Solving Workplace Tension To Advance Successful Teaching

The success of students is a measurement of productivity in an academic workplace thus the success of the teacher is measured in many instances by the success of the students. Teachers must therefore realize that much time has to be spent in teaching and in preparation for teaching, if it is to be successful. Specifically, teaching is concerned not only with enhancing students’ mastery of the subject matter in preparation for their future occupations, but also with their development as moral persons and citizens in a democratic society (Carr, 2006; Sockett, 1993).  Nothing should be far more important than marketing the subject or content area, knowing the subject and teaching it with encouragement.  Further, to truly relate to your students you will probably be involved in their activities; attending sporting activities and school plays, sponsoring a club or a class, or going on trips with your students for various reasons. (Kelly, 2000). Meeting expectations among students is a must and this should be taken seriously. This is only fulfilled through the teacher’s inherent commitment for teaching anchored by deep devotion for success. 

For productivity to be maintained in the teaching field teachers need support and administrator are in the chain of support. In having support, teachers must have tension eliminated from the workplace. This will no doubt help to create an atmosphere of productivity in teaching for success. Eliminating the elements that cause such tension among teachers can be done by; allowing teachers to express themselves, their feelings, their fears, and their point of view, affirming each other when assignments are done on time and done well, respecting coworkers regardless of the differences that may exist especially remember that people have different personalities, making remunerations match the qualifications, and job description of workers, giving incentives, like trips, paid vacations, bonuses, according to performance appraisals, and giving appraisal on work performance which should be done with measurements forming specific criteria to eliminate any biasness. When workplace tensions go unresolved it challenges the teaching and learning process. Many teachers tend to exhibit some unprofessional behaviour at this time and will not find teaching a rewarding experience at this time. Nevertheless, while these experiences are made up of what you bring to the profession it should not be overlooked that negatives experienced at the workplace will only escalate and spiral into poor work ethic and not improve the teaching profession. Managing workplace tension must be fixed by supervisors and administrators. This is a critical skill if an organization is to survive and if teachers are to deliver maximum productivity.Teachers must however be able to take the best from all situations, whether positive or negative and use these opinions and criticisms constructively. It is therefore important that each teacher make a concerted effort to constantly evaluate him or herself objectively.

Since job and workplace stress grow in times of economic crisis, it’s important to learn new and better ways of coping with the pressure  (Klein, 2008). The teacher has to develop independent coping mechanism and manage the tension and tress that may exist in the workplace. The ability to manage stress in the workplace can make the difference between success and failure on the job  (Klein, 2008). Teachers need to remember though that negative co-workers can abandon their workloads, right before an important deadline, for example a research conference. Their hostility and negativity towards academia, co-workers and or administrators can destroy the personality of other teachers in the workplace and this can negatively impact productivity. Bad co-workers can waste your time, or they can withhold vital information that also hurts your productivity, which reflects on your career (Klein, 2008). Administrators too can create severe challenges and prevent productivity in the workplace. Klein, (2008) gives seven practical steps to take to avoid letting other co-workers hold you back from workplace success.
1. Be honest with yourself first. Are you guilty of being that unproductive or unpleasant to co-workers? Stress is contagious when you, not just your co-workers, express stressful behaviours at work. If you’re the bad co-worker, take proactive steps to stop your own bad behaviour.
2. Identify and isolate bad co-workers. Identify toxic co-workers and develop a plan to avoid those areas of the office housing bad co-workers. Don’t give them the opportunity to ruin your day.
3. Do not ignore the situation. If a co-worker is behaving badly, immediate address the situation before it becomes a long-term instigator of stress. Politely ask a co-worker to stop behaviour, and include a polite explanation. Example: «I’m very busy between 10 a.m. and noon, so please don’t visit my desk during these hours.»
4. Agree to disagree. Respectfully agree to disagree with colleagues who insist they are right. Example: «I agree your work is important, but my deadline is my top priority right now.» Example: «I respect your perspective, but I have to return to my desk to finish a project that is important to me.»
5. Do not lose your temper. Like stress, anger is contagious, too. Practice anger management exercises such as deep breathing to remain calm when you see a stressful co-worker approaching your desk. Or excuse yourself to take a quick, stress-busting walk outside the building or to another floor and back again. Don’t encourage bad behaviour from a co-worker by demonstrating your own bad behaviour. If you do, the bad co-worker wins, and you lose the control you must assert over your workplace behaviours.
6. Use your emotionally intelligence. This is your power to respond intelligently to emotional situations. If a member of your work team is a chronic procrastinator, take steps to avoid being on that co-workers team or to assign less-taxing assignments to the slacker. Make and keep a record of what you accomplished on a project, and, without resorting to blaming the lazy co-worker, act positively in really addressing your achievements in a report to your superiors.
7. Turn a negative into a positive. If you find yourself in a workplace that condones or even celebrates bad co-workers, don’t focus on what you cannot change. Change your future by actively looking for another position at a positive workplace. Creating weekly reports tracking your accomplishments in projects involving unproductive co-workers becomes the basis for creating a great resume. Yes, you can turn a negative into a positive and leave negative co-workers or un-productive workers behind as you sail into your next success.

