WELLBEING Combating burnout
In his regular column on wellbeing this month Mark Solomons - creator of triple ERA Award-winning Welbee, an online evaluation and staff wellbeing improvement tool - author of ‘What Makes Teachers Unhappy and What Can You Do About It?’ acclaimed speaker and wellbeing expert with over 14 years’ experience developing leadership and culture in education - shares his top tips on ways to recognise and help to combat burnout.
Symptoms of burnout
We may become irritable, angry or tearful; feel worried, anxious, hopeless or scared; struggle to make decisions, have racing thoughts, or feel overwhelmed. Physical symptoms can include, stomach problems; stress headaches and muscle pain; skin reactions, like stress rashes and hives; and feeling dizzy, sick or faint. More seriously, prolonged chronic stress can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and an increased vulnerability to illness.
Stress can also change our behaviours: how much we eat or exercise; our habits around drinking, smoking, or taking other substances; and how much we participate socially - seeing friends or doing things we enjoy.
Six tips for leaders to help staff avoid burnout
Leaders can implement changes to minimise the effects of stress, modelling behaviours and ‘cascading’ approaches down through the management team and to staff:
• Remain open to feedback
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines burnout as:
‘… a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed It is characterized by three dimensions:
• feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
• increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job, and
• reduced professional efficacy.’ T
he recently published Teacher Wellbeing Index 2023 cites an overall increase of 7% in reported cases of ‘acute stress or burnout’ across education staff. Senior leaders continue to report the highest figures at 40%, but the greatest increase is amongst teaching staff (up 9% to 36%), closely followed by support staff with an 8% increase (29%). With the ongoing wellbeing crisis in schools, it’s important to identify symptoms of burnout, and find ways to help address and reduce this chronic stress.
What is burnout?
Everyone experiences stress - it’s an innate pre- programmed prompt or response, hardwired to avoid harmful situations. Yet, when stress becomes persistent and unmanageable, rather than avoiding harm it can cause it. ‘Burnout’ - physical and emotional exhaustion - is caused by the brain being continuously flooded with elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which makes it difficult to ‘shut down’ or relax.
Life is busy, school timetables inflexible, and there are competing demands for time. When staff feel they do not have a voice or are not taken seriously, their level of frustration increases. Check-in with staff regularly and make it clear you are open to feedback and suggestions. This takes just a few minutes to ask questions and, most importantly listen. You may not take all the comments or ideas onboard, but some of the information received may help to effect change and ensures your staff feel heard. Insight from different perspectives can also help fuel your plans, progress developments and improve outcomes.
• Be aware of current issues Feedback from your staff will also make it easier to spot signs of staff burnout. While some situations may be unique to an individual, others could be pervasive across the school, college or MAT. Perform regular reviews to identify emerging problems, and plan solutions to address them at the earliest opportunity.
• Provide access to mental health / wellbeing support and resources Whilst stressors such as OFSTED inspections, parents’ evening, and exams cannot be avoided, here are some resources to help staff to manage their workload and everyday pressures: • Provide a disruption-free space for breaks • Look for opportunities for flexible working and accept reduced hours to retain good
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www.education-today.co.uk staff
• Adopt the wellbeing charter with the buy-in of all staff, ensuring you explain why
• Offer access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), quality resources or in school counselling or mentoring support.
• Trust staff experience
Burnout prevention becomes easier when staff feel in control. Although teachers are constrained to some extent, by the timetable, curriculum, the outcomes needed and funding, there’s still room for creative license. Acknowledge teachers’ experience and expertise, give them agency over their classroom management, and allow them to teach their classes in a way that works for them. By providing this freedom, you make their lives easier and also lighten your own workload
• Make praise part of every day Leaders are usually great at shout-outs, sending staff messages and saying thank you by email, yet they often miss out on giving praise in the moment. Try ‘managing while walking around’. Set a goal to catch people doing things right while going about your everyday tasks. While this can be difficult when staff are dispersed across a site, when done well, the impact is significant.
• Create a psychologically safe environment
All the previous tips will contribute to what is probably the number one requirement for a low stress environment:
‘A belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes… and that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.’ Amy Edmondson
Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management, Harvard Business School, coined the phrase psychological safety. In the high stakes accountability of our education system, creating an environment where staff can speak up, ask questions and share mistakes is so important.
All education staff experience some level of stress. When this is prolonged, it may result in lasting detrimental effects on their mental and physical health. Supporting staff not only has a positive impact on their lives, it also benefits your own and the wellbeing of your pupils.
For further information, support and advice about creating a culture with staff wellbeing at its centre, please contact
welbee.co.uk
December 2023
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