Last week I wrote asking, Who’s Looking After the Teachers? and the response was astounding.
By far, it received more comments than any other column I’ve written for Generation Next – which leads me to think it struck a chord.
As well as the overwhelming majority of comments agreeing that staff wellbeing needed to be addressed, I invited teachers to share what their school did to maintain staff morale and wellbeing.
One reader said that a former principal would offer himself up as a raffle prize, with the winner being able to have the lesson off while the principal took it.
Another said their principal would give the staff chocolate, whilst others suggested notes of thanks, verbal appreciation, subsidised meals and chats with the school counselor or chaplain could help.
All of which are great suggestions, but in the face of such an institutionalised issue, perhaps we need to take a more institutionalised approach.
There is a great deal of research that shows staff wellbeing is the best predictor of productivity and workplace engagement, but how seriously do we take this in schools? Well if we measure what we value, it appears not very.
I argue that schools should measure staff wellbeing – either formally or informally – with the same enthusiasm they measure student outcomes, then work openly with staff to enhance it.
This may be challenging for school leaders and staff alike, but it is crucial that this topic is tackled head on and it is seen as a professional challenge, not a personal one.
Author: Dan Haesler, he is a teacher, consultant, and speaker at the Mental Health & Wellbeing of Young People seminars He writes for the Sydney Morning Herald and blogs at http://danhaesler.com/ and tweets at @danhaesler
The Staff Matters web based resource and workshop is an excellent source to support staff and teacher wellbeing. It is clearly divided into sections around Professional, oOganisational and Interpersonal wellbeing. Details here http://www.mindmatters.edu.au/resources_and_downloads/staff_matters/staff_matters_landing.html
Can you suggest ways that this can be done as it seems like leadership teams and organisations such as Catholic Education or Ed Queensland are not listening. How do we reach them? How do we get them to take it all seriously? What is the action as we have all heard a lot of talk.
I am intrugued by the comments regarding principcipals giving rewards etc. For many years now teachers have been urging to be recognised as professionals and treated with a semblance of autonomy. For decades prior teachers were treated like shop assistants in a department store with a shop manager. hence complaints were through the principal/manager. I believe that since the esalry 90s, we have been striving to see ourselves as professional like doctors in a medical practice. All qualified and accountable for their own actions and results. It would be inconceivable for a patient to complain to the practice manager rather than the doctor him/herself. I believe this is the same in schools. Therefore when it comes to praise and reward when working in an collaborative and shared decision making environment, it is the rresponsibility of the group to praise and reward each other including the administration. The principal rewarding the staff symbolises the old bureacratic system when in fact the principal does not have much power in all this at all anymore. It depends very much on how one perceives oneself – a worker or professional wrking in an education practice/team.
In response to Graeme Sassella-Otley, I believe staff do praise and reward each other as far as they are able but are within the confines of a hierarchal structure where the power and much of the decision making comes from senior management/leadership. Staff resources to acknowledge and affirm are limited materially.
Certainly the Staff Matters site mentioned above is a good starting point. I’d also encourage teachers and school leaders to look at some of the work around Positive Psychology, behavioural research and the latest pedagogical research.
Its also worth chatting to colleagues in other schools… strive to find what is working, rather than focussing on what isnt.
Search for Appreciative Inquiry that provides a nice framework for doing this.