TEACHERS suffering from stress took thousands of days off from Kirklees schools last year.
The yearly total was 7,500 which is staggering whichever way you look at it.
And the National Union Of Teachers reckons this may just be the tip of the iceberg, claiming that doctors may be signing teachers off for other reasons as some teachers don’t want stress on their sickness records.
And, if that really is the case, it is wrong. People should only be signed off for the ailment they have. Perhaps only then would we get a true view of the bigger picture.
If teachers feel anxious and stressed then there are many people in other professions who will tell them the grass is certainly not greener on the other side.
Those who are self-employed or run small businesses would soon find themselves in deep financial trouble if they couldn’t work due to stress.
The sad thing is that stress seems to be part of everyday life these days.
It’s stressful bringing up a family, it’s stressful paying the bills, it’s stressful at work with employers often wanting more and more hours with no extra pay in these harsh times of economic gloom.
Has stress always been around and did people just cope with it better in the past?
Perhaps the best remedy is for people to show genuine care and compassion to one another – and that starts in the home between partners, children and parents and in the workplace from managers to staff and from colleague to colleague.
Working as a team both at home and at work will surely help to relieve the pressure on everyone.
And perhaps stress levels will then start to fall.
