Are you struggling to remain motivated and positive during your shift?
Are you constantly feeling deflated and stressed about your workload?
We recognise the daily struggles education staff face, especially in these unprecedented times.
To support our candidates, whether you’re full-time or part-time, we’ve constructed some tips to manage stress.
Here are some of Balfor’s Top Tips to handle the pressure of teaching:
1. Make time for yourself and prioritise. At the end of the day, teaching is your career and you deserve to have a life outside of work. Include activities you enjoy throughout the week, no matter how big or small. Whether it’s a cinema trip, cooking your favourite recipe or visiting family, be sure to prioritise your peace of mind. This includes switching off your work emails and not answering out-of-hours phone calls e.g. 9 pm when you’re attempting to wind down.
2. Identify what your main causes of stress are. The top 10 causes of stress at work in 2022 are:
- Excessive workload
- Lack of control
- Lack of support
- Senior staff and peers
- Insufficient training
- Job security
- Working from home
- Commuting and other factors.
By identifying what stresses you most, you’re able to recognise and prevent the event.
3. Practice mindfulness whilst at work. Mindfulness is described as “the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something” by the Oxford Dictionary. When feeling stressed, there’s a beneficial exercise known as S.T.O.P:
- Stop. Take a pause, no matter what you’re doing.
- Take a breath and focus on your breathing, which brings you back to the present.
- Observe. Recognise what is happening, good or bad, inside you or out and make note of it.
- Proceed. Briefly checking in on yourself should allow you to move forward.
4. Communicate. It’s important to feel heard and not bottle up your emotions, although this can be a challenge. When you feel as though your workload is unmanageable or a colleague is unnecessarily difficult, this is a good time to talk to a senior. If this isn’t possible, talking to a peer who also works in education can help. A problem shared is a problem halved!
5. Take the time to exercise. Any form of exercise can relieve stress, no matter how demanding it is. As well as improving your physical health, exercise can boost your mood by releasing endorphins. Start small and build your way up, as this is the most realistic method of sticking to exercise.
We hope you can take something from these tips, as we understand the daily pressure teachers and teaching assistants face.
If you’re looking for a new opportunity in the education sector, call 0121 260 0000 or email [email protected] to speak with one of our specialist consultants.
A full list of our vacancies is available to view here, for both the education and healthcare sector.
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