WELLBEING
Using boundaries to help manage workload In his latest column for Education Today this month, Mark Solomons, CEO of School Wellbeing
Accelerator - an acclaimed wellbeing expert with over 14 years’ experience developing leadership and culture in schools, author of ‘What Makes Teachers Unhappy and What Can You Do About It?’, and creator of triple ERA Award-winning Welbee, a highly effective staff wellbeing improvement tool - discusses the importance of boundaries in managing workload.
completed - you can pick up where you left off next time. Times may need to be flexible; there are busy periods in every academic year, when there is simply more to be done and set hours will be longer - for example, report writing or during assessments and examinations. MATs, schools and colleges can also set or at least encourage boundaries around in-school working hours and working from home. Make them a part of the culture, embed them using a coaching approach, with leaders also modelling them. Ensure everyone maintains them - if some individuals do not, others may also begin to overstep them. This can have significant consequences leading to staff working under pressure, increased absence due to stress, and ultimately staff leaving.
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Being disciplined about setting time frames and keeping to them is not always easy, and for many it needs to be learnt. Whether your MAT, school or college defines them, or they are your own personal boundaries, here are some points for consideration:
he establishment of the Workload Reduction Taskforce is a sign that the Government is once again paying attention to the impact of unmanageable workload on leaders, teachers and support staff. Many of those considering leaving the education sector stated workload as the main reason.
Establishing clear boundaries which help clarify roles and expectations and the time available to fulfil them, can help facilitate more effective workload management.
The close-knit nature of a school community makes this even more important. If staff feel unable to set boundaries, or if those set are not respected, wellbeing will decline, stress levels heighten, and resentment will grow. Leaders often feel obliged to respond immediately and be available to everyone at all times. This creates conflicting demands on time and an increase in stress. Setting and abiding by clear boundaries can reduce this conflict.
Whether it’s from ourselves or others, pressure to work when you’re not 100% can be damaging in the long run. Implementing boundaries helps cement the importance of self-care and promotes workplace wellbeing. A good starting point is to clearly define between work and home life, and the hours you are prepared to work. Letting the amount of work dictate the length of your day, will result in disruption to a healthy work/life balance.
Set your work time and prioritise tasks starting with the most important. Be disciplined about stopping once the time is
Leadership • Schedule uninterrupted time for specific work or tasks • Establish clear expectations about acceptable conduct between all staff.
Physical • Avoid interactions with colleagues who reduce your effectiveness and as a leader coach those staff members who have a negative impact on others • At home, keep work out of your bedroom and personal living areas.
Workload • Agree to tasks within your professional skills and abilities and have effective conversations if asked to take on actions outside these • Effectively manage additional responsibilities that will adversely affect your contracted duties.
Time and communication • Set times to read and respond to communications and agree an acceptable response time • Ensure communication and expectations are clear and delivered through the right media • Be ruthless with your time – create opportunities for breaks and non-work conversations, but limit time spent on non-work-related talk during scheduled work times.
Common misconceptions about enforcing workplace boundaries include: ‘Staff will think I’m not working hard,’ or ‘Co-workers will
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resent the way I work’. However, remember this is a key skill to better manage your workload, and help support others with managing theirs. It demonstrates you take your responsibilities as a leader seriously and enhances your performance, productivity, and workplace relationships.
Setting and enforcing boundaries is an important step in looking after your own and others’ wellbeing– it reduces stress, anxiety, and discomfort, and provides greater clarity about expectations and ‘how we work here’. Boundaries need to be flexible and change in response to specific needs, situations, people, roles, and time of year.
How you communicate these, as an individual or organisation is also important. It’s not necessary for a formal announcement or to inform anyone in a particular way. Add your contactable hours to your email signature, use the automatic ‘out of office’ reply to notify people as to when you will respond, or politely let colleagues know if they are interrupting you at an inappropriate time.
Being consistent with your boundaries, helps others become accustomed to them, which will benefit you in the long run. Setting reminders for when it’s time to go home, or time to stop working when you are at home, helps to implement time boundaries.
The benefits of boundaries Setting clear boundaries allows you to continue to manage, adapt and revise them as necessary. Boundaries help: provide clarity about what is expected and how it will be delivered, avoiding potential exploitation by others; build trust, mutual respect and improve relationships between colleagues, managers and leaders; maintain autonomy and a sense of self; sustain a healthy divide between professional and personal life; and boost overall wellbeing and increased performance. Like most leadership skills, the ability to set and uphold boundaries — and relax them when necessary — is something that can be learned and improved. It may take a while to become comfortable with enforcing new ones, and for others to adjust to them, but the long- term benefits are well worth it. Establishing boundaries is one way to protect against burnout. From the personal to the communal, they can improve your work-life balance, build more effective working practices, help build better teams and improve wellbeing.
For further information, support and advice about creating a culture with staff wellbeing at its centre, please contact
uwelbee.co.uk
November 2023
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