Any other teachers crippled with exhaustion every holiday?

[Bobblebasket]

It’s half term, I’m a primary teacher with various areas of subject leadership. Im absolutely exhausted, so much so I feel I’m wasting my time feeling like a zombie. Met a colleague in passing today who assured me it’s totally normal to feel so tired at half term and it’ll be fine because we will all be fresh ready to return next week.

I guess my question is, in other full time roles, do you get to every period of annual leave and feel floored with exhaustion? This definitely isn’t a ‘my job is harder’ type thread, I enjoy teaching, I don’t want to leave the profession but I would like some energy! I have two children myself, both at junior school. I have been a teacher for many years and have always felt bone tired by the time holidays come around, I would like it to change!

Yes, I’m exhausted much of the time and I only get 5 weeks plus bank holidays off. Work, most kinds, is tiring plus we pack so much extra into our lives. I’m knackered basically so off to bed!

It's the switching off for me. Teaching is an endless performance these days, not only the teaching part. I had a busy weekend and today I physically and mentally cannot move from my sofa.

There is always the dread too that your job will just go - that you will have an observation that doesn't go well (usually down to a child!), you will say the wrong thing in a meeting, a parent will make a complaint against you ... and bang, you're on a support plan and gone. 15 years ago this wasn't the case, but today that's an added pressure.

I have such a headache today - I swear it's my blood pressure stabilising after all the stress.
Oh, and I love teaching.

Private sector. Yes totally exhausted to the point of being hospitalised at one point.

You've never dealt with a student doing exactly that during a PE lesson, attempting it during P3 in the toilet or when dashing out to catch the bus and not stopping for the driver speeding down the hill, then. Or the ones with stage 4 cancer, allergic reactions, asthma, diabetes or any of the ways it can absolutely happen in a place where it's not expected.

And then you also have to deal with that and 1000 other children, keep order, provide pastoral care, phone other parents who may be close friends to tell them. And then come in the next morning to deal with traumatised, grieving children as though it really doesn't affect you at all.

I guess my question is, in other full time roles, do you get to every period of annual leave and feel floored with exhaustion?

Yes. Not any more because I changed jobs after kids as I wouldn't be able to manage both. Lawyer in the criminal justice system, which is insanely long hours, rubbish pay, very little time off, constant pressure and unpredictable and often unstable clients.

Having to be on top form in front of a judge on 2 hours sleep, knowing that you wreck lives if you screw up, whilst someone else tries to trip you up.

So when I had time off I was exhausted. Time off was pretty illusionary though - I even took my laptop on my honeymoon 🙄.

I'm the only person I know who found having their first baby a genuinely relaxing experience, having had more sleep with my newborn then fitted most of my adult life.

Lots of people in lots stressful jobs still get wiped out by holidays. The difficulty is that with a standard 4-5 weeks off, many people use all their holidays for specific reasons, so there's no time to recharge batteries.

Kind of disagree unless you yourself have worked 12 hours straight on a ward .

I think an a and e nurse would have it harder than a teacher.

And they get a heck of a less lot holidays

I had to leave in the end. It completely broke me

One of my DDs is a nurse, the other a teacher. They are both stressed and exhausted by their jobs. The nurse works silly hours on the ward, but 'only' for three days a week, and doesn't have to spend many hours at home planning work that she's responsible for. The teacher works five days, and works many hours in the evening and weekends, but has longer and predictable holidays.

I suspect they each think they have it harder than the other, but the roles and pros and cons are different. And they made their own choices. But they're each allowed to moan sometimes.

No. They're just different kinds of hard. Like many jobs.

It's not a competition.

Call in sick. If you’re exhausted you are not fit for work. Use the time to catch up on marking.

At my child’s school they give teachers time off to prepare for classes, time out of the class to administer individual tests to children (they get substitute teachers in).

My child’s teacher also took weeks off during term time to have a break.

Don’t wait until you get sick.

I’ve worked jobs with a lot of stress and looking back I realised I should have put my health first and called in sick.

I’m not a teacher but I just finished off the work I have to do before taking leave from Tues for rest of week (and I had to work today to fit in otherwise would have had whole week). So yeah, I’ll be shattered.

Teachers arrive before school starts, work after the day ends and do as many additional hours as necessary to prepare and follow up the core hours. Even with other salaried professions, I don't see a clause that says as many additional hours as necessary to discharge duties.

As an employment lawyer, virtually every single contract I prepare has this wording in. For lawyers, that can look like staying up until 2am several nights on the trot to get a deal over the line. For doctors, it may be staying on at the end of a long shift because a patient needs you or because you didn’t get a chance to complete all the paperwork during the shift. I can see why teachers are exhausted though - they are always “on” and never get the chance to have a quieter day behind a laptop screen.

Perhaps you should try say ED nursing? As it will be a nice rest for you……..only 12 + hours on your feet. No need to perform, except for the bit where you’re holding it all together whilst you try to resuscitate children in front of their parents etc. No admin, except for the endless paperwork completed long after the 12 hour shift in which you didn’t eat/drink/wee. An absolute doddle.

