A positive work environment can make a world of difference when it comes to effectively managing stress and successfully transitioning into the New Year. A positive work environment is the responsibility of each person on the team. You are all in it together, as they say.
Make a commitment to your team members to only express positivity when interacting with one another. This doesn’t mean that you don’t address problems or concerns, we will talk about that in a minute. What we mean is, refrain from complaining. Refrain from engaging in gossip. Refrain from passing the buck. Commit to building each other up. Commit to recognizing a job well done. Commit to taking responsibility when you make a mistake. These are all behaviors that contribute to a positive work environment. Your commitments to one another may be a little different as each program has a different team dynamic, but these examples should start a healthy conversation.
When problems do arise, treat them as opportunities to improve skills and practices. Rather than complaining that something isn’t working, ask, “How can we fix it?” Instead of burying your frustrations, bring them to light and ask for support from your team. Become solution-oriented rather than problem-focused.
Create a support system at work that utilizes each coworker’s unique strengths. This means that each teacher will need to reflect and work with teaching teams to create a list of strengths that can be shared with the team. Perhaps there are two or three teachers that are skilled at incorporating mathematical language into the daily routine. Anyone who is challenged by that task can reach out to those individuals for advice and coaching.
Once again, you are not an island, you are part of a team. These team members live in your community they are going through many of the same challenges that you are experiencing. Commit to creating a positive work environment – even if it is not a team-wide initiative, you can at least commit to not add to others’ stress levels.
For the main article Stress Reduction in the New Year, CLICK HERE
For the article Self-Care in the New Year, CLICK HERE
For the article Supporting Children during the New Year, CLICK HERE
For the article Offer Family Support, CLICK HERE
