Association of Teachers & Lecturers Work-life balance toolkit for education professionals Work-life balance
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AAssssoocciiaattiioonn ooff TTeeaacchheerrss && LLeeccttuurreerrss
Work-life balance toolkit for education professionals
Work-life balance
CONTENTS
What is work-life balance?
What are the benefits of work-life balance policies?
How has the education sector tackled work-life balance?
21 administrative tasks teachers should not routinely be required to undertake
General time management strategies
Prioritising and work-time diary
Example of a work-time diary
Summary of the day
Procrastination
What next?
What legal protection is there against working long hours?
ATL’s top seven tips for beating stress
AAssssoocciiaattiioonn ooff TTeeaacchheerrss && LLeeccttuurreerrss
What is work-life balance?
“Work-life balance is not just about women juggling work, home and family – althoughthat is certainly an important part of it. It isalso about adjusting working patterns and policies so that everyone – regardless of age,race or gender, can find a rhythm that enablesthem more easily to combine work with theirother responsibilities or aspirations.”Creating work-life balance, DfES
Work-life balance is essentially about choice and flexibility, balancinglife and work, balancing the needs of both the school (employer) andmembers (employees) and the optimum environment for high performanceand satisfaction at all levels. ATL has prepared this toolkit to help membersachieve this balance.
The first step is recognising that work-life balance is an issue for both employers and employees.
The second step is recognising that the solution will be different for everyone and that consultation is an essential part of the process.
Work-life balance policies need not be expensive options. Differentsolutions satisfy different circumstances and consultation should
allow scope for imaginative and productive alliances to besecured in each school.
“A contractual
right to ‘family-
friendly’ policies
and sickness
benefits”
The ATL Executive Committee agreed to prepare guidance and
best practice on, and then campaign for the promotion of, the
following objectives in relation to the terms and conditions of
members working in schools:
A right to a reasonable work-life balance and school-level
action to identify and address workload problems
A right during each seven-day period within term time to
one and a half days or more of continuous undirected time
Contractual ‘family-friendly’ and sickness benefits, including
sick pay, maternity pay, paid time off for the care of
dependants and paternity pay, which are better than
minimum statutory entitlements
Consultation with staff before changes are made to terms
and conditions of employment.
The main concerns of members are:
21 administrative tasks to be taken over by non-teaching staff
38-hour maximum yearly cover of absent colleagues
Adoption of one day per fortnight for preparation and planning
Members highlighted paperwork (especially
form filling) as an area of work that had
become more demanding or time-consuming
as well as increased teaching time and the
growing demands of pastoral care.
The National Workload Agreement provides
a useful benchmark and some schools had
already started to do something about aspects
of workload, by employing more administrative
support and staff generally, improving IT and
providing more non-teaching time.
ATL’s objectives for members
Work-life balance
What are the benefits of work-life balance policies?
Benefits for your schoolor college
Benefits for members
Productivity – greater loyalty
Efficiency – greater energy
Motivation – empowerment
Recruitment – a ‘first choice’ employer
Retention – keeping good staff
Training – engaged workforce
Reduced absence
Greater flexibility
Responsibility and ownership
Feeling valued
Improved relationships at work and at home
Improved self-esteem
Improved confidence and concentration
Greater control
Balance in whole life
Work-life balance
How has the education sectortackled work-life balance?The government has recognised that education professionals havean excessive workload. They have done something about it forteachers working in the maintained sector.
Working with unions, managers and employers, the governmentsought to identify positive ways to tackle teachers’ excessiveworkload by creating the Workload Agreement in 2003.
A major part of addressing workload has been the greaterinvolvement of support staff in the delivery of education. Teachersshould now not routinely be required to undertake a list of 21 administrative tasks (full details of these follow). These measureswere phased in from 2003-2005 for schools in England and Wales.
“Where it has been implemented, the agreement has had a great effect on teachers’ lives. It means they can have a reasonable work-life balance. Our members report that they are coming back to work with renewed vigour and enthusiasm.”
Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of ATL
The Workload Agreement statesthat teachers in the maintainedsector should have:
A reasonable work-life balance(with headteachers responsiblefor ensuring this)
A timetable that provides for thereasonable allocation of time insupport of their leadership andmanagement responsibilities
A 38-hour limit on the amountof cover for absent colleaguesthey can be required to do ineach academic year, with anintention to reduce thisrequirement continually to thestage where teachers will rarelybe required to cover
A guaranteed 10% of theirtimetabled teaching to be usedas preparation, planning andassessment (PPA) time duringthe school day.
While the Workload Agreementonly applies to the maintainedsector it is clearly a very usefulbenchmark for all teachers,whether working in the maintainedor independent sectors, andindependent schools are alreadyusing it in their discussions abouttackling excessive teacher workload.
The list of 21 routine tasks thatteachers in the maintained sectorshould not routinely be required to do is overleaf.
Work-life balance
21 administrative tasks teachers shouldnot routinely be required to undertake
Collecting money from pupils
and parents: a designated
member of office staff should
be responsible for receiving and
recording money
Investigating a pupil’s absence:
teachers should inform the
relevant member of staff when a
pupil is absent from a class, but
they should not, for example, have
to telephone a pupil’s home
Bulk photocopying: eg for
the use of the whole class
Typing or making word-processed
versions of manuscript material
and producing revisions of
such versions
Word-processing, copying and
distributing bulk communications,
including standard letters,
to parents and pupils
Producing class lists on the
basis of information provided by
teachers: teachers may need to
be involved in allocating pupils
to particular classes
Keeping and filing records
including those based on data
supplied by teachers. Teachers
may be required to contribute
to the content of the records
Preparing, setting up and taking
down classroom displays.
Teachers will still make decisions
about what material should be
displayed in their classrooms
Producing analyses of
attendance figures
Producing analyses of
examination results
Collating pupil reports
Administration of work experience:
teachers may still need to select
placements and support
pupils by advice or visits
Administration of public and
internal exams
Administration of cover for
absent colleagues
Ordering supplies and equipment
Ordering, setting up and
maintaining ICT equipment
and software
Cataloguing, stocktaking,
preparing, issuing and
maintaining materials
Taking verbatim notes or
producing formal minutes of
meetings: teachers may be
required to co-ordinate action
points if necessary
Co-ordinating and submitting
bids (for funding, school status
etc): teachers may be required
to co-ordinate action points
if necessary
Transferring manual data about
pupils into computerised school
management systems (teachers
should not be expected to input
initial data electronically)
Managing the data in school
management systems.
Work-life balance
QQuuaalliittyy ttiimmeeIt is important to recognisethat different individuals aremore productive at certaintimes of the day. For themajority of people, they arefreshest in the early part ofthe day, but for a minoritytheir best working time islate at night.
It’s been suggested thatabout 20% of our time isprime time, and that, usedcorrectly, it should produceabout 80% of our mostcreative and productivework. The rest of our time is likely to be of lowerquality, and is nowhere near as productive.
Our creative thinking and our most difficult jobs,deserve some of our high-quality time. For example,important decisions needpeople’s prime time, not the traditional slot of low-quality time at the end ofthe teaching day. As aconsequence, it’s becomingmore common now forschools and colleges totimetable team meetingsearlier in the day.
In low-quality time, weshould plan to do things that are easy to pick up after interruptions. Forexample, do simple jobs like photocopying (if youhaven’t delegated them)before you leave for the day rather than at the start of the next, when you’re atyour freshest.
General time-management strategies
Some issues of workload can be addressed on a personal basis. The following useful suggestionscome from a publication by Sara Bubb and Peter Earley of the Institute of Education: ManagingTeacher Workload, Paul Chapman Publishing 2004.
Is it necessary, or is it habit? What wouldhappen if this meetingwere not held?
What do you want toachieve by this meeting?
Who is needed? Are allof these people neededall of the time?
Who is going to chair it?
MMeeeettiinnggssMeetings can be notorious time wasters. Therefore, it is important to identify the purpose of a meeting, and to ensure that everyone knows why they are there.
All meetings should be subject to the following questions:
Work-life balance
Prioritising and work-time diary
Specific: clearly defined.Measurable: so that it’seasy to see when it hasbeen completed.Attainable: unrealistictargets are depressing, aswe can’t achieve them.Relevant: or appropriate,to current and futureneeds.Time-limited: with defineddeadlines. Open-endedtasks have a habit of notgetting done.