😂😂😂😂😂😂

OP I’m sure you are exhausted. Anyone thinking teaching is the only profession like this though:………is not very intelligent or empathic.

I’m def not saying one is harder than the other, they are just different roles but of highly stressful situations. Even a nurse working three days a week (a top up shift every 4th) to make a contract of 37.5hrs average takes it out of you when you have your own children on your days off, work to do for the unit or revalidation in your time, reliving traumatic events affecting your sleep, shift work. My days off I’m usually floored and there’s never a guarantee of annual leave when you need it most, even planning ahead you might go 5months with none! add in night shifts….
days to nights and back again within 24hrs turnaround.
my last shift involved a nurse to patient ratio of 1nurse to 26patients in ED, a max of 149 patients in my dept at one snapshot in time, most of these really sick, everyone needing treatment, deteriorating in front of my eyes but no where to treat them.

but this is what I’m trained to do, I never want to go back to teaching 30kids either. every nurse I know flakes out or is sick sick when on leave. But the point is no one should feel like this on leave. As for the working extra at home, some teacher friends work work work and others have mastered the art of organising their time and lifestyle.
the government have a lot to answer for, it does not need to be like this. We should be working to live not living to work.

one final point, every nurse I know supports teachers and we would like to think you guys would support us. We don’t blame you for wanting to strike etc. best wishes!

Teachers are amazing and I hope you all know how important you are as I see people just expect teachers to do their job and take teachers for granted.

You are making a difference to children’s lives and your school holidays are mostly far from ‘you get loads of holidays’ as your time off as well as recovering is spent reflecting, marking, planning, creating and everything else school related before you can even think of yourselves.

Maybe take suggestions from this thread to plan the Easter break of scheduled days to switch off and make a reasonable non demanding list of what you want from your holiday time off?

Take care teachers you are so important to us parents and our children.

@sparklyblueberry2this is lovely.
You are also so important to us all, thank you.

I think it's most professions. Just different. My non teaching job is exhausting because the workload and deadlines are insane. I had half a day off sick on Friday and all I could think about was my workload getting bigger by Monday. No-one covers for me. either. I'm also have clients and providers calling and demanding, urgent drop everything jobs. Or meetings - ergh.

I don't let myself be exhausted on holidays because I get 20 days off a year. 7 of which are forced closure at Christmas. So 13 days off during the year.

So just different. Not better or worse.

During all the usual talk of teacher “holidays” can everyone please remember that five weeks of this is unpaid. Salary is aggregated and paid over twelve months but five weeks is unpaid. Always gets forgotten.
It is the guilt of having so little time and energy for my own young adult sons that I find really hard to deal with. That and trying to switch off whilst knowing that there is a large pile of assessments to mark on my desk 150 and A level exam skills lesson to plan. Not really a “holiday”. Plus I’m still finding it difficult to sleep.

I’m not going to comment on teaching as such but I think it is very normal to get sick or shut down a bit on annual leave. Both me and my husband (not teachers) will often get sick into annual leave - I suspect there is some sort of adrenaline drop and then the lurgy hits.

I also think children themselves go through a similar pattern and need a few days to decompress. February half term is at an annoying time. Weather generally crap, people coming out of winter etcI always think I’d love some winter sun but have never booked to go away during this holiday as it feels more risky health wise.

Teacher. Thirty plus years.
no. I'm not exhausted but I think you do need to be physically fit to do it.

@Bobblebasket to answer your question yes! You’re not alone.
Not a teacher, and only have one little and I have to strategically plan AL otherwise burn out. I’m currently on holiday (thankfully with family) and was like a zombie for first two days.

I wonder if it’s just a symptom of life now - always on, spending more time / doing more things with children than ever, a lot less of a village / community feel so you feel you don’t get a chance to breathe whilst you’re working and almost running just on adrenaline because you have to.

teachers are amazing and not half as well remunerated as they should be! Hope you get the energy to enjoy some of your break with the littles x

Non teacher, but public sector and contracted to do the hours necessary to fulfill my role. I think thats standard in the public sector?

Im utterly exhausted a lot of the time, so ive salary sacrificed several thousand py to buy more leave and the 10.5 weeks I get now make life a lot more manageable. I dont love getting less pay, but its worth it to have loads of leave.

I'm an academic and it's my very hectic teaching term. I'm exhausted but its also school half term so I've got to teach this week and then have dc at home for any time I'm not teaching. Usually I can at least stare at a wall and let the ringing in my ears gradually subside but not this week! It's "can we paint now mummy" the minute I get in from work or stop for 30 seconds.

Civil Servant here with several teacher friends. I definitely agree the teachers have it harder. No hybrid working for a start.
In my job it would be similar to having to go in every day and have back to back meetings.
I do sometimes go in for five days in a row and that feels exhausting.
We often discuss our jobs and the teachers do like many aspects of their role. Mainly the holidays as they don’t have to worry so much about how to get their leave or partner’s leave to cover all the breaks. My friends are all women though and can get fed up that their partners get to assume every school holiday is covered and can use their own leave on days the DC are at school. So you never get a day to yourself even on your breaks.
One worked 4 days for years but has had to go back to full time and she’s struggling. Yes. Absolutely shattered by the time half term comes around.