Working as a cram school instructor is a rewarding job supporting students’ academic improvement and career goals, yet it is one of the professions with a high turnover rate. The main factors are the irregular lifestyle caused by night-shift working to accommodate students after school, long hours due to ancillary duties like class preparation and dealing with parents, and the heavy mental pressure of influencing a student’s future. Furthermore, the high incidence of work that becomes unpaid overtime accelerates the exhaustion of both the mind and body.
This article provides a detailed explanation of the factors leading to the high turnover rate in this profession, examining them from four perspectives: working conditions, compensation/benefits, workload, and career development.
Turnover Rates in the Education and Learning Support Industry (Reference Data)
The turnover rate for the Education and Learning Support Industry, which includes cram school instructors, remains higher than the all-industry average.
| Category | Education and Learning Support Turnover Rate | Average Turnover Rate Across All Industries |
| Annual Turnover Rate | 15.6% (2022) | 15.0% (2022) |
| Turnover Rate within 3 Years (New University Graduates) | 45.0% (March 2022 Graduates) | 33.8% (March 2022 Graduates) |
| Turnover Rate within 3 Years (New High School Graduates) | 52.2% (March 2022 Graduates) | 37.9% (March 2022 Graduates) |
1. The Issue of Working Hours (Night-Shift Working and Unpaid Overtime)
Work concentrates after students finish school, leading to a night-oriented, long-hours schedule, with many duties performed outside of paid working hours.
Normalization of Night Work:
- Irregular Life Rhythm: Working hours are concentrated from evening to night, meaning staff work from early morning until late at night. This disrupts life rhythms and leads to accumulated fatigue.
Ancillary Duties Beyond Teaching:
- High Incidence of Unpaid Overtime: Outside of classroom time, there are many tasks that must be handled after hours, such as researching teaching materials, creating tests, grading, and preparing materials for career counseling. This often becomes unpaid overtime.
Increased Workload During Peak Periods:
- Seasonal Classes and Events: During periods like summer and winter intensive courses or mock exam administrations, the workload drastically increases on top of regular classes, severely limiting time off.
- Weekend Work: Supervising mock exams, university entrance explanation sessions, and trial lessons often take place on weekends and holidays, making it difficult to get consecutive days off.
2. The Issue of Compensation and Benefits (Imbalance Between Salary and Work Content)
Despite the demand for high specialization and mental resilience, many feel that the compensation is inadequate.
Relatively Low Wage Levels:
- Mismatch Between Expertise and Pay: High specialization is required, including deep knowledge of specific subjects, instruction skills, and student guidance abilities. Yet, many feel the wage level is low compared to other specialized professions.
- Mismatch Between Hours and Compensation: The high amount of unpaid overtime mentioned above often results in a very low effective hourly wage, serving as a major motivator for turnover.
Vagueness of Evaluation Systems:
- If efforts that are difficult to quantify, such as the quality of instruction or improving student motivation, are not adequately reflected in salary or promotions, staff may feel their hard work goes unrewarded.
3. Workload and Mental Stress (Weight of Responsibility and Emotional Labor)
The heavy responsibility of impacting students’ lives and the interpersonal relationships, including those with parents, are major sources of stress.
Mental and Emotional Stress:
- Pressure of Career Guidance: Since staff directly influence students’ grades and career decisions, there is constant pressure to deliver results and a profound sense of responsibility where failure is not an option.
- Emotional Labor: The high-level communication and attentiveness required to maintain student motivation, inspire enthusiasm, and meet parental expectations lead to mental exhaustion (emotional labor).
Stress from Dealing with Parents:
- Managing complaints and consultations from parents, often stemming from high expectations regarding student grades or anxiety about entrance exams, is a major source of stress.
Normalization of Multi-tasking:
- Staff must handle a wide range of administrative tasks in addition to teaching, such as classroom management, student recruitment (sales), cleaning, and phone reception, leading to exhaustion.
4. Issues with Career Development and Training Systems
Due to the specialized nature of the profession, career paths for improving instructional skills or advancing to management roles can be unclear.
Insufficient Education and Training Systems:
- Lack of Systematic Training: Systematic training on teaching methods and student guidance techniques is often inadequate, leaving new instructors feeling lost.
- Reliance on Individual Experience: Instruction often relies on the On-the-Job Training (OJT) provided by experienced instructors, leading to inconsistency in the quality of education.
Feeling of Limited Career Progression:
- Promotion paths from classroom instructor to administrative roles like school manager or area manager may be limited or the promotion criteria may be opaque.
- Many experienced staff aim to open their own schools, hindering talent retention within the organization.
Interpersonal Stress:
- Differences in instructional policy or friction in the relationships between the school manager, instructors, or amongst instructors can cause stress.
The Structure of the Vicious Cycle
The cram school industry suffers from a vicious cycle: “Long hours due to night shifts and unpaid overtime →Mental and physical exhaustion and wages not commensurate with specialization → Experienced staff quit →Remaining instructors must cover more classes and ancillary duties.” Crucially, the sense of mission and good will (“for the students’ sake”) often leads staff to tolerate excessive workload, which is a major factor accelerating turnover.
