical tools such as the Workload Reduction Toolkit (Department for Education, n.d.) aimed at helping institutions identify and reduce unnecessary workload. In addition, it is crucial to measure the progress of these commitments. (Department for Education, 2021, pp. 2-4.) Tools like this are essential in turning principles into practice, helping institutions reduce unnecessary burdens and creating healthier working environments. Could we in other countries use similar methods?

Policy-level support for well-being is important, but it is not, of course, enough. On an organizational level, staff well-being needs to be integrated into long-term strategy to ensure well-being is considered in decision-making. And especially worth noting is to include staff in decision making and support staff in their career development. (Department for Education, 2021, pp. 6-7.)

Individual in this Big Picture

Policy-level and organizational support lay out the foundation for staff’s well-being, but also individual-level support is needed. Individuals need to take responsibility for their own well-being as well as to look out for the well-being of others. Staff can actively influence the work culture and challenge policies and practices that do not support well-being. (Department for Education, 2021, p. 9.)

Even though individuals are expected to take responsibility for their well-being, increasing tasks outside core teaching can make that responsibility harder to carry. In the interview on October 1, 2025, with Elina Östring, the lecturer at Tampere University of Applied Sciences Tuomas Mäki-Ontto, brought up an important question about workload:

“Is the growing workload in education caused by teaching itself, or by the increasing number of tasks outside teachers’ main duties?”

Tuomas Mäki-Ontto’s (interview 1.10.2025) one big concern was that teachers now spend less time with students because of increasing administrative work. He pointed out that teachers’ role has expanded in ways that can put pressure on well-being, and the new dimensions have brought tasks that do not always seem so meaningful but are part of current work.

In education, the multifaceted job description is certainly inspiring, but several things in everyday teaching are also stressful. It is also possible to influence some of these stressful factors yourself. But how? Tuomas Mäki-Ontto (interview, 1.10.2025) emphasized that it is important to set boundaries, prioritize tasks, and foster shared practices within institutions to better manage increasing workloads and demands. He highlighted the importance of separating virtual and in-person tasks and suggested that teachers reflect together on what really adds value — especially student interaction. It was also noted in the discussion that teachers often face these challenges alone due to their self-directed nature. Tuomas Mäki-Ontto reminded that open dialogue and institutional support are key to helping teachers adapt and maintain well-being.

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (Taivainen et al., 2025) has developed 5 steps to make work tasks more essential. This means recognizing the essential tasks and irrelevant tasks in one’s job along with recognizing possibly missing tasks. (Taivainen et al., 2025, p. 5.) The first step is to recognize if work spills over borders, the second step is to find the reasons for it, the third step is to recognize the goals and core of the job, the fourth step is about strengthening the understanding of the core of the job and its boundaries, and, finally, the fifth step is planning with shorter and longer timeframes on how to proceed. (Työterveyslaitos, n.d.b.)

Tuomas Mäki-Ontto (interview, 1.10.2025) highlighted that key self-management skills – such as time management, prioritization and handling disruptions, should be part of teacher education. He mentioned that they are essential tools that also influence students through teachers modeling those. Even though these issues may be addressed occasionally, they are not yet systematically included in teacher training—something that should change moving forward in this era?

Self-management skills highlighted by Tuomas Mäki-Ontto (interview 1.10.2025) can be seen as part of well-being. His call for these self-management skills to be part of teacher education is aligned with European Commission’s guidelines on well-being in education as European Commission states that the well-being of educators should be addressed already in initial teacher education and training. This enables future educators to recognize and reflect on their own well-being and to be able to support the well-being of their students, their own, and their colleagues. (European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, 2024, p. 16.)

As an interesting insight, Mäki-Ontto (interview, 1.10.2025) lifted a concept of digital well-being, which is crucial because teaching increasingly involves knowledge work. European SALTO Digital Resource Center (2025) defines digital well-being as follows: “It’s about how digital technologies impact people’s mental, physical, emotional, and social health – recognising both the benefits and risks of digital activities, and finding ways to use technology in balanced, healthy, and responsible ways”. That is why we are asking whether integrating digital well-being into teacher education could benefit the entire learning process?

