Depending on your position as an educator, you will be committed to your learners, your staff, your parents, and your community. The pressures that school inspection inevitably brings. You are driven to be the very best you can be for those who depend on you. You will go above and beyond the call of duty. The number of hours worked and the exhaustion you feel can become a badge of honour but, who looks after you?
Your profession is essential. Nothing is more important than facilitating our learners’ growth in order for them to reach their full potential and contribute positively to society. Is it any wonder that key findings from the NASUWT Teacher Wellbeing Survey 2022* found the following:
- 90% of teachers experienced more work-related stress in the last 12 months.
- 91% reported that their job had adversely affected their mental health in the last 12 months.
- 64% reported that their job had adversely affected their physical health in the last 12 months.
- 52% said that workload had been the main factor for increased work-related stress, followed by the consequences of the pandemic (34%), worries about pupil behaviour (24%), pupil well-being, (24%), pupil academic performance (22%), and finances (11%).
The impact of these stresses on teachers’ lives is striking:
- 87% have experienced an increase in anxiousness.
- 82% have suffered a loss of sleep.
- 28% have increased their use of alcohol.
- 10% have had a relationship breakdown.
- 7% have increased their use of prescription drugs; and 3% have self-harmed
Who looks after you? What could that oxygen mask look like?
At TTM Coaching we believe that you should have regular protected time for facilitated in-depth reflection. An experienced coaching confidante that will allow you to partner with a non-judgemental professional, in total confidence. Where you can acknowledge your concerns, stressors, and successes. The challenges and conflicting demands of your role will be understood. You will be encouraged by communicating with your own personal coach to set a goal set, explore your current reality, investigate
your options, and create ways forward through the many competing demands of your professional life.
As the air stewards say, “Please fix your own oxygen mask first, before helping those around you”. You simply cannot do it otherwise.