The teacher’s primary professional obligation should be to teach. Teachers need to always remember that they nurture the capacities of all learners to think and act, while developing independence. Hence teachers must strive to promote and encourage optimistic response to the critical values so students will display these values in society. They cannot allow workplace misunderstandings to cause them to lose focus. Teachers also need to strive to develop and maintain professional relationships with learners based on the best interest of those learners. This can only be done by continuous personal professional learning and development. Professional educators should develop themselves as lifelong learners, reflective thinkers, and ethical leaders exemplifying the ideals of literacy, scholarship, and social justice in a diverse and ever-changing world (Albee & Piveral, 2003). Teacher must strive to know their subject matter from an informed and objective perspective, and encourage learners to think critically about the subject area and then apply these critical aspects of learning to significant social issues. Teachers must be able to provide for the varied learning needs of diverse learners, while promoting the physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual wellbeing of learners. However, the confidentiality of information about learners obtained in the course of professional service must be protected, while fulfilling legal requirements.

The reality is that once student commitment is upheld, the commitment to the profession and to the society is rarely breeched. In achievement of their obligations to the teaching profession, teachers must strive to advance the interests of the teaching profession through responsible ethical practice, respect colleagues, working together to promote students’ learning, respect private information on colleagues unless disclosure is required by the law or serves a influential professional use, and speak out if the behaviour of a colleague is seriously in breach of professional conduct. Yet, the ethical /moral dimensions of teaching and the ethical nature of the teacher’s professional responsibilities often seem to be taken for granted in both the academy and the practitioner communities, overshadowed by cognitive theories connected to teaching and learning, effective approaches to measurement and assessment, classroom management strategies, and other aspects that, while naturally important, are rarely viewed from a moral or ethical perspective (Campbell, 1996b). The quality of the teaching profession influences the nation and its citizens. Teachers must exert every effort to maintain and raise professional standards, to promote a climate that encourages the exercise of professional judgement in the teaching and learning process.

Many teachers think that teaching is a simple task that can be accomplished with minimal effort. It requires hard, consistent work each day. However if workplace tension exist, it drains the teachers energy and agitates unprofessional behaviour. Teachers must emotionally commit to their subject matter and their students (Kelly, 2000). However when workplace tensions go unresolved it challenges the teaching and learning process. Many teachers will not find teaching a rewarding experience at this time. Nevertheless, while these experiences are made up of what you bring to the profession it should not be overlooked that negatives experienced at the workplace will only escalate and spiral into poor work ethic and lead to unproductiveness  in the teaching profession. Managing workplace tension must be fixed by supervisors and administrators. This is a critical skill if an organization is to survive and if teachers are to deliver maximum productivity.Teachers must however be able to take the best from all situations, whether positive or negative and use these opinions and criticisms constructively. It is therefore important that each teacher make a concerted effort to constantly evaluate him or herself objectively.