In our Wellbeing Around the World series, we speak to leaders across the globe to see how they’re nurturing positive staff wellbeing, whatever challenges they may face.
In this article, we head to Dubai to hear from Ian Thurston, principal of the Dubai International Academy Emirates Hills, an IB continuum school in the United Arab Emirates, about why he put together a staff wellbeing charter to help focus its commitment in this key area
Why does staff wellbeing matter to you as an international head?
The fundamental reason for schools is to provide students opportunities and the chance for achievement.
I believe that if staff are in a good place, then students benefit. If you look after staff wellbeing, the students benefit from better teaching and learning and better relationships. Motivated, passionate and invested staff will always perform better.
From an international perspective, school staff are often more transient. Investing in staff wellbeing will support consistency through retention of staff and it is also a key recruitment tool - if you can publicise that staff wellbeing matters to your organisation, it will be more likely to be a school that teachers would like to work at.
Are there any wellbeing issues unique to your region or school?
Regarding the Covid pandemic, I think teachers in the UAE have been fairly lucky compared with colleagues in other countries, in terms of the social side of things. Except for a three-week total lockdown in April 2020, the country has been largely open to get out and about.
That said, there were still issues, especially for those teachers who are single and perhaps living in a small apartment with no outdoor area.
When it comes to the actual job, I think it became a lot more demanding.
Suddenly, teachers had parents in all their lessons; there was an expectation from some quarters that teachers were available 24-7 and the learning curve, in terms of technology, that many teachers faced was steep in a very short space of time.
The pandemic worked in different ways regarding retention: for some, it made them realise they wanted to be closer to family and led them to leave; for others, they felt lucky to keep their job and avoid salary cuts, leading them to feel more invested in the school and wanting to stay to repay the loyalty they’d be shown.
What wellbeing initiatives have you introduced in the last few years?
We are developing a staff wellbeing charter, in consultation with staff.
We have been clear that wellbeing is not about leaving early and taking it easy. Rather, it is about giving staff a sense of purpose and belonging where they feel valued and have the opportunity to grow.
With this in mind, we’ve consulted with teachers about what adds stress to their daily routines and conversely, what relieves stress or adds an element of fun that they look forward to.
The common thread during Covid was not meeting other staff in the school, so we have provided opportunities - such as football after school, monthly lunches and social outings - to bring like-minded people together.
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From a work point of view, simple things such as providing food if staff are expected to stay for evening events or giving some time back if they attend weekend trips show that you understand the extra mile staff go.
The charter has also tried to focus on time efficiency, including: ensuring IT systems are integrated so teachers only enter data once; reducing meeting time by giving information through video or email and saving meetings for truly developmental activities; and making sure teachers know about events at least two weeks in advance so they can plan accordingly.
Finally, it aims to protect teachers’ time off, through simple things such as emails only being sent between 6am and 6pm. These are powerful messages from leadership that show you care about work-life balance, even if you do expect them to work hard.
Much of this is shared with parents as well, through a parent-school contract that states what parents can expect from a teacher and, more importantly, what they shouldn’t expect. This clarity of information helps to manage expectations and to reduce frustration and, ultimately, everyone’s stress levels.
How did this idea come about - what caused you to act?
Staff wellbeing has always been important to me. It started from my first year of teaching, when I realised teaching is a profession that can swallow your whole life if you allow it.
I always insisted on giving myself one day off a week and setting times of the day when I say, “enough is enough”. I now try and take this mindset into my leadership.
I think this has become more acute during the Covid pandemic. Seeing teachers’ mental health suffer through lockdowns, seeing teachers crumble under unacceptable pressure and expectations, seeing teachers resign because they feel they are inadequate and yet, seeing how hard they work to try to offer the best provision possible has meant staff wellbeing has been thrust into the limelight.
We have also undertaken staff surveys so that we can identify common themes. Sometimes one or two vocal people lead you to believe there is a significant concern, but until all the quiet staff are consulted, you can’t be sure. Once the data is in, we initiate an action plan to make improvements by the time the next survey is done.
How involved were staff in this work?
Very. Staff need to be the starting point and it all has to be done in collaboration in an open and honest manner.
It needs to be clear that not all demands can be accepted and that students must be at the centre of all decisions, but often teachers come up with some simple ideas that make you as a leader wonder why you’d never thought of them.
Starting with the whole-staff survey to identify themes, we then work with small groups of staff who represent the whole staff body, because it is easier to make effective change in small groups.
The charter is drafted and continues to be an organic document that can change if required to reflect the changing landscape.
What was the impact and how did you measure this?
Measuring the impact will be done through the same staff survey being done each term, as well as looking at, not only retention rates, but the reason for staff leaving - for instance, someone who is leaving because their spouse has lost their job has nothing to do with your wellbeing strategy.
Did you have to allocate or make decisions on spending if it required moving money from one budget to another to cover this?
There is always a need for some funding to make things really work, but there was an understanding that we need to find as many non-monetary improvements as possible.
Budgets were used for staff socials, small prizes, etc, but often we were able to negotiate discounts with companies, sometimes through parents, so that staff benefitted without it taking resources away from the students.
What advice would you suggest to other leaders based on this approach?
The main thing is to be clear about what you’re understanding of wellbeing is, then be vocal about what you’re doing.
What you’re talking about is what people think is important, so you need to talk about staff wellbeing all the time, remind people what initiatives have been happening and invite them to make suggestions (not complaints).
You have to listen and be prepared to hear some difficult truths, because often the things that cause stress are your own policies.
Staff must be involved in developing wellbeing initiatives, but they need to understand what is reasonable and what is not; it can then be helpful to hand over control of some areas of wellbeing to the staff so that it is not perceived to be all “top-down”.
How do you look after your own wellbeing?
I organise my time around my personal interests and family, not the other way around. I make sure I keep fit by having designated times for swimming, cycling and running, and I take time to actually stop and talk to people during the day, rather than simply asking “How are you?” while continuing to walk.
I’d also recommend taking a packed lunch to school that can be snacked on, as it’s not always possible to find time for lunch. And have a cut-off time (at least one hour before bed) and make sure you have a good sleep - yes you can do more work, but you have to remain efficient and sometimes that means saying that what you’ve done is good enough.
Ian Thurston is principal of the Dubai International Academy Emirates Hills, an IB continuum school in the United Arab Emirates
