This study reveals the conditions of teachers' pressure of work in terms of time use and time conflict, considering both their professional and family lives. The study illustrates future challenges in teachers' lives by examining the relationship between the pressure they are under and attitudes toward work. A daily life survey was administered to 342 public junior high school teachers in Mito City. The results were analyzed and the following findings were obtained.
Compared with employees in other sectors, teachers' working hours are extremely long, irrespective of gender, and teachers' free time and sleeping time are extremely short. Although most teachers felt that their jobs were worth the time they put in, they felt too busy. Female teachers with children at elementary school age or younger spend long hours on work and housework: approximately 60％ of their free time at home is spent on housework. Although their family life is supported by their parents, who either live with them or nearby, they have a greater sense of pressure and lack of time than other groups and can be said to be in a “busy state of mind.” To improve educational quality, environments in which teachers preparing to form families can easily continue their jobs must be established.
