Member-only story
You Can’t Make Wellbeing With a Cookie-Cutter
A one-size-fits-all approach: giving out cookies and cutting things out might not be the answer to improving staff well-being
“All we need is another photocopier.”
When I started teaching, I promised myself that if I stayed long enough to become a school leader, I would install a second photocopying machine to improve staff morale and wellbeing.
Nothing was more frustrating than having to join the queue of grumpy, pre-caffeinated teachers waiting for their turn on the photocopier, praying that it would either not run out of paper or get jammed.
Just get another photocopier, I thought, and all of us teachers will be happy. How hard can this be?
For me, there was always something new standing between me and perpetual happiness.
Then, wellbeing got more complex
Fast forward. Teacher wellbeing is my work now.
But it is a bit more complex than it has ever been.
Teachers share (in person and through surveys) that they are suffering from the demands of the vocation and want school leaders to prioritise their well-being and mental health.
