In the past few days, two teachers have been verbally abusive to their students.
General fatigue and burnout among teachers were also discussed.
Let’s be clear: There is no reason to justify verbal abuse in school. When you’re tired, at your wits’ end, you back off, you don’t yell at children or young people. And if a school is informed of such behavior by one of its employees, it must intervene immediately.
That being said, let’s talk about tiredness and fatigue.
On the whole, teachers are not doing well. Not only are they leaving the business in droves, they are also fed up.
Our colleague Louis Leduc reported on Thursday that sickness absence rates are at a 10-year high. According to data provided by Quebec’s Federation of School Service Centers, disabilities of a “psychological nature” are on the rise.
The pandemic has worsened an already problematic situation.
Because teacher burnout is nothing new. For example, in 2010, a survey conducted by the National School of Public Administration (ENAP) revealed that 60% of them felt burnout symptoms at least once a month. Their condition worsened in the following years.
Teachers are far from being the only ones “on the fringes.”
Their situation can almost be copied and pasted to talk about the health sector. There, too, are countless staggering statistics about the general state of the workforce.
Before the pandemic, half already felt overwhelmed. Today is even worse.
The truth is, this common state of burnout is now found in almost every workplace: veterinarians, business owners, farmers, customer service… everyone is at the end of their rope. And ironically, according to a survey of 1,300 workers last March, HR managers who could have come to their aid in the next 12 months will leave their jobs.1.
Another study by the Future Forum, made public last February, indicated that burnout related to stress at work had reached a two-year high. A third (40%) of 10,243 full-time office workers surveyed in six countries, including the United States, reported feeling tired and fatigued, in addition to having a negative perception of their work.
Graham Lowe, a professor at the University of Alberta and a decades-long observer of the world of work, said in a recent publication that he had never seen such questions about the meaning of work. The result is deep questions and mass departures.
Since the hamster’s wheel speed has slowed down during the infection, the hamster must wonder why it is going back.
Conclusion: Well-being has become a priority for workers, according to the release Forbes. We give the example of Delta Airlines, which recently hired a well-being manager in its organization to better support its employees.
Many large companies are starting to think about the mental health of their employees and are considering measures to improve their well-being (more flexibility, better technology tools, work-life balance). Mental health at work was also on the agenda at the World Economic Forum in Davos last January. The message was clear: managers must prioritize the welfare of their employees.
The generation that toiled has retired. Baby boomers will join in, followed closely by Generation X workers. The new generations, Y and Z, are more sensitive than their elders when it comes to all things personal and professional. They risk changing the world of work. For the best.