If each task that we plan isexamined according to SMARTcriteria, it will be easier toachieve, and there is nothingbetter for reducing stress thanthe confidence born of success!
Now, once we have a SMARTlist of things that need doing,the next task is to prioritisethem. If we do not, it is easy tofeel helpless and stressed inthe face of so many things thatall need to be done instantly.
Organising tasks into somesort of order not only makesit easier to finish one thingbefore going onto the next,but it also legitimises the factthat some of the things haveto be put off till later. Thishelps us to feel less pressured.
Give each task a letter:A – is for the top priority jobs
– ones that must be donetoday
B – is for jobs that should bedone today
C – is for those jobs that itwould be nice to do today
D – is for the low-priorityjobs – you know youhave to do them, but it’s OK to pass them on to tomorrow’s list of things to do
Ask yourself:How important is it?How urgent is it?How long will it take to do?What is the knock-oneffect of this job?What will happen if I don’t do it today?
Some jobs are so quick andeasy to do that there is apsychological benefit ingiving them As and crossingthem off the list first. Othertasks, again in themselvesfairly unimportant, have to be done before other, moreimportant tasks can becompleted, and these alsodeserve As or Bs.
There is sometimes a dangerthat ‘urgent’ tasks can crowdout more important tasks.
Priorities can change fromhour to hour and you need tobe flexible. It is a good ideato build in some slack.
WWoorrkk--ttiimmee ddiiaarryyOne of the problems ofhaving an excessive workloadis not having the time to lookproperly at what we are
doing to see if our workcould be organised moreproductively. We need toknow how long we spend onindividual tasks before wecan fully answer the questions“Do I really need to do thisnow? Could someone else do it? Could I do it moreefficiently? ”If workload is to be thoroughly addressed,education professionals needto audit how much time theyspend on each task, and thenconsider if the tasks could bedone more efficiently. Inconjunction with the Instituteof Education, ATL havesuccessfully used self-auditwork-time diaries to addressworkload issues.
KKeeeeppiinngg aa wwoorrkk--ttiimmee ddiiaarryyOne way to audit your timeis to keep a diary over sevendays (including the weekend),recording each task and howmuch time is spent on it.Each day’s record shouldcover all your time at work andany tasks completed outsideschool. You will probablyfind it easiest if you completethe record at convenientpoints in the day (forexample break or lunchtime). It is important for you to havean accurate picture of howyou have deployed yourtime. If you find that two ormore activities are occurringsimultaneously (eg yourteaching is interrupted by a parent’s visit) then pleaserecord the main activity only.
One way in which we can improve our time management is to review the way in which we organisetasks. Whatever they are, it is best to divide them into bite-sized chunks by using the acronymSMART. Our task needs to be:
Work-life balance
Example of work-time diaryTTiimmee DDuurraattiioonn iinn mmiinnuutteess WWoorrkk aaccttiivviittyy
07.50 - 08.00 10 Speak to Senco
08.00 – 08.15 15 Photocopying
08.15 – 08.45 2010 Setting up room and a display
08.45 – 08.55 10 Morning meeting
08.55 – 9.05 10 Register
09.05 – 10.15 70 Teaching
10.15 – 10.30 15 Assembly – attended
10.30 – 10.50 20 Playtime – on duty
10.50 – 12.00 70 Teaching
12.00 – 12.10 10 Kept three children in
12.10 – 13.00 2030
Lunch – tidying, setting upTalking to other staff
13.00 – 13.10 10 Register
13.10 – 15.00 110 Teaching
15.00 – 15.15 15 Home time, chat to parents
15.15 – 15.45 30 Tidying
15.45 – 17.00 75 Staff meeting
17.00 – 17.15 15 Sorted work
17.15 – 17.50 Travelled home
17.50 – 19.30 Domestic
19.30 – 20.00 30 Marking
20.00 – 21.00 60 PlanningCut out resources for tomorrow’s lesson
Various 20 Doing this audit
TToottaall
SSuummmmaarryy ooff tthhee ddaayy
DDrraawwiinngg uupp aann aaccttiioonn ppllaannNow that you have the big picture of howyou spend your time and you have decidedwhat you would like to change, draw up anaction plan of how you are going to change anaspect of your working day, possibly using ideasfrom other sections of the toolkit. You may want to ask yourself the following questions:
What do you want tospend less time on?