It is also worth noting The Digital Well-Being Report (Moliner et al., 2023) alongside individual factors. The report focuses on the concept of digital well-being in the context of Europe’s digital transformation. The research group agenda is based on four main areas shown below in Figure 2. One of them is the systemic factors, in which they examine all systemic factors that impact either directly or indirectly on teacher well-being. Among those systemic factors are e.g. policies, support, leadership, technology integration, and factors that impact the quality of education. (Moliner et al., 2023, pp. 9-10.) 

Figure 2. Research Agenda in Digital Well-Being. (Moliner et al., 2023, p. 9)

Importance of the Work Community

The work community plays a role in teacher well-being. The work atmosphere, a culture of working together – in other words communality – can provide a better working environment and help to overcome daily challenges. (Tapani et al., 2024). Could communality and related communication offer us a simple and practical everyday tool for moving things forward? Why not communicate openly and discuss the issues which hinder smooth work? It gives a possibility to identify problems and challenges and find solutions together.

OAJ’s (2024) suggested solution for improved well-being is to concentrate on a functional work community, stressors at work and understand the importance of supervisors and leaders along with positive factors affecting resources for well-being. A functional work community requires e.g. flow of information; teamwork based on support, sharing of information and a common goal; leadership based on encouragement and justice; and having clear goals and common values in the workplace. Stressors at work can be physical, mental, social, and cognitive. The stress from work stays positive as long as the stressors are in balance with the resources one has. Self-leadership, legislation, and workplace practices are ways to affect stressors. It is also crucial to constantly recognize and evaluate psycho-social stressors as a part of risk assessment. An open, clear, and dialogical work culture leads to clear goals, encourages employees to grow, and promotes an ambiance of openness and trust. When employees feel appreciated, it increases their work motivation and supports well-being. (Melkko & Ilves, OAJ, 2024, pp. 33-35.)

Organizational Support is Crucial

An institution-wide approach requires organizational changes and a will that support teachers’ well-being (AISACT, n.d.). But how can we really affect the workload and realistic expectations? It is more than just beautiful speeches – measures at the organizational level are needed as well. 

Leading well-being in education requires the collaboration of the institution’s staff, students, and leadership team as well as holistically developing the organization together. Concentrating on leading well-being ensures the well-being of both students and staff. To succeed in this, trust, sharing of know-how and dialogue are needed. It is vital that the organization has a strategy so that goals and procedures are planned all the way from strategy to individual level. The organizational structure needs to support well-being by having clear roles and responsibilities. Additionally, a low hierarchy enables quick flow of information and possible rapid reactions to needed issues. It is also important to monitor the well-being of students and staff, e.g. through queries or work well-being teams. A crucial factor in the staff’s well-being is their motivation. One way to ensure motivation is to have the right level of challenge in the job and the right amount of work. Throughout the whole process of leading well-being, dialogue and discussion are vital parts in developing and creating well-being, along with organizational and individual responsibility for developing well-being. (Opetushallitus, 2019, pp. 5, 8-9, 11-13.)

Immediate supervisors have a crucial role in staff’s well-being. Opetusalan ammattijärjestö (OAJ), the trade union for the teaching sector in Finland did a survey (Melkko & Ilves, 2024) covering all different levels of education in Finland. The survey revealed that when the supervisor’s work is perceived as good, the work community works better and develops more actively, the supervisor’s as well as leadership team’s actions are perceived better, and managing the work and finding joy in work are statistically higher than in other workplaces. In contrast, the stressors at work are significantly lower than at other workplaces. (Melkko & Ilves, OAJ, 2024, pp. 6-8.)

The supervisor has several different roles in leading well-being: the builder of better working conditions supporting well-being, communicator and leader in supporting well-being, an example that builds the culture of well-being, specialist in well-being, and a developer of well-being. It is crucial to note that supervisors also need support and help for their supervisory role so that they have adequate resources and conditions to concentrate on well-being, and to take care of their own well-being to guarantee their own well-being and to be able to support employees. When a supervisor’s work is perceived as good, it reduces contradictory expectations, experiences of excessive workload and sense of hurry. (Melkko & Ilves, OAJ, 2024, pp.14, 18, 35.)

But how to get information about teacher wellbeing and how to measure it? As mentioned earlier, tools like risk assessment, clearly defined roles and responsibilities, an open and dialogical work culture, and staff surveys all help gather essential information about well-being within the institution. Workload Reduction Toolkit (n.d.) by Department for Education in UK was also mentioned earlier in the blog as a concrete tool to improve well-being. In addition to the Department for Education (2021) guidelines, there are many other useful frameworks developed by various organizations that can support well-being in education. We have not gone into detail in other guidelines in this blog, just highlighted some factors from them, but if you are interested in learning more, you can take a look at the guidelines, for example by AISACT (n.d.) and European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (2024).  

