[https://7i0di.img.bh.d.sendibt3.com/im/sh/KGIIayV8w6cw.png?u=1vcqsYC5HMzcSL9...] IHS Talk Ingo Isphording (IZA) Mental Health Challenges Among Teachers: The Role of Occupational Structure and Workplace July 1, 2025 2.00 pm - 3.00 pm Institute for Advanced Studies Josefstädter Straße 39, 1080 Vienna We document elevated and rising rates of mental health-related health care utilization among primary school teachers in Denmark relative to other professions. Using rich administrative data, we show that these patterns are driven by the occupational demands of teaching-particularly high emotional labor and intense social interaction-rather than selection into the profession. Mental health outcomes vary substantially across schools, with large differences in teacher absenteeism, diagnoses, and prescription drug use. These differences are not well explained by observable school characteristics, but they correlate strongly with student-reported measures of classroom functioning and well-being. Leveraging a quasi-experimental mover design and event-study framework, we provide causal evidence that teachers' mental health responds to school-specific environments: teachers who move from low-stress to high-stress schools experience a deterioration in mental health outcomes. Ingo Isphording<https://www.iza.org/de/person/8625/ingo-e-isphording> is an applied economist working on the origins of educational and labor market inequality and how public policy can make a difference. His work has been published in journals such as the Economic Journal, the American Economic Journals: Applied and Economic Policy, the Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Public Economics, and the Journal of Human Resources. He currently serves as research director at IZA - Institute of Labor Economics in Bonn, Germany. Please register for this event using this link: Registration<https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/qYdzdTT0Eg> Institut für Höhere Studien - Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) Josefstädter Straße 39, 1080, Wien