Teacher wellbeing days for shopping

[ForAMinuteThere]

Nope - this isn't a bash. I saw an article in the Fail about it and wanted to add some support for the teachers of this world.

I am a non teacher. It looks hard. One day off for shopping is a nice gesture.

I expect mixed responses but personally, I think teachers staying sane and feeling worthy can only be a good thing.

(This isn't my first post, have NC)

piggy
I have friends in other sectors who have a set number of wellbeing days they can put in a year or mental health days. I know others who can choose to start late & take long lunches as long as the time is made up. Others have gym arrangements either on site or close by.
I could moan about it and how unfair it is when I don't get them.
Or I could put my big girl pants on and accept different jobs have pros and cons and sometimes managers might just want to do something nice for their team.

Sadly there's a lot of people who seem to think anyone having something they don't is such a gross piece of injustice that any kindness should be banned.

Yes, that's what I was getting at.

The PP blithely assumes we have 'mental health days'.

The problem with a mental health day is that it would start with having to send all your cover work in by 8am and there’s nothing more likely to make you say ‘fuckit, I’m just going to go in’.

Not if you knew in advance though? Presumably, you plan when to take them , in general.

I think they sound great.

At my place, we would definitely be told that we had to take them when we had free periods...

If it’s planned in advance then surely it’s not a mental health day, but just bunking off (if teaching, annual leave if in a normal job)?

I don't think we see it as bunking off , though? Even the PP seems to think it would be OK for shopping? They'd be better called Wind dwon days?

For example, I would have taken one to feel calmer about DS's future so I could take him to a uni open day or offer day.

or wind down..

Because otherwise if you phone in on the day, that should be recognised as what it is : which is illness.

We took our DS to uni open days at the weekend?

I thought weekends were mental health days in that case.

I understood a mental health day to be like a duvet day, a day when you just don’t want to go in.

In teaching, that would be a day when you drop your colleagues in it.

Yes, so do I? But imagine how loevly if you could , because you were allowed to, attend one in mid week - or go on a Friday to a far away one and stay over night.

It was just an example. My DS's uni journey has been extraordinarily stress inducing. And a more purposeful thing than Christmas shopping.

I don't think that's fair, noble. I think the idea is that you are entitled to a certain number of them. The idea is that they stave off poor mental health and stress : therby, saving employers money because people are protecting their mental health.

You aren't dumping your colleagues in it! That's why people feel they shoudl enver be sick as well and then come in and spread their germs everywhere and/or make themselves more unwell!

We don't do cover in my school so I wouldn't feel too guilty...

You aren't dumping your colleagues in it!

We do do cover in my school. You’d be taking someone’s free period.

Ohreally

There's sickness in lots of jobs not just teaching! I'm not implying teachers have an easy ride at all. I wouldn't want to teach but I suspect lots of teachers wouldn't want my job either. I just don't think anyone can generalise and say it's worse than anything else!!

See, I wouldn't ! I cna see it might not go down well in a school where staff cover but then that's wrong that you do and your unions should be jumping up and down.

I do knwo taking time off can also ironically create stress but, actually, i think it might stop some staff for asking for extra time off for hen nights, birthday weekends etc - if they ahd to take it as a well being day.

You’ve lost me now! Who’s asking for time off for a hen weekend? and why on earth would having mental health days change that?

What would stave off stress and mental health problems would be making changes to schools and teachers' working conditions.

Piggy - are you serious? People ask for time off for hen dos and birthday weekends? Are they having a laugh?!

Ive done a cover EVERY SINGLE WEEK so far this year. Every. Single. Goddam. Week.

@C0untDucku1a hope you aren't in a local authority school. That isn't rarely cover. The staff should refuse.

I am in a local authority school. Not an academy of free school etc. I phoned the local union (nothing in school) when two of the covers were during protected frees and then i lost three out of five frees IN ONE WEEK and that tipped me over the edge. Union said there is nothing that can be done.

There's sickness in lots of jobs not just teaching! I'm not implying teachers have an easy ride at all. I wouldn't want to teach but I suspect lots of teachers wouldn't want my job either. I just don't think anyone can generalise and say it's worse than anything else!

Has anyone said teaching is worse than anything else?

It's quite common knittink, genuinely...

@C0untDucku1a collectively the staff refuse as it is not part of their contract. STPCD states rarely cover - in unforeseeable circumstances. If you act collectively it is more effective.

That was poor union advice (I work for the biggest one).

Piggy. Don’t understand how mental health days would reduce the hen night requests though? Unless you’re saying they’re not genuine requests in the first place.

No... just that poeple might think twice if they knew it came within a quota as it were. But I have no experience of well being days so can't really conjecture.