Well-being can also be measured. An example of a concrete tool that can be used in measuring is Teacher Well-Being Scale (TWBS), which is a 16-item instrument that can be used to measure three different factors of teacher well-being: workload well-being, organizational well-being, and student interaction well-being. The teachers are asked to rate how different factors related to their work influence their well-being. This tool has been proved to be a reliable assessment of levels of well-being. (Collie et al., 2015, pp. 745-746.) After measuring, it is easier to make concrete actions based on systemic knowledge on well-being instead of guessing possible issues.

Figure 3. Question Mark on Chalk Board (Pixaby, n.d.)

Priorities in Education?

We, the authors of the blog, honestly believe that teachers’ well-being is the foundation of a sustainable education system. We also think that financial resources have their own role – they can either support or hinder teachers’ well-being. Funding decisions play a significant role in how well-being can be supported in everyday work and how teachers perform their work. Sustainable education requires balance – funding and pedagogy should go hand in hand. This actually raises the question: Are funding decisions in education truly supporting learning—or just focusing on efficiency?

In the interview (interview, 1.10.2025) Tuomas Mäki-Ontto was asked what the most important aspect of education is: pedagogy, technology, or cost-effectiveness. Mäki-Ontto stated that learning and pedagogy remain central to education planning, particularly in vocational education, where the focus on preparing students for the workforce is crucial. He acknowledged that technology and cost-effectiveness influence discussions but learning and preparation for working life are still at the core. Also, the concerns about tightening funding models and whether they could undermine other priorities were raised in the discussion. Mäki-Ontto (interview 1.10.2025) pointed out that;

 “it’s important to be aware of the impact of funding, but attractive institutions can thrive if they remain desirable and train for the right fields”.

Tuomas Mäki-Ontto highlighted that the essence of vocational education is training for the workforce, and institutions must maintain strong connections with the working world. This likely means that education must remain attractive and meet workforce needs to succeed among tightening funding models?

But – there are always two sides to a story. We have also encountered colleagues who are concerned about the impact of funding on education. We, as educators, want to believe in pedagogy-driven education, but can we truly turn a blind eye to the other side of the coin? Can we? As universities compete for visibility and funding, Finnish higher education aims to meet the needs of society and working life—but this shift is also pushing it toward a more market-driven direction (M. Poutanen, 2023). For that reason, we see these two – funding and well-being – as interconnected. A lack of resources, inadequate support, or increased stress due to competition or performance pressure can have harmful effects on teacher well-being.

Conclusion

If we truly want to make teacher well-being a part of the broader conversation on holistic well-being in education, we need to look beyond individual fixes like mindfulness or stress management. Those are important, but they are only a part of the puzzle. Real change requires a systems-level approach that looks at how institutions are structured and supported. Too often at work, it is the environment and content of duties that maintain the workload. In that case, none of the individual’s own actions are enough. The root causes are not only within the person – but also in how work is organized and what is actually valued. A holistic approach is needed, and this means having not only individual support but also an institutional support system (Nwoke et al. 2024, p. 1). A holistic approach also means collaboration – building trust, sharing knowledge, and keeping the dialogue open across all levels of education. And finally, we need ways to regularly reflect and monitor how we are doing, to make well-being a continuous, shared commitment rather than a one-time goal.

As educators, we believe that pedagogy should lead the way, but we cannot ignore the influence of financial structures.  However, funding shapes our daily work, and if the focus is just on efficiency, it can put unsustainable pressure on well-being. We should see teacher well-being as a key factor in teaching quality, student outcomes, and the sustainability of the education system. Why not invest in teachers’ well-being to promote sustainable working life and a positive learning environment? In other words, well-being is not solved from the point of view of an individual alone – it is also solved at the organizational level. So, what kind of structures and culture do we create together? Is it time to widen our mindset and start focusing on holistic well-being?

Want to read a bit more about cognitive load? Read this blog by Launikari (2024) on Laurea Journal: http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2024111594302

Below is a short video with tips on how to concentrate on well-being in educational institutions.

