3 Signs of a Toxic School Culture
Burnout can be largely prevented when a whole school staff comes together to set specific, healthy boundaries.
When a school doesn’t get specific about boundaries the work culture can get toxic fast. Below, find 3 signs of a toxic work environment - a work environment with little to no boundaries. Have you seen any of these creep up in your school?
If so, don’t panic - Learn how to foster a healthy work environment this year with 7 key boundaries in our upcoming FREE webinar.
And please share this upcoming webinar with any educators, administrators, or wellness leaders in your community so we can unite in building a healthier life for ALL teachers.
3 Signs of a Toxic School Culture
I.
Most or all teachers are working excessively long hours (48+ per week).
A 2022 Education Week survey found that the typical teacher works 54 hours per week. When we’re looking through the lens of burnout prevention, that’s a big problem. Study upon study confirms that working extended hours (which is usually classified as >48 hours a week) increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, increases blood pressure, leads to chronic fatigue, decreases quality of sleep, increases risk of depression and anxiety, and (you guessed it) increases your chances of burnout. We can improve the health of a school culture by setting explicit work hour recommendations for the team at the beginning of the year, and by encouraging teachers working outside those hours to ask for help and support from their community.
II.
Teachers are not being paid for additional work.
If you are doing something outside of your typical job description or outside of your contracted hours, you should be fairly compensated for it. Period. If you will not be fairly compensated, you have a right to say no to that request. We can improve the health of a school culture by properly compensating teachers for extra work. If the extra task cannot be compensated appropriately, think about cutting the request rather than paying the wellbeing cost of putting another thing on a teacher’s plate.
III.
Negative communication (gossiping, venting, etc.) among peers or administration.
Everyone deserves to be treated with respect, but sometimes when stress gets really high, it can be easy to forget that we’re all on the same team. Admin and teachers both ultimately want what’s best for the community. We can improve the health of a school culture by having open, honest conversations with people as soon as we have a conflict with them. We can also encourage a problem-solving attitude when issues arise.
2 Quotes from Others
I.
“Studies show that a trusting workplace increases employees' level of happiness, work effort, productivity, and engagement.” - Arthur Miller
II.
“Burnout is a response to unhealthy boundaries.” - Nedra Glover Tawwab
1 Question For You
What are some boundaries your community needs to set before the start of this school year? If you’re not sure, make sure to join us for our upcoming webinar (Again - it’s FREE).
If you found this week’s 3-2-1 helpful, share it with an educator you care about :)
Until next week,
Emily Hemmingson
Health Coach for Teachers
Founder of The Teacher Wellness Center
FREE Upcoming Wellness Webinar
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