TM4T Stress Armoury 19 - Analysing your job

One of the frequently cited causes of stress for teachers relates to job expectations. You KNOW what teaching is about, and this belief was reinforced by inspiring talks at teacher training college; and several years of experience. Now, all of a sudden, some so-called leader is questioning your capability based on some meaningless forms and nonsensical data.

The fact is that most teachers have far too much work to do and far too little time to do it in. We are forced, reluctantly and uncomfortably, to CHOOSE where to focus our attentions – either choose, or work ridiculously long hours to stay on top of our never-ending workload.

The key to managing stress is often to work more intelligently, spending time on the things which are important in terms of job success, and doing just-enough-and-no more on other things.

If you follow the TM4T method, you may be yawning by now, because this is pretty basic stuff: we use the principle of opportunity cost to routinely decide how much time we allocate to tasks.

This section is about something different: the techniques of job analysis. This may seem out-of-place in a school, but it is very relevant indeed. Each school is different, each bunch of school leaders is different, and they may even differ over the space of a couple of years. YOU may know what teaching is all about, but that knowing does not necessarily marry up with what your school or its leadership are looking for this term.

To do an excellent job anywhere, you need to understand what is expected of you – expected by the students, expected by the parents, but most importantly, what is expected by the school leaderhip.

This may seem obvious, but in the gobbledygook of staff briefings and the higgledy-piggledy chaos of a new academic year, it is sometimes not easy to strip away the waffle and see exactly what needs to take priority.

It is also shocking just how many end-of-year performance reviews are stressful, because the results come as a complete surprise to the teacher involved.

1. Review Formal Role Documentation

Get a copy of your role description, or job description. Take a note of how old/new it is (if it is new, pay a lot of attention to it; if it is old, don't). Make sure the objectives, priorities and measures contain no surprises at all. If there's anything there you don't understand, ask about it.

More important, look at the documentation for your (annual) performance review. Look carefully at the targets, behaviours, etc; and regard them with utter objectivity. That means ignore sententious statements and focus on hard measures. If they aren't there, or aren't clear, ask, ask ask.

If there are any resources, or training, or support that you need in order to meet your objectives, request it in writing.

You should be crystal clear on what you need to do in order to get a good performance review. If you are going to be observed, get a copy of the observation criteria. Remove uncertainty as far as you possibly can.

Now, there is something odd here, which many teachers will spot straight away. These waffly documents are seen by many as the cause of stress; as the devilish manifestations of all that is bad with modern education. Well, there is probably some truth in that. Role descriptions and performance criteria tend to be written in the crypto-English which evolves when Human Resources terminology mates with pedagogic jargon. It is frequently hard to understand, and even when it is understandable, it tends to be vague; loaded with phrases about 'reasonable' standards and 'acceptable' levels. This means that in order to understand expectations – understand them so that you can actually use them in prioritising your work – you need to be able to discuss them sensibly with your boss. This, we admit, may be stressful... but it is not nearly as stressful as having the same conversation six months later, when your capability is being debated.

2. Understand the School

Every school has its own culture, and every year has its fads and fancies. If you are new to the school, find old hands to talk to who know how things work; who can advice you on any differences between what actually happens and what is printed in the glossy brochure.

Make sure you understand the communications style of the school, its dress norms, its pet projects.

3. Look at role models

In most schools, there will be teachers – possibly annoying teachers – who are seen as highly successful. Not just Advance Skills Teachers, but ordinary chalkface heroes who just seem to do no wrong in the eyes of the leadership.

Find tehse role models, find out how they work, and what they specifically do to make them successful. If they have skills you don't have, learn those skills.

4. Talk to your Boss

If you want to manage stress, 'control' is hugely important. Your boss will doubtless schedule meetings, to discuss how-you're-doing, what resources you need, what your priorities are, and so on. When he/she is ready.

Don't let your boss run your life. YOU make sure that you discuss your understanding of priorities, relate how you're doing and any issues you have and resources you need. Do this regularly, when YOU are ready.

As far as possible make sure your boss and yourself have an absolutely consistent understanding of what you are doing, when, and how your performance will be measured. Your joint motto should be 'no surprises'.

5. Take Action

Plan, plan, plan. When you know clearly what you need to do and what is important, you should manage your time to do it. That, of course, is where TM4T comes in.