Department for Education. (2022). Tips to help put teacher wellbeing at the heart of your school [YouTube video]. Published 11.5.2022. Retrieved 11.10.2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bjpt83_Uwo

Author information

Elina Östring, Senior Specialist and vocational teacher at Finnish Institute of Occupational Health

Henna Henrichs, Education Secretary at University of Turku

Thank you Mia Ingman and Beatriz Manrique Huarte for your comments, discussions, insights, collaboration, and insightful support for this blog.

Other information

Summary from the interview audio (Tuomas Mäki-Ontto, 1.10.2025) was made with the help of ChatGPT used by the organization Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. The interview was conducted and recorded in Teams and ChatGPT was asked to make a summary from transcription. The summary was proofread by the interviewer and interviewee to ensure the accuracy of the original transcription.

References

AISACT. (n.d.). Guiding Principles for Teacher and School Staff Wellbeing. https://ais.act.edu.au/resources/staff-wellbeing/

Anttonen, H., Räsänen, T. (ed.), Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. (2009). Well-being at Work – New Innovations and Good Practices. Multiprint Oy. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337103926_Well-being_at_Work_-_New_Innovations_and_Good_Practices

Barua, B. (2025). What Is Workplace Wellbeing?: Unpacking the Concept. In Barua, B. (Ed.), Practices, Challenges, and Deterrents in Workplace Wellbeing: Strategies for Building Resilient and Thriving Workplaces, pp. 1-20. IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-6079-8.ch001

Brown, M., McCormack, M., Reeves, J., Brooks, D. C, Grajek, S., Alexander, B, Bali, M., Bulger, S., Dark, S., Engelbert, N., Gannon, K., Gauthier, A., Gibson, D., Gibson, R., Lundin, B., Veletsianos, G. & Weber, N. (2020). 2020 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report, Teaching and Learning Edition. EDUCAUSE, 2020. https://library.educause.edu/resources/2020/3/2020-educause-horizon-report-teaching-and-learning-edition

Collie, R. J., Shapka, J. D., Perry, N. E., Martin, A. J. (2015). Teacher Well-Being: Exploring Its Components and a Practice-Oriented Scale. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 33(8), 744-756. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282915587990

Create. (n.d.). Does Teacher Well-Being Impact Student Outcomes? The WISE Report. Retrieved 11.10.2025. https://createforeducation.org/does-teacher-wellbeing-impact-studnet-outcomes-the-wise-report/

Department for Education. (2021). The Education Staff Wellbeing Charter. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter

Department for Education. (n.d.). Workload Reduction Toolkit. Retrieved 18.10.2025. https://improve-workload-and-wellbeing-for-school-staff.education.gov.uk/workload-reduction-toolkit/

European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture. (2024). Wellbeing and mental health at school : guidelines for education policymakers. Publications Office of the European Union. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2766/901169.

European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice. (2021). Teachers in Europe: Careers, Development and Well-being. Eurydice report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/78fbf243-974f-11eb-b85c-01aa75ed71a1/language-en

European SALTO Digital Resource Center. (2025). LinkedIn. Retrieved 11.10.2025. https://www.linkedin.com/company/european-salto-digital-resource-centre/posts/

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. (n.d.). 1.1. Työhyvinvointi. In Työhyvinvoinnin tiedolla johtaminen sote-alalla, Osa 1. Strateginen työhyvinvoinnin johtaminen ja käsitteet. Retrieved  27.9.2025. https://www.ttl.fi/oppimateriaalit/tyohyvinvoinnin-tiedolla-johtaminen-sote-alalla/osa-1-strateginen-tyohyvinvoinnin-johtaminen-ja-kasitteet/11-tyohyvinvointi

Global Education Monitoring Report & Education International. (2023). Teachers and technology: advocacy brief. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000387203

Kukulska-Hulme, A., Bossu, C., Charitonos, K., Coughlan, T., Ferguson, R., FitzGerald, E., Gaved, M., Guitert,M., Herodotou, C., Maina, M., Prieto-Blázquez, J., Rienties, B., Sangrà, A., Sargent, J., Scanlon, E., Whitelock, D. (2022). Innovating Pedagogy 2022: Open University Innovation Report 10. Milton Keynes: The Open University. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362068821_INNOVATING_PEDAGOGY_2022_Exploring_new_forms_of_teaching_learning_and_assessment_to_guide_educators_and_policy_makers

