The Health and Safety Executive in their management standards approach to workplace stress identified six primary stressors.

THE 6 MAJOR RISK FACTORS ARE:

• The demands you face (workload, work patterns and working environment).
• Control (how much say you have in the way you do your work).
• The support you receive (the encouragement from leaders and colleagues and the resources to which you have access).
• Your relationships at work (the extent to which positive working practices and behaviours are encouraged and problems dealt with).
• Your role (whether you clearly understand what is expected of you).
• Change (how it’s managed and communicated to you).

In reality it is how you respond and are able to manage these, how your values fit those of the MAT or school culture and how supported you feel by leaders, systems and processes. Below we take a brief look at each of the six risk factors.

The Demands You Face.

You are busy and the demands on you are likely to be significant and can regularly increase through such things as:

• Marking, planning, preparation and data.
• Parent evenings and other extracurricular activities
• Taking on additional work or responsibilities without feeling you have the knowledge or skills or being given the rewards for doing it.
• Responding to students and their parents and being able to meet their needs.
• Finding time for personal training and training or supporting other staff members.
• Poor student/pupil behaviour and disruptions.
• Poor relationships with your line manager, other leaders or colleagues.
• Attending meetings.
• Systems and other school or curriculum changes.

Parts of your job or other situations not mentioned above and that you find more challenging. It is natural and most people do not enjoy or are comfortable with all aspects of their role.

The Control You Have

If you feel you have some say about the way you are able to carry out your work you are likely to feel more in control, and have a lower risk of stress. It isn’t always possible to have control, particularly when there is a need to respond to student / pupil demands and other changes imposed by Government, and when so much of your day is timetabled or you have specific responsibilities. A lack of control might include:

• The curriculum is usually decided (though you may have choices around how you do things).
• Other people, e.g. staff absences, the behaviour of colleagues or student (these can also add to the demands on you).
• Interruptions, and being asked to solve other people’s problems.
• Not being able to choose when to have a break or sometimes even when you can go to the toilet!
• External influences, such as Government and Inspections!
• The way you are asked to carry out much of your work.
• Other tasks and activities you asked to carry out where you are not consulted or given choice in how you do them.

The Support You Receive

Do you have the information you need to do your job effectively and to enjoy it! Do you think your line manager, school leaders and colleagues give you the support you need. Support comes from many areas, Including:

• Your line manager, leaders, colleagues, parents, students and other stakeholders.
• Having information available and knowing where to find it.
• Effective school systems that are easy to understand and use.
• Being clear on what is expected, for example from your marking, where fear of getting it wrong may mean you worry or do too much?
• Feeling you can make comments, constructively challenge leaders or make mistakes, without fear of repercussions.

Your Relationships at Work

How does your school promote positive working practices to avoid conflict and how quickly are steps taken to deal with unacceptable behaviour. There may be times when your relationships with other colleagues are strained or you feel their behaviour towards you (or others) is inappropriate, unacceptable or causing you stress. As well as your personal feelings any of the following might indicate issues with relationships.

• Increases in or a high level of sickness and absence (which of course also adds to the demands you and others face).
• A high level of turnover and/or inexperience in the school.
• People regularly turning up late to meetings, events or places they should be and/or letting colleagues down by missing deadlines or not pulling their weight.
• Changes in behaviour, restlessness, or short-tempered.
• When dealing with specific people you have an emotional response, for example anger, fear or sadness.

Understanding Your Role

How well you understand your role and what is expected of you will help you to reduce any workplace stress and improve your wellbeing. It will also help make sure you perform effectively and you will be more likely to enjoy your work. Things that may get in the way of this include:

• When you are new to a role or given additional responsibility.
• If the role is not explained fully, or you are not given the training or support you need, for example when being appointed to a leadership role, you are expected to learn on the job!
• You have multiple roles, for example, more than one of teaching, form tutor, and head of year / department.
• Following significant changes.
• Conflicting messages or directions from one or more leaders.

Change

How change is managed and communicated to you will affect how you are feeling and the extent to which you are subjected to the state of stress. It is often fear of the unknown, failure, uncertainty or worry about what others think that can make change difficult to cope with in school. This is affected by:

• The impact change will have on your current position and workload, and the extent to which you know this.
• The extent to which the change has been imposed on you, or whether you have been properly consulted and had some say in the outcome.
• The notice you have been given of the change and time made available for you to prepare for and deliver it.
• Whether the change involves structures or other people you know.
• The degree to which you are given information about the proposed changes and at all times during change.
• Whether you have access to your line manager and senior leaders and the opportunity to question them about the change (and the degree to which they respond and you believe them).

In all situations involving workplace and other risks of stress, it is important to remember it is not the actual situation or action that is causing your stress, but your response to it or ability to deal with it.

No one or any situation can make you feel or behave in a particular way - you have choice. This is not to underestimate how challenging situations can be or how difficult it can be dealing with a stressful state. Yet you can learn techniques that will help you build effective habits and improve your wellbeing.

In this section we will specifically look at how you might manage those things at work that are most likely to cause stress. Earlier we shared the six key risks using the Health and Safety Executive's Management Standards.

To build on the solutions offered above for managing stress above, we share specific steps that you can take in managing each of these six stress risks.

