Meaningful work in a demanding work environment - teachers at school

In English A large majority of teachers in Swedish 9-year compulsory schools and upper secondary schools find their work very meaningful, although they complain of serious problems in their work environment, especially on the psychosocial level. In the last 10–15 years, school has become one of Sweden’s major problem areas as far as the work environment is concerned. This applies to the work environment of both pupils and staff. Concerning the latter we present facts about the psychosocial environment and health problems of teachers, and relate these problems to the changes in the school system over the past 15 years. Based on the results of our own case studies, we then discuss which aspects of these changes teachers feel have had a negative effect on their work environment.