Defining the Work Week: Understanding Teaching Hours and Time Theft

In this episode of The Work of Wellbeing podcast, Amy Green unpacks a question many educators wrestle with: what does a standard working week actually look like in education?

Drawing on a resource from the Queensland Teachers Union, Amy explores the breakdown of a 42-hour work week, distinguishing between on-site, meeting, and flexible hours. She dives into why this clarity is essential for managing workload, defining boundaries, and recognising when work expectations have tipped into personal time.

Amy introduces the concept of “time theft” and shares practical reflection questions school leaders and educators can use to assess and redesign how work is structured. Whether you're in Queensland or elsewhere, this episode offers a concrete starting point for better conversations around workload and wellbeing.

Checkout these resources Achieving Workload Reduction vs Managing Workload and also When Does Time Theft Begin

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