During 2020, educators experienced a paradigm shift virtually overnight, and they’ve carried on heroically, despite the risk to their health and wellbeing. And while other organisations could simply ‘re-forecast’ their budgets, schools were expected to deliver to standard outcomes.
The stress levels at schools are unprecedented.
As teachers and non-teaching staff valiantly scrambled to maintain a positive learning environment for students, private sector office workers have been able to transition to remote working with a wide array of support mechanisms to ensure their wellbeing. One of the ways that employers are supporting their people is through modern Pulse surveys. Using frequent, micro-bursts of feedback, leaders are getting early warnings into sentiment and getting ahead of the curve on staff engagement.
Teaching and non-teaching staff deserve no less support and in today’s pandemic environment it is essential to understand what school staff think, and more importantly, how they are feeling.
That’s where EI Staff Pulse comes in. Based on our wildly popular Student Pulse, EI Staff Pulse is designed especially for schools, with educator wellbeing in mind. Every week, school teaching and non-teaching staff are asked to complete a Wellbeing Check-in that takes just 60 seconds. It starts with one big question: How are you feeling?
It’s surprising how much one can learn from just 60 seconds. Not only will your colleagues answer the big question truthfully, but they’ll also give you invaluable, up to the moment, feedback on their experience at school. Crucially, this approach allows schools to provide individualised wellbeing support when someone is feeling overwhelmed or vulnerable.
Classrooms and schools are undoubtedly some of the most rewarding places to work, but they also come with one of the highest workplace stress indicators. It’s time that these most essential workers get the support their private-sector colleagues have.
To help schools manage through this challenging year, EI Staff Pulse is available to all schools around Australia and New Zealand on a pay what you can basis for the remainder of 2020.