Maricuțoiu, L.P., Pap, Z., Ștefancu, E., Mladenovici, V., Valache, D. G., Popescu, B. D., lie, M. & Vîrgă, D. (2023). Is Teachers’ Well-Being Associated with Students’ School Experience? A Meta-analysis of Cross-Sectional Evidence. Educational Psychology Review 35, 1 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09721-9

Melkko, S. & Ilves, V., OAJ. (2024). Opetusalan työolobarometri 2024. https://www.oaj.fi/ajankohtaista/julkaisut/2024/opetusalan-tyoolobarometri/

Microsoft. (2025). [figure] Copilot. https://m365.cloud.microsoft/chat/

Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. (n.d.). Occupational safety and wellbeing at work. Retrieved 11.10.2025. https://stm.fi/en/wellbeing-at-work/data-and-research

Minkkinen, J., Mauno, S., Feldt, T., Tsupari, H., Auvinen, E. & Huhtala, M. (2019). Uhkaako työn intensiivistyminen työhyvinvointia?  Intensiivistymisen yhteys työuupumukseen  opetus- ja tutkimustyössä. Psykologia, 54 (04), pp. 255-273. https://doi.org/10.62443/psykologia.v54i4.74217                                   

Moliner, L. A., Charalambous, V., De Leneer, V., Michael, D., Michaelidou, V., Röhner, N., & Vrasidas, C. (2023). Digital well-being. ALL DIGITAL. https://all-digital.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/20.12.2023-Digital-Well-Being-Report.pdf

Opetushallitus. (2019). Hyvinvointijohtaminen ammatillisissa oppilaitoksissa. Raportit ja selvitykset 2019:13a. https://www.oph.fi/fi/tilastot-ja-julkaisut/julkaisut/hyvinvointijohtaminen-ammatillisissa-oppilaitoksissa

Pixaby. (n.d.). [figure] Question Mark on Chalk Board. Pexels. https://www.pexels.com/photo/question-mark-on-chalk-board-356079/

Poutanen, M. J. (2023). Näkyvätkö suomalaisen korkeakoulupolitiikan kristallipallossa lukukausimaksut?. Poliittinen talous, 11(1), 48–69. https://doi.org/10.51810/pt.125176

Rauramo, P. (2020). Kaupan työsuojelu. 3^rd edition. Työturvallisuuskeskus. https://ttk.fi/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Kaupan-tyosuojelu.pdf

Sajan, C. (2025). Ditch that device. Go off-grid to boost brain health. The Straits Times, September 27, 2025. Retrieved 10.10.2025. https://www.straitstimes.com/life/ditch-that-device-go-off-grid-to-boost-brain-health

Tapani, A., Östring, E., & Sinkkonen, M. (2024). Role of Physical Activities during Working Hours in Promoting Planetary Health. Education Sciences, 14(4), 438. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14040438

Toivanen, M. & Yli-Kaitala, K. (2025). Knowledge work often overflows across boundaries – education sector sees highest pressure at work. Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. Press Release 25.9.2025. Retrieved 27.9.2025. https://www.ttl.fi/en/topical/press-release/knowledge-work-often-overflows-across-boundaries-education-sector-sees-highest-pressure-at-work

Toivainen, M., Yli-Kaitala, K., Kauppi, M., Känsälä, M., Reuna, K. & Valtonen, T., Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. (2025). Ylipursuavasta olennaiseen. Tietoa työstä -raportti. https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-391-224-3

Työterveyslaitos. (n.d.a). Aivotyötä tehdään yhdessä. Retrieved 21.10.2025. https://www.ttl.fi/oppimateriaalit/aivotyo-sujuvaksi/aivotyota-tehdaan-yhdessa

Työterveyslaitos. (n.d.b). Olennaista – 5 askelta sujuvampaan työhön. Retrieved 19.10.2025. https://www.ttl.fi/oppimateriaalit/olennaista-5-askelta-sujuvampaan-tyohon

Työturvallisuskeskus. (n.d.). Sinunkin työsi on aivotyötä – kognitiivinen ergonomia tukee työhyvinvointia. Retrieved 21.10.2025. https://ttk.fi/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Sinunkin-tyosi-on-aivotyota-kognitiivinen-ergonomia-tukee-tyohyvinvointia.pdf

Virtanen, A. (2021). Teachers’ Recovery Processes. Investigating the role of different breaks from work for well-being and health among Finnish teachers. Tampere University Dissertation 510. https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-2189-5