The Demands You Face. Where you need to take steps to reduce the demands placed on you, for example the volume of work.

• Make sure what you do is good enough, rather than thinking everything has to be done perfectly.
• There has been much debate about what constitutes good practice for planning, preparation and data collection. Check your school policies and make sure you are not doing anything in excess of them.
• You can also check your school policies against the latest requirements set out by the DfE's workload working parties and Ofsted. If your school is asking you to do more than is needed then politely and assertively ask why. If you are uncomfortable then speak to a line manager or work with a group of colleagues to raise your concerns.
• Identify your best time of day, and do the important tasks that need the most energy and concentration at that time, wherever possible.
• Vary your activities where you can. If you can balance interesting tasks with more mundane ones, and stressful tasks with those you find easier, it allows you natural breaks and a chance to return to your normal state.
• Set smaller and achievable targets. When you’re under a lot of pressure, you may not think correctly and it is easy to take on much more than you can do. This can add to your stress and can make you feel even more disappointed and frustrated. So break things down into smaller chunks and be realistic.
• Work collaboratively and share resources. Lesson planning is an example where activities can be shared for mutual benefits.

The Control You Have. Where you feel you lack control over what or how you do your work or spend your day.

Accept areas that you cannot control, for example the timetable or curriculum. But identify where you can choose, for example, how to do something. Your classroom and how you spend breaks do have a degree of choice involved.

• Ask for involvement or be assertive in setting out how you want to work. Prepare for any conversations and list the benefits for doing it your way.
• Choose how you spend time outside work, and don't allow yourself to work consistently long hours.
• Become better at asking constructive questions and being clear on why things are done in the way they are.

The Support You Receive. Where you don't feel as supported as you would like.

• Make sure you know what information and resources are available to support you in your school – if you are not sure of something then don’t wait to be told or be frightened to speak up.
• Give support to your colleagues and line manager when it is needed. People tend to reciprocate and so the more supportive you are to others, the more support you are likely to receive back.
• Learn to recognise when you need support and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Your line manager and colleagues will want to be there for you. Be aware of any relationships that are not healthy and you might need to work on – don’t ignore this. Remember others may not have the same characteristics and preferences as you and their behaviour may simply be representative of this, rather than any deliberate attempt to hinder or annoy you.
• Be clear on what is expected, for example from your marking, and ask for clarification where needed.
• Practice self-care and look after yourself. Do take the opportunity to change tasks and relax during any breaks or lunch, even if it is for a short period. Drink water and eat as needed to maintain energy levels. It is much easier to feel supported and to support others when you are taken care of first. You must put your oxygen mask on before helping others to put theirs on.

Your Relationships at Work. Where relationships are strained or not working.

• Are there specific people that you have a poor relationship with, or specific actions that cause relationship to breakdown. If so, identify them and either address them with the individual or individuals concerned or learn to accept them. It is likely they are just different to you and / or have different values. Where these are significant or affect a larger number of people they will need to be tackled.
• Ask for support, if you are unsure what to do, either from your line manager or a trusted colleague.
• Reflect honestly and recognise when it may be your behaviour that is causing an issue. Don’t be afraid to ask others for perspective and feedback. Ask what you might do differently to change the situation – remember if you want others to change, it is likely that you will need to change too.
• Ask for training or development that will help, for example in how to hold coaching conversations, or managing difficult people.

Understanding Your Role. Where you are not clear about any aspect of your role or how it fits with the school purpose.

• Speak with your line manager. As preparation you can write out what you believe are the expectations of your role in a simple note for yourself and then ask your line manager for their view.
• Create a detailed personal development plan to address any gaps between your current skills and those you might need to be fully competent in all aspects of your role. The more able you are to tackle what is needed from you, the less likely it is that you will experience workplace stress.
• Look for information and policies that cover areas of concern and speak with your manager and colleagues to really understand the expectations of different stakeholders.
• Managers can ask team members to talk through their role and their responsibilities. This is a great way to check understanding and also involve individuals in a discussion that will help them to take ownership for delivering what is expected of them

Change. It may not be possible to keep you fully informed so here are some things you can do.

• Make sure you are involved in decisions that affect you and if not, then ask to be included. If you lead others then involve them in decisions and communicate early and regularly about any changes that are to be made.
• Delegate or share work effectively, take responsibility for those things that are down to you but pass responsibilities to other members of your team too.
• Where it is known, set out a schedule for any change that involves you and if you are leading change then create a timetable for communications and stick to it. If the change is coming from others, ask them for their timetable. Use these to create a clear plan.
• Ask for updates (or keep people updated if you are leading the change) – it is much better to over rather than under communicate. It stops people making their own assumptions.

There are many risk factors for stress outside the workplace too and you may have identified some of these when reflecting on your triggers in the first lesson that looked at pressure and stress.

In figure 1 below you can see common Stress or Risk factors. We covered the workplace risks in the previous section and this is not an exhaustive list and you can add many others to it - lack of exercise, poor eating, and addictions being three more examples.

Think of it as a 'Stress Bucket'. As things happen they begin to fill up your bucket, and it is why having an awareness about what might be causing your stress levels to rise is so important.

It may not be the final thing that goes in that causes you to get angry or develop a more chronic state of stress, but a cumulation of things and the major cause may be hidden.