How staff can help each other with mental health and wellbeing
An issue that extends past one day or an awareness week, we discuss what you can do as a teacher to help each other to raise awareness and help to improve wellbeing within schools.
The theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is ‘anxiety’. Anxiety is a normal emotion in us all, but sometimes it can get out of control and become a mental health problem.
It should come as no surprise that school staff are experiencing more symptoms of poor mental health, with 77% experiencing symptoms due to their work.
We also know that great relationships at work can help you to deal with and share the stresses of school life.
Top tips to help a colleague who needs support –
Adapt your approach
Adapt your approach to each individual – remember not everyone communicates in the same way and what works for one person won’t work for another. If they’re finding it difficult to express themselves, let them know that you’re there when they are ready. Simply giving someone space to talk, and listening to how they’re feeling, can be really helpful in itself.
Be open
Be open and honest. Making yourself approachable can be pivotal in helping someone. Let your colleagues know that you can see they might be struggling and you’re there anytime that they may need some support.
Ask questions
Ask your colleague if you can help or if they need anything. Try and encourage an open dialogue, resisting the urge to simply ask how you can ‘fix’ the issue and focus on guiding conversations and ask instead how you can improve circumstances or make things better.
This can help pinpoint specific issues and often enables you to resolve them more efficiently than dancing around the subject.
Be kind
Express your empathy. Often the greatest gift we can someone else is the gift of empathy. It can sometimes be difficult for colleagues to show weakness at work, so be kind and take the time to listen and to offer reassurance.
Just be there
The organised chaos of a typical school day makes it hard to find the time to speak to a colleague who seems to be struggling, especially if you are also feeling the strain of work and life in general. Taking the time to just be there can really make a huge difference to someone’s day or even week and may even also help you to have open conversations and to share familiar struggles in the classroom.
If you’re looking for a new challenge or change of scenery, Initial Education would love to hear from you so please don’t hesitate to get in touch with by calling 01452 740001 or registering your interest here.
