Finding the Work-Life Balance

Mental Health and Wellbeing for Teachers

The age-old struggle between work and home life balance is still as pertinent as it always has been. There are so many more tools to support us in our roles now, endless AI programmes, report writers and more, but we still seem reluctant to get our lives back. 

Many teachers are still spending hours planning, marking and evaluating work, beating ourselves up over the smallest details of what we do, making resources from scratch and refusing to leave school before 5pm. Why do we do it to ourselves?

I’ve heard it said many times that teaching is a vocation, and that might be true for a lot of people. However, it is still “a job”. You can be replaced in any job, in any role, but you know where you can’t be replaced? At home. The most perfect quote that I read and now try hard to live by was from Simon Smith on Twitter (X). His words of wisdom were “Give the job your all, then walk out the door and give life your all too”. And who can say fairer than that? Do your best at work, but also at home. Don’t let life pass you by. 

So, how can we get the balance right? How can we avoid the overload and mental exhaustion that so often accompanies the role of teacher? Here are a few easy things you could act on tomorrow: 

1. Time out of school!

Make sure you are doing exactly what Simon Smith said – Give life your all, too. We put everything into our job, but that doesn’t mean it should be to the detriment of your physical and mental health, your family and your interests. Make time outside of school to go for a walk, catch up with friends, spend time with family, relax in or out of the house, read, listen to music, cook, etc. Whatever your hobbies and interests are, make time for them. It really will make a difference to how you feel. Make time to look after yourself. After all, you can’t pour from an empty cup! 

2. Time with colleagues in school

Make time in school to catch up with colleagues. This could be quick conversations about pupils, lessons or plans, but should also be about checking in with each other, sharing experiences and allowing time to laugh and enjoy company. School can be a lonely place if you don’t make connections with colleagues. We need human connections, and we need adult conversations during the day, not just conversations with the children.

3. Make the most of your breaks

Unfortunately, many teachers spend their day rushing from task to task and will say they “don’t have time for a break”. Teaching is demanding and busy, but I’d argue that you need to make time to rest, too. It’s so easy to just keep working to get everything done, but think about what you’re missing out on when you skip break or lunch time; time to make connections with colleagues, time to refuel and relax, interesting and funny conversations, time to let your brain slow down and let go of those stress hormones, things that make work and life a lot easier and more manageable. 

4. Talk to SLT about workload and expected tasks 

This might seem a bit daunting to some, but it’s such an important one. We all have a plethora of tasks we have to complete daily, from marking and assessing work, to policies, training and general admin. Some of these tasks make life easier, and some of them seem to add to pressure and stress. If you are worried about tasks you’ve been asked to do, or you and your colleagues have suggestions on better ways to do something, have a conversation with your Senior Leadership Team. Good leaders will ask you to do things that add value and serve a genuine purpose, not create more work when it isn’t needed or reproduce the same thing in different ways for no reason. If you are a senior leader, include your staff in discussions about the best way to write policies or how valuable they think certain tasks are. Ask them to work with you to redesign the marking policy (always a hugely controversial document) to make it suitable for all staff and more efficient, not labour-intensive. Ask for their advice on the latest technology that might help support them. Your staff are the most valuable resource. 

5. Make sure you find the right place for you 

This is the one I feel the most passionate about. Make sure you find and work in a school where you feel valued, respected, encouraged and listened to. Do you feel as if your SLT invest in and trusts you? I genuinely believe that everyone can find a place of work that aligns with their work ethic and their own personal values and culture, and when you find it, it will make that work-life balance so much easier to achieve. They are out there and they do exist. Spend some time finding yours. 

Don’t forget – “Give the job your all, then walk out the door and give life your all too”- Simon Smith. 

The author

Penny Whelan

Penny Whelan is a Primary Assistant Headteacher and SENCO. She has a Psychology degree and a PGCE. Penny works part-time and is also EAL coordinator, an SLE, Coach and the Operations Manager for the Schools Linking Network in her Local Authority. She is passionate about SEND, inclusion, community and diversity.