This blog was originally published on Oct. 6, 2021, and updated with new information on Oct. 3, 2024.
Working with children is one of the most rewarding careers you can have. But the stress factor is real, for you and your team.
If you own a child care center, you probably work long hours, expend an incredible amount of energy every day and are constantly exposed to germs. And we haven’t even talked about the normal struggles associated with owning a business, such as managing finances and hiring staff.
Let’s take a look at four ways to help you and your staff avoid burnout and fully enjoy work, which will help you build a better business in the process. And building a better business is one of the best ways to reduce your stress levels, too!
1. Prioritize Clear Communication
Ready to reduce stress for your daycare staff? Learn to communicate effectively.
Good communication is essential to the success of your child care business. Without it, your teachers will fail to meet your expectations, leading to misunderstandings and frustration for all involved.
Set aside time to talk to your staff. Ask them how they’re doing. Make them feel valued. Get their opinions on your business. What do they think you can do better? Bring them into your world so that they understand your vision and can help you achieve it.
When your team knows what you expect of them and how to accomplish it, their stress levels will naturally go down. So work hard to become an all-star communicator.
2. Recognize Your Staff For Good Work
Maintaining a qualified and dedicated staff are key factors that contribute to the overall success of a center. The 2024 Child Care Management Software Industry Trends Report from Procare Solutions found that 61% of respondents said it’s a challenge to hire and retain staff.
Stressed staff are more likely to leave to find another job. And the report shows that staffing shortages are affecting centers in multiple ways:
Your employees have worked really hard to help you build a thriving child care center. Let them know how much you appreciate their efforts! Doing so will lower your staff turnover rate, which helps you save money. It will also reduce your team’s stress levels.
Ideas for employee recognition include buying lunch for your team every once in a while to thank them for their dedication or sending handwritten notes when teachers go above and beyond the call of duty to help you out.
If you really want to dive into employee recognition, institute a teacher of the month award and recognize the contributions of one of your teachers once a month.
We all need recognition. When we don’t receive it, we get angry, feel devalued and experience stress. Recognize your employees on a regular basis so that they don’t feel these kinds of feelings.
3. Encourage Wellness
Exercise and healthy eating habits are two of the best ways to combat stress.
Exercise decreases stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, according to Harvard. It’s also been shown to produce endorphins, which are natural mood boosters. And healthy diets reduce oxidation, inflammation and weight gain.
Most people want to live a healthy lifestyle. Life just has a funny habit of getting in the way. Help your team improve their health and reduce stress by encouraging wellness. As your staff gains confidence, they’ll start to view stressful situations as challenges to overcome instead of threats to avoid.
Here are some ideas to encourage your staff to take better care of themselves:
- Provide healthy snacks for your daycare employees
- Offer to pay for each employee’s gym membership
- Hire a yoga instructor to teach on Saturday mornings
- Host a friendly steps contest between teachers (fitness trackers required)
For more ideas, check out our blog with five ideas to keep your child care center’s staff healthy!
And educate your staff on the different kinds of stress so that they can identify which they are feeling and take appropriate action. There are two kinds you need to be aware of:
- Bad Stress: Feelings of apprehension, irritation and a lack of energy.
- Good Stress: Feelings of excitement, focus and motivation.
Bad stress can be changed into good stress by viewing the potential benefits of a given situation instead of the drawbacks and taking time to be grateful for the things we have.
For example, if a team member is experiencing bad stress after dealing with a screaming child, have a sit down with them. Then go over the benefits of the situation: “Yes, little Johnny threw a tantrum, but you handled it really well and turned it into a great learning experience!”
4. Invest in Software
Stress is often the result of an oversized workload. Software can take much of the burden from that workload. Using software can help centers identify key needs in staffing ratios and compliance, view historical trends reports and determine areas for improvement in hiring and retention processes.
With Procare, your child care center can easily keep track of staff information, including availability/scheduling, immunization records, background checks and additional details of employment.
This makes it easy to build a network of qualified child care providers that can be accessed to fill full-time roles or to substitute for a full-time staff member who is sick or absent. Procare also helps streamline staff management activities such as time cards, payroll and calculating benefit hours.
Child care administrators can use the Procare child care mobile app to communicate directly with staff members about scheduling changes, new policies and procedures as well as initiatives to improve operations and safety at the center.
By using daycare software, you can manage child-to-staff ratios while helping your staff do their jobs more easily, which reduces their stress and lessens the chance of burnout.
Download this free infographic to learn how child care management software from Procare can help address challenges in child care staffing and join us for a personalized demo to get your questions answered!
