Wellbeing and Relationships

People are social beings and we can all benefit from positive relationships. When it comes to our relationships in relation to our wellbeing as teachers, we can consider social-emotional intelligences, our rapport with students and relationships with colleagues. 

These questions might guide you to evaluate the relationship between your relationships and your wellbeing as a teacher:

 

  1. How am I doing in terms of emotional intelligence and what does it take to be emotionally intelligent?

(According to Goleman (1995), five key features define emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation, international motivation, empathy, and social skills.)

 

  1. How do I care for my relationship with my students to sustain high levels of wellbeing?

(Positive teacher-learner rapport is reported to reduce the risk of burnout and discipline problems, and improve student learning. Shortly, it becomes a win-win situation for both sides.)

 

  1. Do I recognize the importance of workplace relationships and invest in them to improve my wellbeing?

(Mercer and Gregersen (2020) report that a sense of belonging in an institution and job satisfaction can be created thanks to positive relationships in the workplace.)

 

  1. How much do I care for my personal relationships outside my workplace to feel overall wellbeing and
    balance in my life?

(Since teaching is a highly demanding job which is hard to switch off from, it becomes extremely important to spend quality time with our loved ones. We all need triple A’s: affection, attention, and appreciation (Mercer & Gregersen, 2020).)

 

Some strategies to cultivate wellbeing through our relationships

 

Granziera et al. (2021) suggests these strategies to capitalize on relationships in an attempt for improved wellbeing:

 

• Practice Active Constructive Responding 

• Issue Thank you Cards or Gratitude cards 

• Establish “Caught you doing well” moments 

• Establish a Random Acts of Kindness week 

• Participate in Mentoring programmes 

• Learn Coaching Psychology skills 

• Encourage positive social events 

• Provide access to who and how to seek support

 

References

Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence, Bantam Books, New York, NY.

Granziera, H., Collie, R., & Martin, A. (2021). Understanding teacher wellbeing through job demands-resources theory. In Cultivating Teacher Resilience (pp. 229-244). Springer, Singapore.

Mercer, S., & Gregersen, T. (2020). Teacher wellbeing. Oxford University Press.Mercer, S., & Gregersen, T. (2020). Teacher wellbeing. Oxford University Press.