Supporting Your Well-Being While Supporting Students
Faculty and staff play a critical role in student success, but this work comes with high demands and emotional labor. Taking care of yourself is essential for maintaining your health, sustaining your effectiveness as an educator, and modeling healthy behaviors for students.Supporting students is meaningful work, but it should not require sacrificing your own well-being.The strategies below highlight practical ways to manage stress, prevent burnout, and engage with campus resources.
Why it matters:
Overextending yourself can lead to stress, exhaustion, and reduced ability to support
students effectively.
Try This:
- Prioritize tasks and focus on what’s within your control.
- Set clear office hours or “availability windows” to protect personal time.
- Learn to say “no,” delay, or delegate when appropriate.
- Take brief breaks during the day to reset and recharge.
Why It Helps:
Boundaries help you maintain energy, reduce stress, and model healthy time management
for students and colleagues.
Why it matters:
Supporting students, especially those in distress, requires emotional energy. Without
intentional care for yourself, emotional labor can accumulate, leading to burnout.
Try This:
- Regularly reflect on your workload and emotional demands.
- Remind yourself that you are not responsible for solving every student problem.
- Engage in peer support with colleagues by sharing strategies and debriefing challenging experiences.
- Incorporate brief stress-relief practices during the day, such as walking, breathing exercises, or mindfulness.
- Recognize signs of burnout early: exhaustion, irritability, or decreased engagement.
Why It Helps:
Monitoring your own emotional well-being prevents burnout, allowing you to remain
present and effective in your teaching and advising roles.
Why it matters:
Students observe how faculty and staff manage stress and self-care. Demonstrating
healthy behaviors reinforces the importance of well-being.
Try This:
- Take and communicate regular breaks.
- Use healthy coping strategies and model them when appropriate (e.g., “I’m stepping away for a brief walk to reset”).
- Set realistic expectations in class and for student assignments.
Why It Helps:
Students learn that self-care is essential, creating a culture where well-being is
normalized and encouraged.
Why it matters:
Knowing your limits helps you maintain balance and prevent long-term negative effects
on health and work quality.
Try This:
- Check in with yourself regularly: “Am I overextended? Do I need support or a reset?”
- Adjust workload or expectations when possible, and ask for help if needed.
- Be mindful of signs of stress, fatigue, or emotional overload.
Why It Helps:
Acknowledging limits allows you to work sustainably and model self-awareness and resilience
to students.
Michigan Tech provides a variety of supports to help faculty and staff maintain well-being:
- William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning – Consultations, workshops, and professional development opportunities for improving teaching and learning.
- Student Affairs Professional Development Committee – Opportunities to develop professional skills, grow in your career, and build connection and belonging.
- Staff Council – Recognition programs, community-building events and monthly open meetings.
- Employee Assistance Program (ESI EAP) –Up to 10 free confidential counseling sessions per year for employees and their dependents per year to support mental health, stress management, and life challenges.
- MTU Wellness 360 – A free, voluntary, and confidential program for benefits-eligible faculty and staff
that provides resources to support physical, emotional, social, and financial well-being
and offers up to $450 in incentives for completing wellness activities.
Prioritizing your well-being is not just beneficial for you, it directly impacts your ability to support students and contribute to a healthy campus community. Using boundaries, monitoring emotional labor, modeling healthy behaviors, and taking advantage of MTU resources helps you sustain your effectiveness, prevent burnout, and foster a culture of well-being for everyone around you. Small, intentional actions over time can have a lasting impact on both your personal and professional well-being.
Quick Self-Check for Educator Well-Being:
- When was the last time I took a real break during the workday?
- Am I carrying emotional stress from student situations?
- Do I have colleagues I can debrief with after difficult conversations?
- Am I maintaining boundaries that support my well-being?