At Issue
All school employees wrestle with stress on the job.
The key to your professional and personal health lies with how you manage those situations.
Ask Sue Federico what stresses she faces in her job as a third-grade teacher, and she’ll cite an ever-growing list of requirements:
• Standardized tests.
• Daily literacy assessments.
• Demands to “conference” every day with each of her 28 students.
• Constant curriculum changes.
• And, oh yeah, reading, writing, math, science, spelling and social studies.
“Thank goodness I still really like my job!” said Federico, who works in Fruitport.
Loving what you do helps balance the large workloads facing many who work in public education, whether in K-12 schools, community colleges or universities.
Sturgis teacher Mary Haylett relaxes on her motorcycle
Stressed to the limit
Stress can make large workloads tough to manage, interfere with personal and social relationships, and prompt some to leave school jobs. One-third of new teachers leave the profession after the first five years, in no small part because of stressful challenges.
Some studies have ranked teaching among the most stressful jobs, along with jobs in medicine, social services, fire rescue and law enforcement.
If you work in public education, you’re familiar with crowded classrooms, test pressures, paperwork, anxious parents, rambunctious kids and budget woes that have increased workloads and cut pay or benefits (or both). For many, there’s a sense that there isn’t enough time in the day—or in the school year— to do the job right.
“You can’t always do what you need to do,” says Mary Haylett, a high school social studies teacher in Sturgis.
Not all stress is bad
Though we generally think of stress as unhealthy, not all stress is bad. A healthy level of stress is a good thing, says Dr. Steven TePastte, medical director of MESSA. But you must develop strategies to relieve stress. Chronic unrelieved stress is an unhealthy, often-overlooked risk factor for virtually all diseases.
The good news is, you can relieve stress effectively with techniques like peer support, exercise, healthy nutrition, compassion, spirituality and laughter. Identifying stress early is the key.
Finding relief: a rewarding process
“Ultimately learning how to relieve stress can be very rewarding,” TePastte said, adding that the search for what works to relieve your stress will help you discover who you really are.
Melanie Gofton, a library worker at St. Clair County Community College, says it took her a long time to learn to manage her stress. She tries to take a nightly walk to ease tension.
Gofton admits letting go of worries related to downsizing and a revolving door of managers at her work site aren’t easy. But she focuses on the big picture.
“I love being around the students,” says Gofton, whose responsibilities include keeping track of some 60,000 books, magazines and other library materials.
Managing job stress
Some local associations and school districts provide training or support to help employees effectively manage job stress, but not all do. Mentors can provide vital support for new teachers, helping them deal with heavy workloads and diverse student needs.
Andrew Reger, a special education teacher at Chesaning Middle School and president of the Chesaning EA, provides tips about managing work stress in the union’s monthly newsletter.
“We offer a simple life change each month that can help to manage stress,” Reger says. “I hope my colleagues are solution-conscious. Too many people get caught up with the problem rather than the solution. Stress can be fixed, if we take time to do it.”
In Sturgis, Haylett lets off steam by enjoying a hobby—she relaxes while riding her motorcycle. She also gets together with a group of colleagues on Friday afternoons.
“We call it ‘school improvement’ because it improves our attitude,” Haylett said.
For tips on how to manage stress, go to www.mea.org/members/stress.