How to Take Back Our Wellbeing at Work
Last week, I shared a thought: What if we’ve been talking about teacher wellbeing all wrong?
Today, I want to sharpen that a little, because one of the biggest traps we fall into in schools is this idea that we don’t have enough time.
While it may ‘feel’ like we have no time, the reality is time is fixed and we cannot get more of it. And when you look a little closer, it’s rarely just about time - It’s about energy.
The kind of energy that gets drained by constant decision-making, unclear priorities, emotional load, and the feeling of carrying too much for too long.
And when that energy is low, everything feels harder — even the things we used to manage well.
So what do we do?
We default to the narrative we’ve been given:
“I just need to manage my time better.”
“I need to be more organised.”
“I need to get on top of things.”
And without realising it, we hand over our power.
Because if the problem is “me”… then the solution also sits entirely with me.
But here’s what the research, and real school experience, tells us:
In organisational psychology, there’s a simple but powerful idea:
When the demands of a job consistently outweigh the resources available to do it, people don’t just feel busy… they feel depleted.
Not because they’re doing something wrong.
But because the conditions around them aren’t supporting the work.
And this is where we sometimes get stuck.
We can see the pressure. We can feel the load. But we’ve been conditioned to respond by trying to push through it individually, rather than stepping back and asking:
What is it about the way I’m working that’s draining so much energy?
Because here’s the shift that matters:
Yes, there are things out of our control but there are also things within our control. The wider establishment sets ups systems and processes for us to follow, but we also set up own systems and processes… and sometimes we keep doing what we’ve always done without asking the question :
Is there a better way to do this?
Sometimes, without meaning to, we get caught up in our systems with comments like;
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“This is just how I do it”
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“I’ve always done it like this”
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“This is what I know best”
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“I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I’m not about to change now”
Well, I hate to disappoint you, but the world has changed and in fact the pace of change is increasing. And if you haven’t worked it out yet, what we used to do doesn’t work any more.
So if we want things to feel different, we have to be willing to ask new questions. We have be open to new ways of thinking and we have to brave enough to challenge old narratives.
Not with blame but with awareness. Because awareness is where we begin to take our power back.
And when individuals and teams start to see this together, something shifts.
Conversations change.
Boundaries become clearer.
We begin to look at how work is designed, not just how people are coping with it.
That’s where Teacher Wellbeing 2.0 becomes practical, meaningful and manageable.
As you head into your week, consider this:
What workplace system have you created for yourself that needs reviewing? (Eg, roll keeping daybook entries, how you mark student work, how you share feedback, how you plan lessons)
This is not about judgement, rights or wrongs, its about recognising the choices we have and the rules we create for ourselves that become our own demands or resources.
Next week, I’m going to build on this and share why the science of wellbeing has evolved and what we now understand about what people need to feel motivated, valued, and supported at work.
Because when we understand that piece, we stop relying on ad-hoc initiatives and start working with something much more solid.
