Is it possible to have a work-life balance in teaching?

The pressures on teachers to get their workload complete is immense.

When this occurs, a healthy work-life balance feels like a pipe dream, rather than a plausible reality.

There appear to be two possible ways to achieve a work-life balance as a teacher.

You either go part-time to claim back your evenings and weekends or you leave.

Unfortunately, the statistics support this.

1 in 3 teachers are leaving in their first 5 years of teaching.

68% say the volume of workload was a “major reason” for considering leaving the profession.

The Department of Education admitted back in 2018 that “all of the part-time teachers interviewed in the DfE research had gone part-time to make their workload more manageable, and every one said they used their non-working week days as additional time to cover administrative tasks.”

No one blames teachers for taking these extreme measures. I myself left teaching in order to protect my own mental health.

Nevertheless, it paints a bleak picture, one that doesn’t seem to have a happy ending in sight.

So, is it possible to have a work-life balance in teaching?

Yes.

And here’s how.

BOUNDARIES

By inputting clear, definable boundaries around your time, energy and focus, you can enjoy a work-life balance that also leaves you thriving in teaching.

What do boundaries involve?

Having boundaries in teaching involves the following principles.

• B - Boundaries protect your work-life balance
• You use physical, mental, emotional and identity boundaries to remember that teaching is a job and that you have a right to a life outside of the classroom.
• O - Own your own needs
• You are a human being first. You cannot forego your own physical, mental and emotional needs in favour of the job. This leads to burnout.
• U - Understand that you can only pour from a full cup
• When you tend to your needs first, you fill your cup, enabling you to pour into the cups of others. In the context of teaching, your students’ cups are filled from your full cup. You have a professional duty to fill your cup in order to benefit theirs.

• N - No is a safe word
• You cannot do everything on your to-do list. Prioritise, be brave and say no to things that do not serve you and your students.
• D - Dance in your own teacher awesomeness
• When you acknowledge the amazing job that you are doing, you are more likely to feel positive and accomplished, helping you to thrive even more.
• A - Awareness is key
• Become aware of which tasks cause you the greatest stress. Explore how you can reduce, reframe or remove them from your experience.
• R - Reduce your workload
• The workload of a teacher is unrealistic. Explore which tasks can be reduced or removed. Check out resources like the DfE’s School Workload Reduction Toolkit.
• I - Identity begins with you
• Remember that you are a human being first and a teacher second. Teaching is a job and should be treated as such. You are worthy of having a life outside of your job.
• E - Expectations must be realistic
• Sometimes you may expect yourself to get everything on your to-do list done. It’s just not possible. Give yourself a break, reduce your expectations by 10% and notice how it won’t impact your output (student attainment) much at all.
• S - Students thrive when you thrive
• A study by Leeds Becket University found that students learn when their teachers are happy and well. So putting yourself first benefit you and your students.

Need some help creating a happy work-life balance for yourself?

Make sure that you sign up for my FREE 3 Steps for a Happy Teacher Work-Life Balance Masterclass taking place on Tuesday 31st January 2023 at 8pm GMT.

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