b'FEATURED ARTICLEWhile the year posed many challenges, it also providedEventhoughonlinelearningwasablessingformany a unique opportunity to recalibrate a focus on wellbeing.during COVID-19 and 52% of Australians believe education Schoolsthatcantakethisfocusonwellbeingandwill be delivered more online in the future, the sentiment of build it into the culture will make a positive impact onmany students and teachers is that they looked forward to themselves and their staff. This approach might translategoing back to school. While Zoom helped connect people, to encouraging people to take regular breaks from work,many suffered from Zoom fatigue and missed interacting finishontime,drawhealthyboundariesorprioritisewithfriendsandcolleaguesinperson.Theseattitudes aspects that make their work enjoyable and sustainable.highlightthatworkplacesandplacesofeducationare more than just somewhere we go to learnthey are key pathways to social interaction, connection and belonging.Regularlyremindyourself(andyour team) of the organisations purposeThose who invest in their school community make it a more enjoyable place and experience for other leaders, Rather than viewing work as a separate part of life, orteachers, parents and students. simply an obstacle to overcome, work is an important and significant part of our life. After all, people work for moreRemember that work wellbeing is key than just remuneration. According to our national survey,to the future of work63% said work is extremely/very important to a having a sense of purpose. Workers also said work is extremely or very important to developing them as a person (59%),In our survey of Australian workers, we asked about what making a difference in the lives of others (58%), betteringtrends will most impact the future of work. Of the seven society and the world (55%) and contributing to a sense offactors we tested, mental health and stress of workers community and belonging (54%).wastheonemostworkersbelievedwouldhavethe mostsignificantimpact(62%).Thisfactorratedabove Today people see less differentiation between work-lifedemographictrends(55%)thephysicalworkspaceand and out-of-work-life, or ones job and ones personal values.whereworkwillbedone(55%),sectorsdisappearing In response, leaders who can regularly communicate the(52%), computerisation of robotics (52%), global workforce organisations purpose to themselves and others will likelytrends (46%) and the gig economy (41%).be more motivated and inspired to do their best work. So, if youre an educator feeling exhausted from a big year Invest in the school community know that thats OK and take the necessary time to invest in your own wellbeing. This recovery could simply take the form of getting better (or more!) sleep, speaking with While there are many benefits to remote working such assomeone about the challenges you are facing, investing the resulting time savings (no commute), cost savings (oninyourphysicalorspiritualhealthortakingamuch-travel and lunches out), and better work-life integration, ourneeded break from work. Its OK to prioritise your personal national research showed that there are also challenges.wellbeingits not only key to your own future but for the Thesechallengesincludetheblurringofboundaries,wellbeing of those around you. Bringing our best self to social isolation and less opportunities for collaboration.work is one of the greatest gifts we can give to ourselves and our colleagues, students and our community.6 0 FACE 2 FACE MAGAZINE'