3 Ways To Survive A Stressful Teaching Week | Stress Less!
Feb 22, 2024
Kas Pillay
Stress is accounted for 40% of all work-related illnesses. The industries that accounted for the highest amounts of stress were education & social work (UK Labour Force Survey 2012).
Teaching is a stressful profession, this is no secret. Maybe one of the most stressful out there? The data is clear and getting more and more concerning. We are burning out more than ever and leaving the profession at record rates. The constantly changing educational system is effecting our and our peer’s mental health and wellbeing.
Classroom teachers have greater levels of stress than any other education role (Social Psychology of Education)
Well-being is a widely discussed topic and rightly so, as it is important and something that we all need to get better at,-not just in education but in all industries.
This article will not be discussing the evidence at large or go into depth about what the possible causes are, rather I will provide three solutions that I have found to be useful in times of stress in my teaching week. Advice from someone who has gone through it and come out the other side. What really has had an impact.
For good measure, I’ve chucked in some alarming statistics just so you know the immensity of this growing issue!
I hope the following helps.
Turn Off Notifications!
There are many professions in the world where when you clock out, your job ends. Teaching is not one of those professions. Many teachers find themselves in a vicious cycle of trying to ‘catch up’, or get ‘ahead’ by working extra hours each night after the regular school day.
95% of teachers report working over-time during a typical week (AITSL)
As we know with a few more years of experience in the profession, the work is not finite, it keeps coming and there is no real thing as getting ahead. Now with that said we are not saying to do nothing if you are behind, of course, you need to know what you are teaching, have your planning done and compete for tasks that will create an organised stress-free school day….BUT you need to be relentless in your decision that when you leave school you are now officially off work.
This means:
- No emails
- No app notifications for your classroom (Dojo, Twinkle, SEQTA… ect.)
- No searching for resources or planning
- No school discussion with colleagues
You must be able to switch off each night to prevent burnout and to create healthy work-life patterns to ensure you are mentally rested and enjoying family and friends outside of work. If you don’t start doing this, trust me you will feel like you are in an endless cycle of constantly working!
42% of full-time teachers report working for 60+ hours in a normal working week (AITSL)
Enforce these boundaries and soon colleagues, school families and staff members will know not to contact you outside of school hours or expect responses outside of school hours as you are not responding to them.
Don’t Take Your Stresses Home
This one is simple but can be a hard pattern to break out. If you are having a bad or stressful workday, by all means venting or seeking support from those close to you is important. Sharing the positives and negatives of your days is something that we all do and is a great way to debrief your significant other on how your day went.
Be mindful though you are not each and every day going home and complaining to those around you and dwelling on the negatives of the day. If you need a second opinion or some advice that can be done promptly and when necessary but don’t make it a habit to bring the upsetting things that have happened during the day to relive them at home.
This will create no separation between work and home and also not allow you to welcome positivity, happiness and opportunities to de-stress when you do get home.
At most try to share positive things and if there was nothing positive explain you didn’t have a great day but now you are ready to put that behind you and leave it there.
You are not going to have a perfect teaching day every day and if you do then you are one of the lucky ones. Part of teaching is how we respond to those bumpy situations, which are bound to happen as we work in a very dynamic environment with many different people (students, families and staff).
Constantly dwelling on the bad will create further anxiety and stress and also affect the happiness of your life outside of work. This creates a vicious cycle which could then trigger emotional burnout.
Teacher Burnout Symptoms (Reach Out, Australia 2023)
- Losing the passion or motivation to be a teacher
- Being easily emotionally dysregulated (irritability, anger, sadness)
- Withdrawing emotionally from co-workers, students, friends and family
- Finding it harder to perform regular or basic tasks (e.g. preparing a lesson plan)
- Flatness or a lack of emotions
- Difficulty sleeping
- Performance issues (lack of productivity related to feelings of apathy, lack of self-worth, low self-confidence, hopelessness).
- Understand and come to terms with that each day may have its challenges, focus on the positives and the improvements that can be made and NOTHING ELSE!!
Exercise Every Day
I’m not going to go into the countless amounts of research and evidence that is available on the benefits of exercise on your mental and physical health. Just know the verdict is out and confirmed- if you want to feel less stressed, anxious and relaxed- exercise has been proven to be more effective than a counsellor and even over-the-counter medication.
- Go for a walk or even a walk and talk with a friend/ partner
- Go to the gym
- Go for run
- Do some laps of your school oval before you head home
- Ride a bike
This will be the single most effective thing you can do to feel better daily! It is free and the options of how you do this are endless- make sure you exercise to a level where you are panting and building up a nice sweat.
Sleep is key- along with exercise, prioritise your sleep.
Adults who sleep fewer than eight hours a night report higher stress levels than those who sleep at least eight hours a night (American Psychology Association 2024)
Ensuring you are not staying up late continuing to work, and ensuring you are exercising and eating healthy meals will aid in a restful and rejuvenating night’s sleep. Sleep, exercise and nutrition will be your biggest factors in managing and preventing ongoing stress and teacher burnout.
If you are experiencing burnout or stress in your career please contact us and we will try to do our best to support you. Please also check out this great resource: