On the 10th of December, more than 40 participants (school pupils, parents, school administration) from 6 schools took part in the multipliers event in Tbilisi.

Participants shared their experiences from the previous activity and got acquainted with the project’s outcomes.

We want to thank the following schools for participating in the event.

Public school 177

Public school 182

Public school 46

School Kandidi

School AIA-GESS

School Progress

Special thanks to school AIA-GESS for hosting the event.

Local actions done by schools

Between the 20th and 30th of November, dozens of school pupils and school administration members of 6 schools implemented local actions in Tbilisi. They carried out activities according to the scenarios developed within the project and cleaned up different areas in the city.

We want to thank the following schools involved in the action.

Public school 177

Public school 182

Public school 46

School Kandidi

School AIA-GESS

School Progress

Today, Umbrella wants to share some insights from Christina Maslach, an influential psychologist who has extensively studied burnout and developed strategies to prevent it.

Provide autonomy and control: Giving employees a sense of autonomy and control over their work can help prevent burnout. Also, involve employees in decision-making, allow flexibility in work schedules, and encourage self-evaluation and reflection.

Enhance job resources and support: she emphasizes the importance of sufficient job resources, such as training, tools, and support, to prevent burnout. Providing employees with the necessary resources to perform their roles effectively can alleviate stress.

Manage workload and time pressure: Maslach highlights the role of workload and time pressure. Managers should aim to balance workload, set realistic deadlines, and avoid excessive time pressure to prevent burnout.

Promote meaningful work: Maslach suggests that finding meaning and purpose in work can protect against burnout. Employers can enhance employees’ sense of importance by clarifying job roles & expectations, highlighting the positive impact of their work, and recognizing & appreciating their contributions.

Support personal growth and development: Encouraging employees to pursue professional development opportunities, providing mentorship programs, and offering skills-building opportunities can help prevent burnout and enhance well-being.

Expert advice, country experiences and other content from this project: https://cutt.ly/SwWgW9MK

The project is supported by the European Commission within the scope of the Erasmus+ program.

Today, Umbrella is back with burnout tips and hacks from Arianna Huffington, a well-known author, speaker, and businesswoman who co-founded “The Huffington Post” and is a vocal advocate for improving well-being and achieving work-life balance.

Here are some of her insights:

Prioritize sleep: Huffington emphasizes the importance of getting enough restorative sleep to recharge and enhance overall well-being. She suggests creating a relaxing bedtime routine and removing electronic devices from the bedroom.

Set boundaries: Establishing boundaries between work and personal life is crucial. Huffington advises turning off work-related notifications and taking breaks during the day to do something unrelated to work, such as going for a walk or engaging in a hobby.

Delegate and ask for help: To avoid overwhelming yourself, learn to delegate tasks and ask for help when needed. Recognize that you can’t do everything alone and that relying on a support network is essential.

Practice gratitude and appreciation: Cultivating a sense of gratitude and appreciation for the good things in life can foster well-being and resilience. Huffington suggests starting a gratitude journal and reflecting on three daily things you are grateful for.

Nourish your body with healthy habits: Paying attention to your nutrition, staying hydrated, and avoiding excessive caffeine or alcohol can be vital in maintaining energy levels and overall well-being.

Foster social connections: Building meaningful relationships and connections is vital for our happiness and resilience. Huffington advises spending time with loved ones and nurturing friendships to combat burnout.

Expert advice, country experiences and other content from this project: https://cutt.ly/SwWgW9MK

The project is supported by the European Commission within the scope of the Erasmus+ program.

Umbrella is back with updates about burnout and solutions. Today, we decided to bring some wonderful thoughts expressed by Steve Jobs!

While he did not explicitly provide advice on burnout, he did emphasise the importance of finding passion and purpose in your work. Here are some tips inspired by Steve Jobs’ approach that can help prevent and manage burnout:

Pursue your passion: Jobs believed in doing work that you love. Find what truly excites you and align your career with it. When you are genuinely passionate about your work, it can help prevent burnout by providing intrinsic motivation.

