The Alberta Teachers’ Association

ATA wants to hear from members

A study on work–life balance will provide an unprecedented look into the factors that shape teachers’ and workers’ conditions of practice and the influences of their home life on their well-being.

Teachers are being asked to participate in the study by completing a short online survey. Responses are anonymous and no one except the researchers will see individual answers. The survey should take 20 to 30 minutes to complete. The results are stored on a secure, password-protected server.

The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) is partnering in this study with Linda Duxbury, a professor at the Sprott School of Business at Carleton University, in Ottawa, and Chris Higgins, a professor at the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario.

“We are delighted to have the ATA as one of our partners in this important research collaboration,” says Duxbury. “Of relevance to the ATA and its members is our focus on examining how changing circumstances at work and home are affecting teachers and the schools employing them.”

The research benefits to teachers and their Association will be many. The final report will provide an evaluation of the health of Canadian workers and the companies that employ them. Key challenges facing teachers in each of four different lifecycle stages will be discussed: (1) no dependents (2) childcare only (3) childcare and eldercare and (4) eldercare only. Suggestions on how employees and organizations can best address these issues will be provided. Data provided will be used to advocate for changes in policies and practices to address workload, use of technology, employee well-being and work–life balance.

The research team will assist the ATA with its efforts to raise awareness about the growing intensification not only of teachers’ work but that of workers across many sectors of the economy.

“This study could not come at a better time,” says ATA President Carol Henderson. “Teachers are reporting increasingly unmanageable expectations on their work with no substantial educational reforms to address this issue. Alberta students will inevitably suffer in the long term.” ­Henderson encourages teachers to participate in the survey. “It is important that teachers have their voices heard, so it is my hope we have thousands of our members take 20 minutes to complete the online survey.”

The researchers’ initial findings will be presented at two public lectures: April 18, in Calgary, and April 19, in Edmonton. Information about the lectures will be posted on the ATA’s website.

The researchers and the Association appreciate teachers' willingness to take time to complete the survey. "We value your opinion on the important issues addressed in this survey. It is only through the participation and collective effort of volunteers like you that we will be able to help employees and employers cope with a rapidly changing workplace," says Dr J-C Couture, ATA associate coordinator, research. Questions regarding the survey should be directed to Dr Linda Duxbury at 613-225-9985 (linda_duxbury@carleton.ca) or Dr Chris Higgins at 519-661-3269 (chiggins@ivey.uwo.ca).