How are you going to doso? What implications arethere for others?
How much time are you going to save, and by when?
Are you aiming for a radical or a gradualreduction?
How are you going tomeasure your progress?
How will you spend the time that you havesaved?
At the end of each day, consider the day’s work in terms of productivity,efficiency, the value for the pupils of the various activities and the degreeof professional satisfaction you have derived from undertaking them.
Adding up the amount of time you spend on tasks tells you how long you are working. The summary looks at the value of certain tasks.
AAnnaallyyssee yyoouurr wwoorrkkiinngg wweeeekk Compare how you spend your time with others in your department andschool or college.
An analysis of your daily running record will give you more detail of exactly how you are spendingyour time within the various work activity headings. For instance, if you are unhappy with how longyou are spending on lesson preparation and classroom organisation, you could look at your time diary to ascertain which of the elements – planning/preparing lessons, display, or setting up/tidying the classroom – are more time-consuming, and then address this when you draw up your action plan.
Work-life balance
Summary of the day
ProcrastinationSometimes we waste time procrastinating rather than getting on with the job. In order to assess yourselfas a procrastinator, score yourself depending on how strongly you think these statements apply to you.
Do you strongly agree = 4; mildly agree = 3; mildly disagree = 2; strongly disagree = 1 SSccoorree
1. I can always find a reason for not tackling a task that I don’t want to do
2. I need an imminent deadline before I get on with such a task
3. I put off tackling people if I think it’s going to be unpleasant
4. There are too many interruptions and crises in teaching to allow me to accomplish anything that takes sustained effort
5. I like to tidy everything up before I get to grips with a task
6. When I know an unpopular decision has to be made, I tend to sit on the fence
7. I try to get other people to do the parts of my job that I don’t like doing
8. My non-contact time is rarely used for marking or preparation
9. I am under too much pressure to deal with difficult tasks
10. I often neglect to follow up what has been decided at a meeting
TToottaall
Solutions might include:
Being aware that you’reprocrastinating
Breaking large tasks intosmaller ones
Giving yourself rewards
Tackling the unpleasant tasks first
Considering the effects of not doing it
Using the ‘one hour’ rule, i.e. deciding not to get up from the desk for one hour,but then having a short break
Procrastination Quotient Scoring0 – 20 You are not a procrastinator21 – 30 Although it is not a major problem, you do tend to put off tasks. Paying some attention
to this area should help you improve your time management30+ You have a significant procrastination problem and need to explore this further if you
are to manage your time better
Work-life balance
1. Once you have identified the workload issues in your school or college you will want to thinkabout what improvements you would like to see. This may involve using suggestions madeelsewhere in the toolkit, and you might also find the following working practice examplesuseful:
What next?
WWoorrkkiinngg hhoouurrss::
Flexible working
Part-time working
Flexible job-share
Home working for PPA
Individualised workingpatterns
A reduction in workinghours
A compressed workingweek.
CChhiillddccaarree,, ccaarreerrss aannddddoommeessttiicc ssuuppppoorrtt::
Subsidised childcare
Emergency childcareoptions
Assistance with fundingfor domestic help
Assistance withsignposting agencies forcarers support
Emergencies for carers.
LLeeaavvee aanndd ttiimmee ooffff::
Sabbaticals
Career breaks
Carers’ leave
Maternity, paternity,parental and adoptionleave.
GGoooodd pprraaccttiiccee aanndd ssuuppppoorrtt::
Induction programmes
Training developmentand life-long learning
Counselling andcoaching available to all staff
Monitoring andsupervision.
2. Set up a working group involving management to review existing working practice and develop an action plan for implementing a work-life balance strategy in your school
3. If you need any support and/or advice from ATL please do not hesitate to contact us by emailing iinnffoo@@aattll..oorrgg..uukk..
Work-life balance
What legal protection is thereagainst working long hours?TThhee 11999988 WWoorrkkiinngg TTiimmee RReegguullaattiioonnssThe primary purpose of theWorking Time Regulations is to safeguard the healthand safety of employees.
