Simon Sinek, a well-known speaker and author, said:
Leaders in early childhood education settings can support the educators, coordinators, leaders and all other staff in their teams by monitoring and managing stress levels. This would be one way of supporting people to “perform at their natural best”.
There are many factors that could heighten stress levels for some team members including:
- High turnover of staff
- Conflict with other team members or families or other community members
- Being new to the early childhood sector, to the service or to the role
- Demanding or challenging workloads
- Personal problems eg. relationships, finances, health
- Time constraints
- The physical, emotional and intellectual requirements of working with young children and their families
- Confusion about job requirements, procedures or policies
- Incidents or accidents
- Ongoing, unresolved or unrelenting stressors
- Lack of support, recognition or leadership
- Professional isolation
- Irregular or insufficient work
- Inadequate skill levels or knowledge
- Change
- Not being able to take breaks or leave entitlements
- Environmental factors such as lighting or noise levels
- Working long hours or taking work home
Each team member responds differently to stress and what may cause one person to be highly stressed may not be the same for someone else. It’s important to look out for signs that a team member may be stressed which may include (adapted and extracted from HealthDirect and Worksafe Victoria):
Body:
- Increased illness/sick leave
- Headaches
- Aches and pains
- Stomach upsets
- Tiredness
- Shortness of breath
Mind:
- Anxiety or excessive worry
- Anger, irritability or defensiveness
- Depression
- Feeling overwhelmed and out of control
- Mood swings
- Tearfulness
- Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
- Lack of confidence
- Forgetfulness
Behaviour:
- Diminished work performance
- Overeating or undereating
- Outbursts of anger
- Relationship problems
- Alcohol, smoking or drug abuse or increased usage of these
- Avoiding people
If you notice these signs in your team or colleagues, it’s important to take action and obtain external help if needed. Here are some resources you could access:
