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Stress in Early Childhood Education Settings

Leadership

Jun 21
Excellence Matters Early Childhood Education Service Leader Stress Team

Simon Sinek, a well-known speaker and author, said:

Excellence Matters Professional Development Leadership Quote Simon Sinek

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”. 

What could cause stress?

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

What are some signs of stress?

Excellence Matters Early Childhood Education Signs of Stress

Signs may relate to the body, mind or behaviour

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

Resources for stress management

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:

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