Set clear goals: Create specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. This framework gives you a clear direction and focus, minimising overwhelm and burnout.

Prioritize meaningful work: Jobs focused on a few important things rather than trying to do everything. Identify and prioritise the tasks or projects that have the most impact, ensuring you are dedicating your energy to meaningful work.

Delegate and seek support: Trust and delegate tasks to capable team members whenever possible. By relying on others, you can reduce your workload and avoid reaching a point of burnout. Seek support from colleagues or mentors who can provide guidance and assistance.

Embrace innovation and change: Jobs was known for his constant pursuit of innovation and willingness to embrace change. Be open to new ideas, technologies, and approaches. Embracing change can help keep your work fresh and exciting, preventing monotony and burnout.

Remember,while these tips are inspired by Steve Jobs, personalising them is important based on your circumstances and needs. Each individual’s experience with burnout may vary, so listen to your mind and body and adapt these tips accordingly.

Today’s burnout expert is Irina Hakamada – a well-known political activist, journalist, teacher, publicist, and politician.

According to Irina, firstly, one has to define the problem. In the case of burnout, we usually confuse it with clinical depression or lack of implementation when a person hasn’t found himself yet and has no idea what to start. One may feel stress and tiredness, but definitely, he is tired of himself and his idleness.

These can be solved in a complex way. Almost as in the proverb: “… the main desire” and the possibility will appear.

Burnout problems can be solved using instruments related to conscious and subconscious states of mind. One has to learn to achieve balance while communicating with others to avoid energy loss and negative vibes, when and how to be involved in social life to earn money and when to take time and concentrate on himself.

What can burn? Anything that can light up. And what can we light up in a person? Physical, emotional, and intellectual energies must be maintained by reading books, critical thinking, and understanding what is right and wrong for us at a particular moment. “I work hard only when I’m having fun. If I don’t like anything, I won’t do anything. If you don’t enjoy something, you must combine work with laziness to avoid stress and burnout. During the working day, if you feel tired, go outside for five minutes, walk, and look at the sky. Now you are “switched”! You’re driving a car, turn on the music, ‘switched”! Arrived home; stop discussing what happened at work! Sit in the bath, turn on the TV, and you will feel better. Guys, don’t forget about laziness!”- says the business coach.

We took part in the LTTA in Norway

18-22 September, in the city of Bergen, within the project “Teachers Burn-out”, a study visit to the local school was held.

Participants discussed the project’s progress and learned about the Norwegian approaches against teachers burnout in the educational syste

We back with unusual ways to slow down and deal with burnout.

🔥 Recognise that passion makes you more vulnerable to burnout

In the self-help classic, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, Robin Sharma writes: “A burning sense of passion is the most potent fuel of your dreams”. You’ve heard it before – if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day. 🗣But at the same time, entrepreneurs are no strangers to this. This explains why the term ‘entrepreneurial burnout’ has been coined and attributed to a mistaken belief that following your passion means sacrificing everything at hand.😓

👉 David Whiteside, who holds a PhD in organisational behaviour, explains: “Despite the clear benefits of feeling meaningfully connected to your work, our data suggests that there are often real and undiscussed complications of purpose-driven work on employees’ health that can be related to the experience of burnout long-term”.

💭 Embrace ‘niksen’ (the Dutch art of doing nothing)

Niksen – doing something without a purpose, like sitting still, daydreaming or staring out the window. It’s forcing your mind to be idle, to have no intentions.

📃 In her article for Forbes, The Fastest Way to be More Productive is to Slow Down, Amy Blaschka writes: “Research has found that when we’re idle, we allow our minds to wander. And that daydreaming makes us more creative, better at problem-solving and better at coming up with creative ideas”.

✍️ She continues: “Our culture does not promise sitting still, and that can have wide-reaching consequences for our mental health…Practising niksen can recharge our batteries”.🔋👍

Recognise burnout as a workplace problem, not a people problem, author and workplace expert Jennifer Moss suggests a good place to start: “First, ask yourself as a leader, what is making my staff so unhealthy? Why does our work environment lack the conditions for them to flourish?”.👩‍💼