ISSUE 33 • JUNE 2006
A Mars A Day… The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act enacted in 2005 requires employers to have protective and preventive measures in place for all aspects of employee health and wellbeing. In effect they have been tasked with ensuring a state of being for each staff member which enables them to reach their full potential in the workplace by ensuring their work ability through the promotion of mental, physical, emotional and psychological health and wellbeing.
making becomes harder. All because we are human! By not investing in our selves and committing to sufficient rest we are doing ourselves, our schools and our staffs a disservice.
Isn’t it ironic that as Principals carrying out the BoM’s responsibility in putting measures for staffs’ wellbeing into place, we sometimes fall victim to ignoring the medicine we administer?
Achieving this balance and committing ourselves to taking sufficient rest may seem like a pipe dream especially when we feel that there are never enough hours in the day to do all that we need to do. However, getting our work/life balance right can help us make the most of the time we do have - and that makes us more efficient at work and at life.
An té a bhfuil freagrach ní foláir dó bheith glic.
The words work, rest and play coined in the old Mars bar advertisement capture the necessary balance required for us to operate to our maximum capacity. Remove the ‘rest’ element and the balance is quickly tilted in the direction of two equally exhaustive verbs ‘work’ and ‘play’. But how can we perform well if we neglect to rest our bodies, minds and spirits? Even the most brilliant, talented people have cognitive limits. Once these limits are reached or exceeded chaos can quickly become our only friend as deadlines are missed and decision-
It is increasingly evident that finding a balance between our work and our life outside work is imperative to maintaining our overall health and wellbeing. Work/life balance is no longer a buzzword but a reality which it seems will be with us from here on in.
Be consoled in the fact that most good functional leaders have yet to achieve this balance. As the people who are caught in the middle we try to protect our staff from the negative impact of overload and in doing so fall prey to it ourselves. So, we are not alone in this cycle but unlike the Duracell Bunny we are not battery operated and cannot go on and on and on without sufficient rest. How much resonates with you? ■ Do you succeed in separating your job from your life? ■ Do you constantly worry that you’re not doing enough?
■ Are you always available, even during holiday time? If you took stock could you work smarter rather than harder resulting in a better balance and quality of…
work, rest and play?
Indispensable Man Saxon White Kessinger Sometime when you’re feeling important; Sometime when your ego’s in bloom Sometime when you take it for granted You’re the best qualified in the room, Sometime when you feel that your going Would leave an unfillable hole, Just follow these simple instructions And see how they humble your soul; Take a bucket and fill it with water, Put your hand in it up to the wrist, Pull it out and the hole that’s remaining Is a measure of how you’ll be missed. You can splash all you wish when you enter, You may stir up the water galore, But stop and you’ll find that in no time It looks quite the same as before. The moral of this quaint example Is do just the best that you can, Be proud of yourself but remember, There’s no indispensable man.
F E AT U R E S Benchmarking – Principals Percpective..................2 Retiring this year?...........................................................2 Newly Appointed Principal?.......................................2 Special Education – Key Changes ...........................3
Bullying – Positive Interventions .............................5 In-School Management Research.............................6 Legal Diary ........................................................................8 How do other countries report progress? .........11
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School Bus Escorts .......................................................13 West Cork Network of Rural Schools ..................14 Deputy Principals’ Conference 2006 ...................15