Shannon Anderson

EA 754
Wellness Paper
Stress management. That simple statement could be the job description for every
administrator in every school district in every building across the United States. As
rewarding as it is for an administrator to watch a teacher that they have mentored, grow
and flourish or students and families that they have personally worked with develop, it
comes with a price. School administrators lead hectic lives, and even the best organized
principal or superintendent is bombarded daily with unscheduled meetings, frequent
interruptions, and petty annoyances (Brimm, 65). As one administrator told me, when
things finally settle down and get quite in the building that is when you should start to
worry.
As I look to make a possible transition into school administration at some point in
my career, dealing with stress is a very real concern that I have. Stress can be a beneficial
and positive catalyst in our lives. Eustress, or positive stress, is that factor necessary for
one to perform well, particularly under pressure (Brimm, 64). Unfortunately most of the
time stress is a negative and typically leads to burn out of school officials. Within the
teaching profession, several of the more prominent detrimental burnout outcomes include
job dissatisfaction, lower life quality and self-confidence, impaired job performance,
absenteeism and intention to leave the profession (Carson et all, 906). Pressures to
complete tasks, avoid errors, work-overloads, high-stakes testing, a demanding
supervisor, a disgruntled colleague, or an irate parent are just a few example of factors
that are causing stress in our schools today (Sorenson, 11). In 2005, a study cited by the
Sloan Work and Family Research Network, found that 26 percent of employees said they
were overworked often or very often, and 27 percent said they were overwhelmed by
how much work that they had to do (Nebenzahl, 1).
So how do we stop this burn out? The stressors are not going to go away, as much
as an administrator might try to plan or organize their way out of them, they are not going
to stop. It has often been noted that an increase in physical activity is a realistic way to
combat some of these stressors. This may seem unlikely, but science has proven it true.
Even if finding time to participate in physical activity is one of your stressors. Other
methods of coping with stress for teachers and administrators include having a positive
attitude, humor, reflection as well as hobbies and exercise. Exercise or physical activity
may have the greatest benefit to a person who is dealing with stress.
The effects of physical activity on the stress level of school administrators are
overwhelmingly positive. This statement becomes increasingly powerful when it is
considered that one of the negative effects of stress is on the health of the individual. For
examples, the educator who experiences high levels of stress can develop high blood
pressure, or exhibit a loss of appetite or have the urge to eat, even over-eat, unhealthy
foods, or suffer from ulcers, or express anger or show signs of irritability (Sorenson, 11).
As a critical issue not only in education, but in organizations worldwide, certain stress
management strategies must not be employed, but should also serve as proven coping
mechanisms to reduce stress (Sorenson, 12).
So how do we get this done? How as a building administrator do you find time to
schedule all of the things that you have to accomplish in a day, as well as find time to
participate in some sort of exercise? Physical activity participation is not something that
has to wait until after work for it to ease the aspects of childcare teacher burnout; it can
and should be done during work (Carson et all, 907). A workplace exercise routine could
be a combination of stretching and resistance training (Mallari, 1).
Not just the time spent working out should be considered but what types of
exercises you do and what areas that you work on should be considered. There are
opportunities to develop cardiovascular fitness in the workplace. For one, a worker can
do deep breathing exercises while downloading a huge file on his computer. Deep
breathing exercises properly done can reduce stress and improve ones intake of oxygen.
Using stairs instead of the elevator also offers a good workout for the lungs (Mallari, 1).
Given the benefits of exercise, this will be the strategy that I will use to cope with
workplace stress. The first level of involvement would be to keep a log of the dates and
times that I feel most stressed. I will keep this log for two weeks. Once the two weeks has
been completed, I will cross reference this log with my calendar. The purpose of this is to
see if there are any commonalities among the time that I feel most stressed. This would
give me some direction of things that I need to eliminate or curtail as to reduce stress.
The next step would be look and find time for me to exercise during my day. This
will probably be the most challenging task given the rate and pace that the day of an
administrator moves. However, I do think that it is possible to carve out some protected
time, just a few minutes each day to do some easy in building exercises. It also may be
beneficial to find some time to do some regular walks around the school building both
indoors and outdoors. This would also provide an opportunity to increase my activity
level. If I could I would plan my activities around the times of day that are most stressful
for me, but that may not always be possible. The important thing is to have some time set
aside.
To compliment my workplace workout, I will also find time a couple of nights a
week to attend a gym or some sort of formal activity class. Again, setting this time and
keeping to the schedule, and not letting other things get in the way will be the key to the
success of this program. Once a couple of weeks have passed on this plan, I would
conduct another inventory and compare notes. Do I still feel as stressed as I did a few
weeks ago? Am I still getting stressed at about the same time? Is the stress that I am
feeling on a downward spiral? This sort of data will provide me with a real picture to
determine if what I am doing to combat the stress is really making a difference or not. I
would also do a personal reflection, just to see how I felt, is the added exercise making
me feel better as a person. This data and this reflection will guide my future practice and
determine what direction I will be able to take the class.
If the plan is working and feel less stressed, then I would keep up with it and keep
going. Maybe even invite some others to come along with me. If the plan is not working,
then I need to do some self assessment to find out what is preventing me from feeling
better and put a new strategy in place.
Another avenue to try is to invite some others along. Maybe have some other
administrators come along and join me. Exercising and participating in groups increases
the likelihood that a person will stick with the activity.
The burnout rate of administrators is a very real thing, and something that many
districts have to take a look at. Some of these techniques may not just be good for adults
but also may be good for students as well. Maybe it would possible to adapt a Drop
Everything and Exercise program for everyone. Regardless, my stress level is an area that
I will closely monitor not just for my own health but also to help ensure I am doing the
best possible job that I can.

References
Brimm, J. L. (1983). What stresses school administrators. Theory into Practice, 22(1, Coping
with Stress), 64-69.
Carson, R. L., Baumgartner, J. J., Matthews, R. A., & Tsouloupas, C. N. (2010). Emotional
exhaustion, absenteeism, and turnover intentions in childcare teachers: Examining the
impact of physical activity behaviors. Journal of Health Psychology, 15(6), 905-914.
Perry, G. S. (2009, Jun 15). Workplace workout. McClatchy - Tribune Business News.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/458106778?accountid=12924
Richards, J. (2012). Teacher stress and coping strategies: A national snapshot. The
Educational Forum, 76(3), 299-316.
Sorenson, R. D. (2007). Stress management in education: Warning signs and coping
mechanisms. Management in Education, 21(3), 10-13.
(September 12, 2009 Saturday). Overwork, workplace stress create tired employees; Regular
exercise can help reduce worker fatigue. The Calgary Herald (Alberta), Retrieved from
www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic