It’s hard to fight against burnout, especially if your well-being is already suffering. So, we think it’s great that this Redditor’s wife refused to work outside her paid work hours any longer!
Doing One’s Best
It’s normal to want to do your best at work. Sometimes, people even go above and beyond, trying to excel and help.
Burnout Hits
However, once you are already suffering from burnout, you must get out immediately! If not, you’ll cause even more damage to your well-being and mental health.
This will then lead to unproductivity.
OP’s Wife
This is precisely what happened to OP’s (Original Poster) wife, a fifth-grade English teacher in DC.
OP said, “She’s been dealing with burnout.”
Scaling Back
So, after OP’s wife talked to him, her union representative, and her therapist, she decided to scale back the amount of work she’d been doing for her school.
She previously put in additional work after her paid hours. So, it was time to put a stop to it.
Her Assistant Principal
However, today, OP’s wife’s assistant principal met with her for two hours after classes. They were set to discuss OP’s recent performance.
Do More Work!
His wife’s assistant principal claimed that his wife had to do an additional 20+ hours of work every week! Keep in mind that this was 20+ unpaid hours!
They’re Suffering
He also tried guilt-tripping OP’s wife by saying that her students were “suffering” because she only worked during her paid work hours.
Nonsense!
His wife’s assistant principal’s claim didn’t make sense for OP.
He said, “This profession is toxic. Stay away.”
Redditors’ Opinions
Community members agreed with OP that some professions, like teaching, are indeed toxic.
One said, “The ‘Calling’ Doctrine messed up teaching so badly. Any profession that gets turned into a ‘calling’ becomes a profession where they intend to exploit the s*** out of you, and teaching is horrible for it. I can’t wait to get out.” Another Redditor said, “Yep. Since it’s a ‘calling,’ they expect the reward of helping others to be the only reward.”
It Might Be “A Gender Thing”
Other users noted that something like this is usually seen in female-dominated professions.
“I recently saw that this happens so much with ‘woman-dominated’ professions because they’re seen as more nurturing and caring and can be manipulated easier due to that. Not that it doesn’t happen to men also, but I think gender is a big factor,” noted one woman.
It’s Not Just Teachers Who Are Exploited
People also brought up other professions wherein employees experience burnout because of their employers’ exploitation.
A Redditor wrote, “It’s the same for social workers and mental health clinicians. In any job where people are internally motivated to help others, employers see that as a way to not externally motivate them through commensurate wages.” Another person agreed and said, “Any and all publicly paid services are treated as callings except being a politician.”
We Feel Bad for Teachers
Other users share OP’s wife’s pain. It’s evident in their statements that something in the system must be changed!
One said, “Teachers are insanely overworked and underpaid. Even a ‘lazy’ teacher is still putting in at least 50 hours a week for pay that often rivals working retail. Some people argue, ‘But they get the summer off,’ but that doesn’t even come close to making up for it, especially since many teachers need a summer job to make ends meet the rest of the year. Or may even have a year-round second job. It’s insane. We are so screwed.”
Let the System Collapse
People even suggest going the extreme route and just “letting the system collapse.”
This Redditor suggested, “The best thing people can do that haven’t already spent years of their life becoming teachers is to simply not. This country, to varying degrees, treats teachers like s***. The amount of money the average teacher spends on their classroom is way more than the stupid $250 limit on write-offs. The pay in many areas is disgusting. Kids and parents are allowed to abuse them with little to no protection from the teachers. And the ones who are already teachers should cap spending at $250 and, like your wife, only work during work hours. Let the system collapse. Maybe then they will take teachers seriously.”
Capitalism Destroys Everything
Some users also brought up how capitalism plays into everything.
“Capitalism is killing the joy and self-worth of important social good professions like teachers, nurses, doctors, and professors. Even salary scientific positions will grind the joy out of you. Bosses seem to think salary means a minimum of 40 even if you can complete the job in less time or work from home. They’ll grind us down and milk every ounce of labor out of us whether it’s salary or hourly or contract,” noted one man. Then, one replied, “And yet every corporate job I’ve ever had, there are people being paid obscene amounts of money to basically do nothing.”
What do you think of this issue? What should change?
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This post first appeared as An Assistant Principal Told a 5th-Grade Teacher That Her Students Were “Suffering” After She Refused to Work an Extra 20+ Unpaid Hours Weekly on Quote Ambition.
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