Children listen to a reading lesson in a nursery classroom at an elementary school in Seoul, South Korea (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jul. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – A recent study has revealed that teachers in South Korea face more than twice the risk of developing work-related mental illnesses compared to other civil servants, shedding light on a growing concern in the country’s education sector.
The research, published in the latest issue of the international journal Occupational Medicine, comes in the wake of a tragic series of events last year when five teachers were found dead within a 10-day period at the start of the second semester. These incidents brought the issue of teachers’ mental health and workplace abuse to the forefront of national discourse.
Dr. Min Jin-Ryeong from the Veterans Health Service Medical Center and professor Min Kyoung-Bok from Seoul National University’s School of Medicine led the study. They analyzed data from 46,209 work-related injury claims filed with the Government Employees Pension Service over the past decade.
The findings indicate that civil servants in the education field, primarily teachers, have a hazard ratio of 2.16 for developing work-related mental illnesses compared to their counterparts in general administrative and technical positions.
Breaking down the risk by specific conditions, teachers were found to be 2.07 times more likely to suffer from depression, 2.78 times more likely to experience acute stress, and 2.68 times more likely to develop other mental disorders.
A survival curve analysis, which tracks the occurrence of mental illnesses over time, showed a consistently steeper decline for teachers compared to other civil servants, including police officers and firefighters.
This trend suggests that the mental health issues among teachers have been a long-standing problem, potentially spanning a decade or more, rather than a recent phenomenon.
“While recent media reports might suggest that teachers’ mental health issues have only increased in the past few years, our data indicates that this problem has been lurking beneath the surface for a long time,” Min Jin-Ryeong explained.
“This underscores the importance of taking a long-term approach to prevention, particularly in occupations where mental health is closely tied to working conditions.”
Interestingly, the study found that police officers and firefighters had 20% and 83% lower risks of mental illness, respectively, compared to general civil servants.
However, the researchers caution that this could be due to underreporting, as these professions may face stigma and potential career setbacks for disclosing mental health issues.
Min Kyoung-Bok from Seoul National University emphasized the concern that other civil servant groups might be concealing their work-related mental illnesses or stress due to fear of negative consequences.
The study’s findings align with the World Health Organization’s 2022 guidelines on mental health at work, which urge governments, businesses, and all stakeholders in the professional world to take action in promoting and protecting mental health and ensuring safe, inclusive workplaces.
As South Korea grapples with this issue, the research underscores the need for comprehensive strategies to address the mental health challenges faced by teachers.
Min Jin-Ryeong suggested that the severity of the problem might be partly attributed to the traditionally high social respect for teachers in Korean society, making the emotional toll of workplace abuse particularly devastating.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