The key features of theRegulations are as follows:
WWoorrkkiinngg ttiimmeeThe working week is limitedto a maximum of 48 hours,but this is averaged over 17 weeks. In residentialinstitutions, the averagingperiod is 26 weeks. Theaveraging period disregardsperiods away from work forreasons such as sickness ormaternity but, includes mostperiods of holiday – whichtends to lower the averageof hours worked. However,only time spent ‘working atthe employer’s disposal’ andcarrying out one’s activitiesor duties counts towards‘working time’. It will not normally include, forexample, time ‘on call’ ortime spent working at home.
In the case of the weeklyworking hours limits,individual agreements arepossible between workerand employer excluding the standard 48-hour limit.These agreements will haveto be in writing and containa notice clause, and theemployer in these casesmust keep records of hoursactually worked by theindividuals concerned.Further, no detriment can beimposed on employees whorefuse to sign a workinghours agreement.
RReesstt bbrreeaakkssMost workers are entitled toan uninterrupted rest breakof at least 20 minutes awayfrom the workstation duringthe working day if it exceedssix hours.
DDaaiillyy rreesstt ppeerriiooddMost workers have a right to a daily rest period of atleast 11 consecutive hoursin each 24.
WWeeeekkllyy rreesstt ppeerriiooddEmployers must provide a minimum weekly restperiod of at least 24 hours ineach seven-day period formost workers – althoughemployers can opt for 14day averaging. The restperiod is not required toinclude Sunday.
AAnnnnuuaall lleeaavveeWorkers are entitled to fourweeks paid annual leave.
NNiigghhtt wwoorrkkNight workers’ hours arelimited to eight hours ineach 24-hour period,averaged over 17 weeks. A night worker is one who,as a normal course, works at least three hours of dailyworking time between 11pm and 6am.
RReeccoorrdd kkeeeeppiinnggEmployers must keep‘adequate’ records to showthat the average weeklyworking time limits arebeing observed. Recordsmust be kept for two years.If, on the other hand, workershave made personalagreements to waive the 48-hour limit, then recordsof each individual’s actualworking hours will need to be kept.
Work-life balance
PPaarrttiiaall eexxcclluussiioonnssThe legislation provides for some flexibility from the full rigour of the regulations, firstly to accommodate varioussectors of employment and also to cover certainexceptional circumstances at work.
The key ones are:Foreseeable surges of activity
Unusual andunforeseeablecircumstances beyondthe control of theemployer (includingaccidents).
In each of these cases, theworker is not entitled to thestandard daily and weeklyrest periods nor to the dailyrest break. However, s/he is‘wherever possible’ allowedto take ‘an equivalent periodof compensatory rest’.Significantly, in these casesthe limits on working timestill apply.
EEnnffoorrcceemmeennttAs the regulations areessentially a health-and-safety measure, the workingtime (and night work) limits are enforced by the Health and Safety Executive.Employers who fail to comply could beprosecuted for committing a criminal offence.
PPrraaccttiiccaall iimmpplliiccaattiioonnssThe regulations in generaldo not dramatically affectmost educationalinstitutions.
WWoorrkkiinngg ttiimmeeThe restrictive definition of ‘working time’ and itsaveraging over 17 or 26 weeks (which willinevitably include someschool or college holidaywithin the calculation)prevents most teachers andlecturers from benefiting.Indeed, the fact that the 48-hour limit is averaged in this way will mean that,during term time, teachersmay work considerablylonger than 48 hours per week, without thiscontravening theregulations.
Nonetheless, some teachersworking in boarding schoolsin the independent sector,where ‘on duty’ periods areespecially onerous, may beaffected. Note that boarding schools are not exempt from the normal 48 hoursaveraged limit.
RReesstt aanndd bbrreeaakkssResidential institutions, such as boarding schools,are excluded from thenormal requirements on rest and breaks – but staffare ‘wherever possible’entitled to claim ‘anequivalent period ofcompensatory rest’.
Similarly, the flexibilities(see above) for ‘surges ofactivity’ and ‘unforeseeablecircumstances’ are likely toapply to events such asschool trips where shortperiods of unusually longworking hours are required.Again, in these cases,compensatory rest should be given.
