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!

Best thing I did was take early retirement and then work supply. I can choose when or if I work. I realise it doesn’t work for everyone but it was a life saver for me and now nine years on I’m still enjoying it. Some go part time and drop a day a week. I know someone in this situation and they constantly argue that they shouldn’t need to plan a fifth day as it is not their responsibility. Equally people who drop a day often find themselves still planning or other admin on their day off. I feel for you because it is jolly hard on young teachers with families. I started teaching pre National Curriculum and the changes since its introduction are just immense.

‘Thinking about going long term sick’ ?????????
No, if it’s too much - then quit - ‘long term sick’ is an appalling aspiration.

Private sector and haven’t had a whole week off in over 6 months. Our holiday year runs April-April. Took 3 days off to visit my mum last April. Then took off May half term, one week in August. Had to use a few days over Christmas/New Year. Took my daughter’s birthday off in October. Add a few days off for important appointments and that’s my annual leave gone. Would love a teacher’s annual leave allowance.

I really hate these “race to the bottom” type posts. Stop moaning because my job is more shit. Honestly it’s such a bitter mind set.

I’d also not be boasting about running a team that’s working those ridiculous hours @ZenNudist I bet you’re one of those managers that thinks their team is doing this with joy in their hearts but secretly they are seething and updating their CVs.

’Often off ill with stress’ -not so good for the colleagues who have to cover so that she can have her cushy pension and holidays…

OP I’m sorry people have seen your clear statement that this is not a post about which job is harder, and used it as another opportunity to slag off teachers. Baffling.

In answer to your actual question - yes I do feel floored by exhaustion every holiday. I have taken it very easy for the last 3 days. From today I’ll be tackling the big box of Y11 marking I’ve brought home, and the planning I don’t have time to do in the working week. So I’ll be knackered again by Sunday.

Think it happens in a lot of professions, although I understand with the amount of work you do out of hours it is very full on. I went through a phase about 10 years ago that whenever I took annual leave, I would end up laid up with flu or a virus. I was convinced it was once I had rest and relaxation my immune system would stop working!

@ChaliceinWonderland I suspect you don’t actually hate the teaching but hate all the bl bullshit that goes with the job. The endless assessments, the planning, the form filling etc, etc, etc. It’s those things that kill the love of the job. No one ever seems to think the actual teacher knows best. When did anyone come and ask you what you need in order to do a good job. The pressure is immense. I feel for you.

Oh I completely agree. But that's the point..full sick pay. I'm pretty sure lots of people who work for the Civil service wouldn't be off so much if they didn't get sick pay.

I teach in FE and get 13 weeks holiday? We do teaching 9-5 though. It’s nowhere near as hard as school teaching though!

I've wondered this too

I think it's over stimulation of our brains

That’s because it was “infiltrated” during the dreadful Covid era by angry parents taking out their frustrations on school staff who needed that space to unload their stresses.
A large core of previously-regular posters are now on a different, private forum.

I work in a busy vet surgery, it’s pretty crazy and no one sits down/having to deal with complex and emotional situations, people get very tired. We don’t get much leave.

i think one main difference is that people are taking holiday at different times to each other and although there are busier and quieter times, the work carries on continuously.

With teaching, all colleagues and service users (kids) are on the same schedule, they start together, end together, push towards the same deadlines (exams, performances etc), everyone gets stressed and tired at the same time, the illness levels build through the term. I presume it’s a this peaking kind of stress which leaves you utterly spent at the end of term?

Come and join us then.

It’s usually only a thing public sector workers do as the pay is much more generous.

We’ve become a nation of moaners

It does sound completely exhausting. I certainly couldn’t do it, and wouldn’t want to… but that’s why I made the choice not to! I wanted a career with flexibility, good pay, and no dealing with the general public!

