Work-Life Circle

 This activity is part of our Start-of-Year Community Builder, which can be purchased as part of a special package here: Start of Year Packages

Work – Life Circle

Overview: Every year we like to start off with a simple email acknowledging the staff on a human level and setting you up for success. 

This email communicates the work-life circle philosophy, an approach your staff will appreciate.  As the administrator, you will see benefit simply from voicing this policy and showing you care about your people, their stresses, and their lives outside of work.  It’s a small thing, but when compared to administrators who don’t address this issue at all, you can see how it can be a big deal.

Goals: Vocalize your expectations and recognizing everyone as a whole person.  Empower staff to be their whole selves, deepen relationships with admin and staff, reduce stress.

Preparation: Edit the email to your liking and send to all staff.  There is a photograph activity at the bottom of the email that is optional. 

Obviously, if you have a different philosophy, make as many changes as you wish.  The important thing is that this email serves as an opportunity to show you are on their side. 

Email:

Subject - Work Life Balance

“Hello Everyone,

I want to write a quick message about work-life balance, and how I hope we can all keep our sanity this year.

First, I believe the phrase “work-life balance” is outdated.  It implies that the two activities are in opposition, with there being a strict trade-off between the two.  You are either at work or you are “recharging,” inevitably leading to never truly feeling balanced. 

The better model is “work-life circle,” understanding that you are always a whole person, and not strictly compartmentalizing the activities.  Work and life have a reciprocal relationship: If you are happy at home, you are going to come into work with an upbeat energy, and if you are happy at work, you are going to be a better spouse, parent, friend, etc…

Therefore, I want to support you and all aspects of yourself, because whatever makes you a better person, will also make you a better educator and our school a better place for everyone.

This philosophy allows you to sometimes incorporate outside life while you are at work, and sometimes incorporate work during outside life, all without feeling guilty, because everything works together.

Don’t get me wrong, there are times your mind and energy need to be 100% on work, and times when you need to put your phone and email away to be 100% present at home.  I believe we all know when those times are, but there are also many times in between that can exist as a blend.

To jump start this mindset, I encourage you to think about how you can showcase one or two of your home-life aspects during the workday tomorrow.  Example: If you play in a softball league, bring in your glove or come dressed in your uniform.  I would like to take pictures of each of us showcasing different aspects of our whole selves.  We’ll then post the pictures on the wall of the office with labels, such as, “Mrs. Jones: Math teacher, wife, motorcyclist, knitter, and European traveler.”

Perhaps this display will be a small way to help us get to know each other better, and it will also help serve as a mental health reminder during stressful times this year.

That’s it.  I want everyone to know that I understand stress can come from all angles, and I’m on your side this year!  Thank you, everyone!”