DEALING WITH STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE
One of the unique and rewarding aspects of your job is that you are able to enter someone else’s home and have a positive influence. The other side of that coin, however, is that when you enter someone else’s home in order to conduct business, you are often exposed to more personal circumstances than you may be prepared to deal with. It is no secret that these are difficult times for many people. Many of you are seeing families dealing with levels of stress that may not have been present in the past. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to constantly be exposed to stressful situations without eventually being affected by them.
DON'T WORRY ABOUT THINGS IN WHICH YOU HAVE NO CONTROL
Although it’s often easier said than done, it will help you when you work to differentiate between things you control and things that you do not.
Examine the objectives of your visit. What do you and your employer expect you to accomplish while in the home?
Focus on your purpose and work on ways to enhance your skills so that your visits are productive.
In the course of your visits it is possible to be compassionate and yet maintain appropriate professional boundaries? You are not in a position to fix a provider’s marital or relationship problems.
For example, you are not not in a position to negotiate with a provider’s mortgage company. If you have knowledge of resources that a provider may find helpful and you choose to share them, that’s fine, however do not take ownership of someone else’s problem.
It’s also important to remember when sharing resource information that you don’t create an ethical dilemma for yourself such as referring your brother-in-law, who happens to be an attorney.
Why should a provider’s stress level affect you at all?
Generally, your job when monitoring a family child care home is to assess a provider’s ability to offer quality child care. Your assessment is an area where you do have some control. If a provider’s stress level is adversely affecting her ability to provide adequate child care your assessment is an important factor for the well -being of the children in that home.
Feeling empathy for a provider’s position is appropriate. It is not appropriate, however, to make excuses or simply look the other way if your observations tell you that the environment is unsuitable for child care.
If this should occur, talk with your supervisor. Sharing well documented information with the appropriate individual can be very helpful in reducing your stress and developing an appropriate plan.