Background
Wellness is a priority in Grasslands Public Schools. Across our school division we are taking a healthier approach to the increasing demands of emails and texts. Grasslands 6 to 7 is about honouring the personal time of parents, families, students and staff. We believe after-hours activities should include rest, exercise, time with family/friends, and other work/life responsibilities.
Definitions
Disconnecting from Work - means not engaging in non-essential work-related communications including emails and texting, or the sending/receiving of other messages.
Grasslands 6 to 7 – refers to anytime between the hours of 6:00 am to 7:00 pm, Monday to Friday. This does not include weekends, holidays, and if applicable any other Board-designated non-working days. If an employee's normal working hours fall outside of the hours noted above or require an employee to be available for after-hour emergencies, these hours would be adjusted accordingly.
Procedures
Employees are encouraged to send work-related and non-emergency emails and text messages between the hours of 6 am to 7 pm on weekdays and not at all on weekends, holidays and other Board-designated non-working days.
Staff absences, substitute staff requests, urgent and/or emergency situations may require exceptions for emails and text messages to be sent outside of these hours.
Teachers may choose to continue communicating with parents outside of these hours if that is the best time to connect. We would ask parents to support a next-day response to non-emergency emails and text messages.
Checking and/or reading emails and text messages outside of the 6 am to 7 pm limits is at the discretion of the employee.
Staff can choose to draft emails or text messages outside of the 6 am to 7 pm limits but need to use schedule send functions in email or leave them in draft format until the day-time hours.
If an employee continually receives emails or text messages outside of the 6 am to 7 pm timelines, the employee can respectfully discuss their concerns with the individual sending the messages. If issues continue the employee can report circumstances to their principal/manager/supervisor and ask for support.
Frequently Asked Questions (Adapted from Chinook's Edge School Division)
- What if I have an urgent matter or an emergency that I need to discuss with my administrator, my supervisor, a colleague, or parent? Please call them. We recognize there are times when those in leadership positions need to be accessed. We just ask that you consider the importance and urgency.
- When did this start in Grasslands? Our pilot started in 2019 and has been part of our wellness focus ever since. We still need to remind all staff to do their part, but we are pleased with the progress we are making.
- Are there other organizations who have limited times for electronic communications? Yes, This is becoming a more common approach in business and other school divisions. The province of Ontario passed legislation (Bill 27) that requires employers with 25 or more people on staff to have policies that outline how employees can disconnect.
- As an educator, my days are busy. Sometimes after I help my students, my own family, and my community, late evenings are the only time I can read my emails. Are you telling me I can't work late at night? No. We are just asking you not to invite others to join you by sending them emails/texts until the next morning.
- I've always called parents in the evening because it's the best time to reach them. Need I change this practice? No, not at all. We imagine that teachers will need to l continue to call parents as they have done in the past. This initiative only relates to emails/texts.
- Will we ask parents to try this approach as well? Yes, we will provide an overview for parents/guardians, and it will be on our website. It is important that we refrain from sending parents evening and weekend emails/texts as well. We believe it is reasonable for us to let our parents know that we've asked our staff to limit emailing/texting to weekdays until 7 p.m.
- Won't eliminating after-hours emails/texts reduce our effectiveness? No. In fact, we believe (and research suggests) that it could increase our effectiveness as it will help us work healthier and smarter. It's a matter of staff wellness. When staff get rest, exercise, family time, and their other important work done, they will be better equipped to for the next workday.
- What about emails/texts during summer, Christmas, and Easter breaks? We'd ask staff to use their discretion and take steps to limit emails during these times as well. However, given that the school division continues work during weekdays throughout these breaks, it is reasonable to expect some emails on weekdays prior to 7 p.m., but division office staff will take steps to dramatically reduce the volume to school-based staff.
- I send emails in the evenings and on weekends to get the items off of my plate. Are there ways I can still get this stuff off my plate? Yes, you can still draft your responses to the emails after hours, leave them in your draft folder, and then hit 'send' for delivery the following workday. You may also schedule the delivery for day-time hours by clicking on the drop-down arrow and selecting 'Schedule Send'.
If you need help with managing your email, please feel free to reach out to a colleague who might have practices to share.
- Why is sending a morning email more desirable than sending an evening email from the previous night? The morning email will not disrupt the sleep of your colleagues. The evening email might.
- If everyone holds their emails until the morning for delivery, won't we just have the same number of emails in our inbox when we get to work? We don't think so. Other school divisions and companies who have tried this have experienced a decreased use of email. We believe that we will start to think differently about email, communication, and planning. In short, we are thinking it's worth a try.
- If a colleague continues to regularly send me emails/texts after hours, what should I do? Choose not to respond after hours. If it continues, just let them know you are trying to 'unplug' and take care of your own health and wellness. And if we all give this a try, it might just help. If it still is an issue, seek the help of your supervisor, principal or manager.
- Will some staff still email/text after hours as part of their roles? Yes, for example, custodial staff and the rest of our Facilities Services team are often working in the evenings and/or on weekends to ensure our schools are clean, safe, and ready for our students. After-hours communication may still be required as part of their roles. In addition, we have maintenance and supervisory staff who will continue to be accessible by phone in case of an emergency call out.
- What if I need to let my principal, VP or supervisor know I will need a substitute the next morning and it is after 7 pm at night? We recognize emergency or short notice sub bookings need to occur. With the move to the automated dispatch system, we anticipate fewer emails and texts regarding sub booking. If there is a need to contact your administrator or supervisor, we recommend phone calls as this confirms receipt of your message and ensures school administration or supervisors know all the details.
- I use Google classroom to assess student work. My comments/feedback automatically get emailed to my students. Do I need to stop this practice? No, we expect the assessment of student work in Google Classroom to continue.
- Are there additional 'emailing/texting promising practices'? Yes:
- Avoid Technology When Emotions are High - Emails/texts should not be used when we are angry, frustrated, upset, disappointed, or wanting to correct someone's behavior. When employees are upset, they should talk to each other directly. Emails/texts are highly likely to make matters worse.
- Turn Off Notifications and Badges - staff really doesn't benefit from seeing the bright red number "18" beside the email icon on her mobile device.
- Consider a Face-to-Face Conversation - For regular work-related interactions and questions, consider a face to face conversation. It is the best way to interact. Save texting for a last resort.
- Set Up Clear Expectations and Boundaries for Parents - Many of our teachers or other staff set up effective and reasonable communication plans with their students' parents. As a result, our teachers/staff find ways to be responsive professionals without generating around the clock accessibility expectations for parents/students. Specifically, teachers/staff should talk to their principal/supervisor before making the decision to share their personal cell phone number with parents and students.
- Prepare Weekly Updates Before the Weekend - Many schools use Weekly Update documents to keep staff informed. A practice that has proven to help staff "unplug" is to prepare and distribute the weekly update on the last day of the previous week or first thing Monday morning instead of making it a weekend activity.
- Be Patient in Allowing Others to Respond - We've slowly built up an expectation that email should be responded to within a few hours. This is unrealistic in a school division because our staff are busy working with students during the day. A more reasonable expectation might be to receive a response by the end of the next workday.
- Avoid Replying to All & unnecessary CC's - Unless there is a very important and specific purpose, we should avoid hitting the 'Reply to All' or 'CC' button because it simply creates additional work for others to read non-essential information.