work stressors include meetings, deadlines, dealing with difficult students; home having teenagers, sick kids, money difficulties.
One of my major stressors is one of my employees and her misinterpreting everything I say because she is worried about her job. It does not matter how many times I tell her that her job is safe and that I appreciate her as a member of my team she is constantly worried that she is going to be fired over every little mistake. I truly feel the stress I get from her insecurities is what will end up terminating her position, not her work ethic.
many causes of stress are that you do not know what you are teaching , or the students dont think you know, what your to be teaching or reaching a predetermined standard.
lesson plans and having the time to properly prepare are two great ways of reducing stress
there will allways be stress in every aspect of your life , how you deal with it makes the difference between letting it kill you or making it go away
Troy, So true! I like to say that it's not challenges that we are dealt in life but how we choose to manage through them!
Dr. Melissa Read
Stressors:
*Grading essays in a timely, yet thorough manner.
*Giving students the needed one-on-one time in a large classroom setting.
*Completing continuing education requirements in a timely manner without interfering with classroom obligations.
*Balancing a heavy essay grading load with my duties at home as a mother of 3 small children.
spending a great deal of time establishing a productive classroom training environment then administration decides they have to change it, raise the bar or rearrange the classroom. It creates stress for the instructor and confusion for the students for weeks. If its working, leave it alone.
Christopher, Interesting to hear. Some people enjoy teaching so much that doing so is effortless and stress free. If you fall into this category, you might let others know and find out if you could really change your allocations to do more teaching. It could be that others are better at the administrative part. Working together, everyone does what they enjoy and the work gets done!
Dr. Melissa Read
As a police officer, my full time job is very stressful. My part time teaching job, to me, is stressful in a different way. I try to use humor in both of my jobs to relieve stress. I think that helps me deal with the stress that is related to both jobs.
Stressors are everywhere. From the hustle and bustle of getting out of the door in the mornings to the traffic coming into work before we ever hit the clock. I try to plan my mornings ahead of time and begin my travel early enough to be in the office to relax. That is a coping mechanism I find works well for me because if I procrastinate in getting into the office, the same rush it took to get into the office will follow me throughout my day. Emails and voicemails are stressors. As I begin checking emails and voicemails, my anxiety level increases knowing those can be full of new problems to address. I take a deep breath and place those stressors on my list utilizing the priority and urgency of the issue.
It is a great idea to make a stress list.
All the examples that listed can be my stress, too. It is not major, but it is there for sure.
How can we make it less?
Roy, I understand your frustration. For many of us, we feel if it isn't broken, we don't want to fix it!
Dr. Melissa Read
The general area of stress in my life/career really deals with logistical factors. The expectations of what is required of the job and the time allocated for the duties. My current position has me working 50+ hours a week to fulfill the duties and responsibilities effectively. I have a tendency of working methodically and try to complete something once and do it correct the first time. I have watched my peers meet the mandated deadline, but constantly are making revisions after the deadline. This has been be pointed out, but it still is an accepted practice. I don't like missing deadlines, but sometimes they are unrealistic to complete the project in a time allocated without tabling all other day to day duties and responsibilities. So my stress is really tied to meeting deadlines with a project that I know is not complete or missing the deadline and having to answer the consequences of why I didn't meet the deadline. As I have grown with my current position, I ask questions with every duty that I feel that will take excessive amounts of time.
My insomnia that leads to my time-management problem is the underlying cause of my stress. I just want to be my best in my classroom so that I can give the best that my students deserve, which I have been doing...but without stress.
Going to the gym after work helps me get more sleep time than ever. Throwing massages and spas into my basket make it even better. I realized that these are necessities and not luxuries.
I believe now I am getting better at managing list of stressors, which is:
1. Inadequate time for self
2. Need to address students' needs
3. Peer pressure
4. Need to complete tasks on time
My solution in the same order as above:
1. Saturdays are me-time, and 1-8am is strictly sleep time (still struggling but getting there)
2. Meet with students at least 15 minutes before they leave for the day.
3. Don't let it happen. If they understand, they won't pressure me. If they don't, I'm sorry.
4. Prioritize and don't procrastinate.
I have been very fortunate that my career has not been a main source of stress for me. I experienced more stress fifteen years ago while I was commuting an hour and a half each way to my job every day. This stress was alleviated by moving closer to my place of work. Another career stress that I had experienced five years ago was while working at a job that was not challenging to me at all. While the job itself was not stressful, the fact that I was bored and not being challenged was indeed stressful.
I have recently had to handle a very high courseload which caused me so much stress in terms of dealing with the paperwork...quizzes etc. I have asked to not be given that many classes to teach.
I also experience stress in learning new technology; I have found taht asking for help from one of my younger and more computer-fluent colleagues has been a great help. In general, I find that the Administrative demands of my job to be my biggest source of stress. I constantly work to simplify, simplify. It's not the students, it's the constant demands of the company that rattle me.
Learing to deal with stress, will make you happier, healthier and more alert
I have found that being stressed out as an instructor is a whole new ballgame. There are so many aspects of the career that contribute to this stress. Instructors are responsible to so many people, it takes some getting used to.
Causes of stress:
Books that I don't approve of,
Commuting,
Unengaged students
You are correct along with coping periods of stress is also an important factor in staying focused.
