To think it's not normal for over 35% of teachers to have cried at work this term?

[Postapocalypticcowgirl]

Whenever we talk about teacher working conditions, teacher strikes etc on here people always point out that lots of others have really stressful jobs. But this can't be normal in any job, surely? It's not even people who've cried about work- just people who've cried at work.

I think this is really indicative of the stress a lot of teachers are under, and the real reason a strike is on the cards. But it's hard to strike about workload/stress/behaviour/parental and SLT expectations- whereas striking over pay is legally straightforward.

Ive cried about work plenty. I'm an accountant.

Teaching is an important job, with high emotional engagement. Id imagine empathy is a common character trait of teachers, among other things. Why do we perceive it as extreme for people to cry? Its quite normal for people to cry a little over upsetting or frustrating things.

Lets also remember many teachers will have other stresses in their lives,the ones we all share at the moment.... money, health, politics.

@Piggywaspushed

My (fairly obvious) point being that the periods of highest stress are interspersed with periods (quite long periods) of much less stress

Other, just as, if not more stressful, jobs dont have that.

Maybe the survey is representative. But again, you'd need to know why they were crying

Today I've had one parent cry in my office when she explained that her abusive ex had applied for custody and another because she is planning her escape route from an abusive relationship but is worried about the impact it will have on her 4 year old daughter, one parent at the end of their tether,with a child with significant special needs,who has been trying without success to get some form of respite care for him, and another where we have tried without any success to involve CAHMS as her 6 year old son regularly attacks her viciously, two parents who are desperate for their children to access specialist provision who have been waiting over six months and still no placement in site- and that's a normal day! It is heartbreaking and emotionally exhausting.
And yes, there are other professions who will feel just as exhausted and drained as we do, no one ever denies that!

I work in highly pressured, stressful job(s) with high stakes/bears the brunt of social ills/vulnerable to abuse/hated on and off etc etc. Massive responsibility, high expectations, dwindling staff and resources.
What gets me about this discussion is that there is genuinely an opinion that teachers bear a uniquely heavy burden - there is a lot of 'if your work place is like this' 'well NHS got clapped' or whatever.
No. No no no no no. I think other (stressed out) professionals are perfectly aware of the difficulties teachers face, the challenges they have to meet and the costs they bear, however there is often a breathtaking lack of that from teachers.
You do have unique challenges - so do other professions. I'm not saying 'you're not special' as in - suck it up, I'm saying - you're not alone. Do whatever you need to do - strike and bear the negativity you'll get for it. Lots of people would support better conditions and support for teachers, but giving the impression that no one else has it as bad as you and that's why you need better conditions and support just turns people off. The other people with their fingers in the dam as more holes appear are your allies and I think it's more helpful to look for the commonalities. The emotions, desperation and pressures will be felt by other professionals too in extremely similar ways. I'd look for the similarities rather than the differences.

I am a vet I have cried many times at work in sadness, frustration and just from clients being plan horrid.
I do all of the above and then get accused of being a lazy money grabber - that was when I was working sole charge on a 53 hour week.
The vast majority of my colleagues have cried at work for similar reasons.

It's not just teachers, TAs and other school staff do this too. I have worked in a school for 10 years and last year and this have either fought back tears or muffled a scream at least once per term, usually more.
I spent the previous 20 years working in other industries (NHS, banking, media) and only cried twice in all that time.
I find constant Ofsted prep, managing parental expectations and the sheer volume of paperwork more stressful than anything the kids throw at me, and even more than the downright upsetting nature of my safeguarding role. I am very, very tired and my own family definitely suffers as a result.

@MytummydontjigglejiggleItfolds

👏

I'd 100% support teachers to strike to get rid of ridiculous ofstead demands and better support for SEN, smaller class sizes etc

But I also agree that some teachers often don't always do themselves any favours in terms of perception.

Of course teachers are aware of the stresses and strains placed on other professions, we deal with social workers, medical professionals, support services, volunteer groups on a daily basis, they are all at the end of their tether. As are parents from all walks of life and all professions, just dealing with the day to day difficulties of life. We don't work in a bubble, we have daily face to face contact with people struggling to get by. Why would we NOT understand that many, many others find life just as exhausting and emotionally draining as many teachers do?

I got called a Cunt

Crying in my industry is also very common (especially amongst men). 3 of my colleagues have attempted suicide this year. One of my directors killed himself last year.

But we don't do polls for any of it....

😞 I'm sorry that teachers are feeling low but if you think you're alone in the world of "professionals who cry at work" then think again.

Show us where it says they are 🤨

I agree with this. Teaching is incredibly stressful plus it is emotionally upsetting to see children unable to eat etc. However in addition so many other jobs are just awful now too.

The country is in a pickle

And also threats of violence. I was at the open evening for the school I work at and a couple of the year 7’s said prospective parents were rude to them, outrageous.

@DarlingDarwin I had worked for several years before doing my teacher training so I did have 'real world' experience. I went on after teaching to do a masters and doctorate (with a young family) and am now a psychologist and teaching was still the hardest job I ever did.

As a teacher I'm surprised it's only 35%, this half term has been utterly exhausting.

I've cried every day this week OP. Not a teacher. Work for a charity. V senior role. Jobs are fucking hard. By no means am I making this a race to the bottom. No one should be crying because of their job. But it's not exclusive to teachers (or third sector workers).

I'm not a teacher but doesn't everyone cry at work? I know me and all my friends have.

Having just read some more posts I would like to point out that I am fully aware that this isn't unique to teachers and there are many workers our there finding things tough. Doesn't me we aren't allowed to have a moan on a thread about teachers though!

I really don’t think anyone has said it’s just teachers or that our job is the hardest.

It always seems that if anyone posts about one of the harder aspects of teaching, people pile in and say “teachers think they have it hardest!!! You’re not special!!!” Yeah, like no shit. Obviously it’s not the hardest job. No one is saying that.

Do you mean that all of you have cried in the last 6 weeks, like those in the OP? Or that all of you have cried at some point during your time in the jobs?

Someone's crying at my workplace every day 🤷🏻‍♀️ I work for the ambulance service though so it's not quite as shocking.

I'd hate to think of DS's lovely teacher crying

I'm not a teacher but I've cried about work, at work, before work, during work or after work every week since September. I'm on my knees and at my wits end.

No one said you were. I just think that it's odd people think 35% of teachers crying at work this term is unusual. Or the pressure, or deadlines, or dealing with aggressive or angry people is weird.

As a journalist I get all of that alongside the death and rape threats. It's not unusual. Work in 2022 is shit

Work in any office and there’s always someone crying. I cried two weeks ago and I love my job. Sometimes things are stressful 🤷🏼‍♀️

There’s loads of posts on this thread saying teachers act like we have it worse than anyone.

I don’t particularly think it’s unusual, but I don’t think acting like this is normal or acceptable in any workplace is helpful! No one should be feeling like this.