Work-life balance
Work-life balance
11.. KKeeeepp aa ddiiaarryyKeeping a diary for a couple ofweeks can help you pinpointthe stress points in your life,be they events, times, places,people or simply trying to dotoo many things at once.Once you have identified yourstress points you can use thefollowing techniques to tryand mitigate their effects.
22.. TTaallkkTalk through your diary withyour partner or a good friend;just discussing things canoften make people feel better.If the problems that you haveidentified occur largely in the workplace talk to yourheadteacher or principle to seeif anything can be done to help.
33.. LLeeaarrnn hhooww ttoo rreellaaxxPractise deep-breathingtechniques Slowly inhalewhile counting to five, holdyour breath for five secondsthen breathe out slowly.Repeat this 10 times whenfeeling stressed, concentratingon nothing but your breathing.
Stretching Stretch the musclesof your neck and shoulders bykeeping your shoulders leveland trying to touch eachshoulder with your ear. Lookup at the ceiling, then down atthe floor and then rotate eachshoulder in a wide circle.Repeat five times. Open andclose your jaw widely aftereach exercise since stressoften causes tension in thejaw area.
Take time out For fiveminutes every hour, try to'shut down' and think ofnothing but your perfectsituation. This could be adream holiday, ideal partneror simply thinking about doingnothing at all. You will besurprised at how effectivethis can be at lowering stress levels.
At home A warm bath,especially on cold winternights, will gently warm andhelp relax you.
44.. EExxeerrcciissee rreegguullaarrllyyYou do not have to be a gymfreak to get the stress-beatingbenefits of exercise. Even 20minutes of brisk walking threetimes a week will help toreduce stress as well aspromoting restful sleep. Yogaand Tai Chi are both excellentways of relaxing.
55.. GGeett aa ggoooodd nniigghhtt’’ss sslleeeeppMany people experiencedifficulties with sleeping duringtheir lifetime and stress is oneof the commonest causes. Tipsfor aiding a good night’s sleepinclude:
Keep regular hours Going tobed and getting up at roughlythe same time every day willtrain your body to sleep betterby getting it into a regularrhythm.
Keep a pen and paper by yourbedside Use them either tomake a list before lights out ofthings that you need to tacklethe next day or to write down(and thus ‘dump’) worries thatmay prevent you from sleeping.
Get some fresh air Evidencesuggests that those who getsufficient natural daylight tendto sleep better at night.
Avoid tea and coffee in theevening Both are stimulantsand can interfere with fallingasleep and prevent deep sleep.
Avoid over-indulging Eatingtoo much late at night canimpact on your ability to sleep.
66.. DDoonn’’tt ssmmookkee,, aanndd aavvooiiddeexxcceessss aallccoohhoollAlcohol and nicotine are bothstimulants and will make itharder for you to relax.
77.. EEaatt aa bbaallaanncceedd ddiieettEating a balanced diet willhelp improve your overallhealth and well-being and will make you feel better inyourself, even in stressfulsituations.
ATL’s top seven tips for beating stress
Who to contact at ATL for advice and supportIf you would like further information or assistance, please contact:
ATL’s London office – tel. 020 7930 6441
ATL’s Wales office – tel. 029 2046 5000
ATL’s Northern Ireland office – tel. 02890 327 990
The organising team are also available for support with activity and training,
call 020 7782 1599 for more information or email [email protected]
To order additional campaign or recruitment materials, call ATL Despatch on 0845 4500 009,
email [email protected] or order online at www.atl.org.uk. Please remember to allow 10 days
for the delivery of your order.
Other sources of informationwww.atl.org.ukwww.worksmart.org.ukwww.tuc.org.uk/work_lifewww.dti.gov.ukwww.cipd.co.ukwww.employersforwork-lifebalance.org.ukwww.teachernet.gov.uk
Managing teacher workload – work-life balance and wellbeing by Sara Bubb
and Peter Earley, published by Paul Chapman Publishing, 2004
www.teachersupport.netwww.wiredforhealth.gov.ukwww.hse.gov.ukwww.lsc.gov.ukwww.tda.gov.ukwww.dfes.gov.uk
Work-life balance
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