Teaching, like any career is a choice, and it has many upsides, but also many obvious downsides. Eg the having to be always on, no chance to wfh, demands of parents, misbehaving kids, paperwork, etc and they are very obvious/well publicised downsides so teachers can’t really claim to go into it having not been aware of this!

I hope you get to enjoy some of your holiday. But if not only six weeks or so til the next one 😉

I think the difference with teaching that a lot of people don’t understand is you, or at least I did, kind of put on a performance. It’s a similar feeling to being on stage- you are essentially acting. Doing that for 6 hours a day, aswell as the other stuff that comes with the job, is a strange combination of mentally and physically exhausting that people don’t really understand if their job is generally just dealing with small groups of people or one person at a time.

Until I became a teacher, I didn’t realise that was how it was either.

I absolutely salute our nurses! You all work so hard and aren’t paid anywhere near enough. I’ve spent a few evenings in our local ED with my children, the nurses in there did not stop for a moment, and still cared for my child with patience and warmth. Thank you for all you do.

How disappointing that the thread turned into a ‘I’m more exhausted than you are’ one. OP was very clear that she was asking. If other people in different jobs have a similar level of exhaustion when they’re on leave. The answer seems to be that some do and some don’t.

It wasn’t a moaning post, it was questioning the levels of intensity involved in jobs. We seem now to be in a divide where some people still think that teaching is 9-3, others think the leave is too long and some wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole.

Having taught for very many years, I know that there is a level of tiredness that makes it very difficult to function at the end of a long term. I know that half term and the end of term usually starts with an illness. I also know that there must be other occupations that have that mind numbing tiredness too, just as some are relatively stress free, are maybe boring, maybe interesting or even enjoyable.

Automatic pay rises ?? When did they happen as I had many years with no pay rise. I will complain.

Good to know there's generous sick pay, it being the only job I've had where it's harder to be off sick than to go in (setting cover from a hospital bed is not fun).

I'm on 2nd cup of tea in bed. I think the performance analogy is spot on. Add to that the managing of teen behaviour, anger, hormones and parents (😡) and I am shattered.

Other jobs are exhausting too (my DD has just come off a run of 4 night shifts as a doctor and she wins hands down in the it's a tough job game). I'm v sure we'll be told teachers don't have it toughest ( no one says they do) and to leave if they don't like the job (I am, retirement is happening as soon as we can recruit some more staff).

Perhaps it’s a combination of things. I am sure everyone gets tired when juggling life and the demands of the modern day world.
From this thread, I think I need to allow a day to recharge but then perhaps a shift in mindset will help. Someone mentioned the get up and go to get on with enjoying their time and I feel that would be good for me. Sometimes I have got caught in the cycle of ‘gosh I am so tired’ that I haven’t used the time to enrich myself otherwise if that makes any sense at all. Perhaps being tired but fulfilled from quality time with my children, family and friends would actually be beneficial.

When l was teaching if someone was off ill with stress we all rallied round.

There wasn’t the resentment you seem to be indicating.

No one is saying doctors and nurses don't have it hard. Of course they do. But they also have downtime between attending to patients and they don't have to take their patients' records home with them in the evenings, weekends and during holidays to work on multiple treatment plans to take back into work.

Teachers are sick of being told that their profession is worthless and they don't have the right to complain while also being told that they should step up as pseudo parents/carers/counsellors/nursemaids/dentists/skivvys to their pupils.

No one is saying your job is worthless we just hate the narrative that teaching is the hardest and that no one else understands. Many of us have performance type jobs. Many of us have as long or longer hours than you. Some of us have both of those things. My job was (until I changed it due to stress) very 'performance' heavy - more so than teaching. Exhausting, but I'm not claiming it's the only way a job can be stressful. It's a factor, but there are many others.

You're right, the doctors won't be taking their notes home, but they'll likely be staying in the hospital for far longer than you will at school. They'll also have a third of the holiday you will. Their work is also life or death in the way yours isn't.

I'm not a doctor, but I can see how hard they work.