The Hot Debate: Who Is Actually Responsible for Teacher and Staff Wellbeing?

With teacher wellbeing and mental health concerns front and centre, staff wellbeing is a hot topic in Education and has been for some time now. And rightfully so! Teacher and staff wellbeing directly impacts student engagement and learning outcomes, school culture, and staff retention rates—all of which have a correlation with school and student performance.

I’ve sat in many rooms with teachers and leaders during my time as a staff wellbeing consultant. Often, during sessions, a debate breaks out about who is responsible for wellbeing in our schools.?

Is it the leaders?

Is it the staff?

There are fair arguments on both sides, and it’s important for everyone to take a moment to step into the others’ shoes to truly understand where the frustration is coming from. Likewise, it’s equally important for both sides to do their part.?

We are better when we work together!

This article will cover:

• The debate: whose responsibility is staff wellbeing?
• Leadership responsibility
• Staff responsibility
• Joint responsibilities
• The verdict?

Whose responsibility is staff wellbeing?

As we begin the debate –? our teachers and staff may argue that their leaders need to do more to support their wellbeing at work. They share that their frustration lies in the leadership team’s lack of awareness or attentiveness to staff needs as they push more administrative agendas. They are weighed down by the mounting workload, administrative tasks, data collection and a perceived lack of classroom support and leader visibility. I hear staff in some schools share their feelings around a lack of job control, involvement in school-based decision making and growing staff negativity and conflicts.

Leaders counteract with a rebuttal and express their frustration that staff are seemingly struggling with the aspects of their work that are “part of the job” and how some staff unhelpfully gossip about leadership directions. I hear of how staff talk about this behind closed doors, never uttering a peep to their leaders regarding their concerns. They go home and discuss it with a loved one – but nothing more is said at work, breeding more frustration for everyone involved. I’ve heard leaders share that their staff “need more resilience” and that they can’t do much about their external stressors - that it isn’t up to them to address personal wellbeing.

The leadership team continues to express their irritation and punch home their point. They feel they have tried to implement wellbeing initiatives or relationship-building events with little outcome. They are exhausted by encouraging all the right things, doing their best to find staff to replace absent staff, capturing feedback, planning events and facilitating wellbeing workshops, but nothing much changes, and they feel their staff don’t appreciate their efforts.

The problem with both of these sides of the debate is that all those involved don’t appear to be working together or towards any high-leverage actions. The staff wellbeing sweet spot is reached when we focus on both personal and workplace wellbeing in schools.

With an understanding of what it takes to truly address staff wellbeing (and do it well), we can move to a place where the responsibilities of all involved are outlined, communicated, or agreed upon. The actions are mapped out, and the expectations are clearly defined. In order to move forward as one, leaders and staff need to work together to put staff wellbeing and school culture front and centre with a clear set of responsibilities for all.?

So, how do we do that?

Leadership Responsibilities?

As many teachers and staff stare down the barrel of burnout, they are crying out for help from their leaders or the powers that be. Begging for the workload to decrease, craving better communication, clarity, and time to get things done – It is clear that school leaders have a key role to play in fostering and maintaining staff workplace wellbeing. The research clearly outlines the positive impacts that healthy and well staff have on school outcomes . Ignoring these potential benefits is a critical mistake for any school leadership team.?

Ethically, school leaders have a duty of care to their teachers and staff. With a growing number of school staff reporting impacted mental health, it should be considered part of the school leader’s core responsibility to cultivate a supportive workplace environment that aims to preserve and prevent the deterioration of staff wellbeing. Schools have a duty to seek more options for their people, provide more support, and do things differently. By prioritising staff mental health and wellbeing, schools can cultivate lasting loyalty and build a positive foundation for future culture-building efforts.

Teachers’ and staff’s feelings of safety, inclusivity, and support are paramount. This includes (probably most importantly) the legal obligation to provide a mentally and physically safe environment for all staff. It is a legislative requirement that departments and schools create a safe and secure working environment for their staff. Calling out the elephant in the room here, and almost too important to gloss over, schools and leaders must make sure as many preventative measures are in place to reduce, prevent and mitigate any physical or mental harm to our teachers at the hands of students, parents or co-workers.?

Perhaps the biggest emphasis here is that whilst it is widely acknowledged and understood that some students require additional support to behave safely and respectfully due to several compounding factors – our teachers and staff require just as much (if not more) support to move past any incident where their safety has been compromised. This may involve a total overhaul of the school’s expectations and consequences for any incidents where teachers and students are put in harm’s way, in addition to suitable (incredibly supportive) follow-up processes for any victims.

At the very least, school leaders are responsible for the following foundational practices for staff wellbeing:

• Implementing workplace legislative requirements
• Ensuring the safety of all staff
• Ensuring adequate follow-up and support options for staff who have had their safety, health or mental health compromised (not just from the education office or department – from the school)
• Seeking consultation and feedback from staff to find out their needs and requirements for improved health and wellbeing?
• Providing a framework and policy of staff wellbeing action plan to address the health and wellbeing needs and requirements of their staff?
• Role model wellbeing – leaders have a responsibility to lead by example, recognising that their actions speak louder than words?

