Worried about young people after work hours? Here are some strategies that might help.
Do you find yourself worrying about young people after hours? Do you get to the weekend and find yourself thinking about their situation? This article is for you!
It is not uncommon for professionals in education, social work, and youth work settings to feel emotionally attached to the outcomes for the young people in their care.
But, it should not be disrupting your sleep, taking away from your energy, or intruding on your thoughts on the weekends.
Here are some strategies that helped me manage my worry, that might help you manage yours.
Acknowledge what you’ve already done
I start by asking myself the following questions:
“What is the professional role I play for this young person?”
“What have I done for them today/this week that sits inside my role?”
These questions help to remind us about the role we play in the young person’s life, the limits of our professional relationship, and to step back and see how much we have already done. When we’re overwhelmed, it can feel like we have not done enough, even when we have.
Create yourself a checklist
If you want to dive a little deeper into the two questions above, it can be useful to write (or mentally make) a checklist of all the things that could support this young person that are possible (and professional) within your role. Your checklist might include things like:
having a check-in conversation with the young person,
scheduling a care team meeting,
calling a guardian,
making a referral to a service,
asking a leader for advice,
making a child protection report,
providing them with a safe relationship etc.
Review the checklist
Look at the list and ask yourself:
“Have I done everything I (professionally) can?”
You likely have and any further worry or overthinking will not change the outcome for the young person. If you can see there is something more you can do, you now know which step to take next before completing your list.
Once you have created a list like this, you can keep it and use it next time you’re supporting a young person through a challenging experience or when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
Be intentional in how you finish work for the day
Consider creating a ritual or a routine to symbolise the end of your work day or work week. Using a ritual can help us consciously transition from professional time to personal time.
Examples of end of day rituals include:
a check-out question or conversation with colleagues
“What went well (and why)”
turn off work devices,
remove work clothes,
wash the day away with a shower or swim,
get outside,
use some movement,
play a particular song etc.
Support your wellbeing with Wagtail Institute
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We work alongside leaders, teachers, and practitioners to respond to wellbeing challenges, enhance trauma-informed practice, and navigate pathways to healing.
We are currently supporting teams with their staff wellbeing for 2024. If you are curious about what this could look like in your setting, schedule a free consult call or zoom meeting with Megan.
