Over the last 18 years of helping people rebalance their health I would have to say that teachers are amongst the poorest in term s of work life balance. After seeing yet another influx of stressed out and run down teachers I spent the last six months doing a lot of research in developing a work life balance guide specifically for teachers. I wanted to find out the real issues that were affecting teachers. In saying that, I was not after some education department political spin. I wanted to hear from the teachers in the front line but I came across more roadblocks than you would find between Israel and the Gaza  strip.

I contacted about 20 schools many times over by phone and email. With the exception of four schools all the people in charge of human resources claimed that they were too busy to offer any assistance. My children’s school was the only school that helped. Three schools said it was against school policy to allow an outside organisation to speak with or survey their teachers with one of the human resource managers saying, “To survey our teachers regarding their work life balance would infer that we have a problem in that area.” I suppose it is easier to sweep it under the carpet, isn’t it?

So I then approached the Education department. They told me that I could fill out a Magna Carta-like application form while at the same time informing me that they only allow access from academics from Government funded Universities. I suppose it is an easier way to maintain the Government line.

I then tried contacting the teachers union who agreed that work life balance is a huge issue for teachers.  They had done some research that showed that 50 % of first year teachers couldn’t see themselves still being a teacher in ten years. The major reason the teachers gave for not wanting to continue teaching was due to difficulty in coping with the workload. They said that it would be ideal for me to come to their next meeting in February where I would be able to get great feedback.

Early in February I hadn’t heard from them so I called them up. The meeting had already happened. The union delegates decided that it wasn’t appropriate because I wasn’t an academic from a University because they get their funding from the Government.  It seems self preservation comes ahead of making a difference for their members. As a result the teaching profession continues to leak talented individuals because they haven’t taught teachers the skills and lifestyle to be able to effectively cope with a demanding workload.

At least the Queensland Teachers College were of some assistance, letting me view a DVD on positive psychology that they send to teachers to help reduce teachers stress.

But work life balance involves a lot more than just positive psychology. It involves communication, exercise, nutrition, injury prevention, effective resting, emotional management, conflict resolution, family and parenting issues and a lot more. Teachers do not have resources on how they can help themselves in these areas. They are left to learn in at the school of hard knocks but the problem is that their education can come at a price. It can cost then their health,  their relationships and  can cost many their careers.

Despite all of that, the majority of teachers, schools, unions and the education department were, if anything obstructive to the development of a guide that helps to improve the work life balance of teachers. They must be happy to have a high proportion of run-down and burnt out workers among their ranks. They may be happier to complain about how burnt out they are than to be actively interested in a solution.

Coping with a large workload requires certain skills that can be learned and lifestyle modification that can also be learned. Ironically though, it seems that teachers may not be that open to learning new approaches.