Teacher and Staff Responsibilities?

Teachers and staff, meanwhile, also have a role to play. Ultimately, it is up to staff to take care of their own personal wellbeing and safety, too. Our work (especially teaching) constitutes, and almost consumes, a huge part of our lives, both in time and energy. So we must learn how to set boundaries, speak up and manage the additional stress that comes from a career in education.?

Without stating the obvious, staff are responsible for complying with the health and safety conditions laid out by the school and education office/directorate. Just as school leaders are responsible for maintaining and advocating for staff safety, school staff must also professionally report when their daily work is impacting their safety, wellbeing and/or health. This may involve filling in the relevant risk reports, seeking the support of an Employee Assistance Program, asking for advice from governing bodies, etc. Alongside this, adhering to formal requirements, such as taking set breaks during working hours and only working core hours, participating in voluntary initiatives offered by the school, and getting involved with any and all practices aimed at caring for health and wellbeing is advised. If what you are looking for or what you need isn’t on offer – speak up and ask for it.?

Knowing how to take care of our own mental health is vital if you want to ensure longevity in your career and reduce any risk factors for burnout . Managing your stress levels, maintaining positive social interactions, and asking for help when needed are all practical actions to support staff wellbeing.?

In a profession like teaching, some staff may need to double down on the self-care practices that help them get back to baseline.?

At the very least, school staff are responsible for the following foundational practices for improved staff wellbeing:

• Adhering to/following workplace legislative requirements
• Reporting any breaches of safety, health, and wellbeing or injuries in the workplace?
• Accessing Employee Assistance Program or external support options (where EAP is not appropriate) when safety, health or wellbeing is impacted at work or in life
• Providing respectful feedback for school improvement and attention to wellbeing and culture
• Seeking support from a health or mental health practitioner for any instances of chronic stress, mental health or physical health concerns or ailments.?

The Answer? Joint Responsibility?

If it isn’t obvious enough by now, staff wellbeing is certainly a joint venture. Just as individual staff have every right to work in an environment that prioritises their people, they too must do their part to make their workplace a place worth showing up to every day. We expect the same of the classrooms we run – the teachers provide the scaffold for a harmonious learning environment, but the students also play an important role. So it should be no different when it comes to our faculty.?

In addition to the foundational contributions by leaders and staff already mentioned, other areas of joint responsibility include:

Note: You will see that all responsibilities fall neatly into the 6 PERMA(H) Model areas, which is a key element of my approach in schools.

The Verdict

Ultimately, when it comes to maintaining health and wellbeing in the workplace, there has to be a symbiotic relationship between leaders and staff. While school leaders should establish the foundations, policies, procedures, and initiatives to promote workplace wellbeing and ensure positive school culture, staff need to support the elements associated with their own personal wellbeing, elect to put up their hand and get involved in the programs offered and offer feedback and solutions.?

The wellbeing of school staff must remain a top priority for school leaders. Without these solid foundations, the buy-in of new initiatives, ideas, changes, and strategies is less likely. Likewise, the functioning of a school and creating a harmonious school culture and environment must be at the top of every staff member’s priority list. This means cooperating with the school’s health and safety conditions and taking steps to care for their own health and wellbeing inside and outside of the workplace.?

How We Address the Joint Responsibilities of Leaders and Staff Within The Well-Led Schools Partnership Program

Our Well-Led Schools Partnership program follows a proven six-step framework that is guaranteed to improve school culture and reduce the occurrence of burnout in staff.?

In step 1, we support schools in running a school scan and gather feedback from staff. This is done through a Staff Wellbeing Survey , conversations between leaders and staff and by analysing existing data such as turnover and incident rates. This crucial step enables schools to be curious about their people and stay open to new kinds of information to pinpoint priority areas of focus moving forward.

In step 2, we work alongside the executive leaders to establish a vision of wellbeing that staff will buy into. Of course, staff will have opportunities to provide feedback and share their input. These first two steps are designed to get everyone on the same page, allowing the staff to feel heard and included.?

With a vision in mind, we move to step 3. Where leaders and staff explore and agree on the joint responsibilities of establishing a culture of wellbeing. This boosts individual and collective accountability for everyone’s actions, lessens confusion and increases collaboration between all those involved.

Step 4 is designed to upskill leaders and staff in effective ways to promote, support and improve staff wellbeing and culture.

Step 5 is where we begin to create a tailored Wellbeing Action Plan for your school and, finally, step 6 is the follow-through on the Wellbeing Action Plan and checking your progress.?

Are you ready to set your school up for success, build a rock-solid culture, boost teacher engagement and achieve better whole-school outcomes?

Doors to our Well-Led Schools Partnership program open once per term, and we’d love to have you on board! Visit the Well-Led Schools Partnerships page here to learn more and join the waitlist so you’re the first to know when doors open!