The Effects of Improving Working Conditions on Teacher Turnover: Heterogeneous Responses by Work Stress Levels

Teacher shortages remain a persistent challenge in Dutch primary education. Improving working conditions may help retain current teachers and attract former ones, but the relative effectiveness and cost-efficiency of specific measures are not well understood. This study uses a vignette experiment to estimate how changes in six key working conditions influence the turnover intentions of current and former primary school teachers in the Netherlands. We find that wage increases and the provision of teaching assistants have the largest effects on both retaining current teachers and attracting former teachers, though they are not the most cost-efficient. Increased control over working time emerges as the most cost-efficient intervention. Our results also show that teachers who report higher levels of work stress, measured through their need for recovery, are more likely to consider leaving the profession. At the same time, these teachers respond more strongly to enhanced working conditions than their less-stressed peers. This suggests that the impact of workplace improvements depends in part on teachers’ existing stress levels. The findings underscore the value of targeted policies that address both structural working conditions and teacher well-being.