Promoting a Psychologically Healthy Workplace Culture and Climate

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Promoting a Psychologically Healthy Workplace
Culture and Climate

• Kingston and District School

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School Motto-Breathing Life into the Words

• Caring
• Courtesy
• Cooperation

• Seek to espouse and embody this motto in
  interactions with and between
• Students
• Students family members
• Staff
• Community members
• Other professionals, agencies, organizations

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Components of a Psychologically Healthy Culture
and Climate

• Safety
• physical and psychological
• Trust
• at the interpersonal and system levels
• Control
• balance of independence and interdependence
• Self- and Other-Esteem
• sense of valuing and being valued
• Supportive Level of Intimacy
• neither over-engaged nor disengaged

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Psychologically Healthy Interactions

• Inclusiveness and Involvement
• Collegiality
• Collaboration
• Consultation
• Participatory Decision-Making
• administrators, support staff, custodial staff,
  bus drivers, cafeteria workers, classroom and
  specialist teachers, library technician,
  educational assistants, student supervisors,
  parent volunteers, Home and School, families,
  students, external agencies and organizations

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Cultural Framework

• Administrative team (principal and VP)
• Weekly staff meetings
• Committee work
• Grade level teams
• Student program planning teams
• School Success Plan
• Comprehensive Guidance and Counselling Program
• Regular site, district, and other PD

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Staff Committees Contributing to School Culture
and Climate

• Occupational Health and Safety
• Comprehensive Guidance and Counselling Program
  (CGCP) Advisory
• Peace
• Dialogues on Diversity
• Positive Effective Behavioural Strategies (PEBS)
• Crisis Response
• Social
• Public Relations

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Student Committees Contributing to School
Culture and Climate

• Peace
• Peer Mediators
• Photo
• Playground Monitors
• Hall Helpers
• Cafeteria Helpers
• Security

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Culture-Enhancing Ideology

• Negligible sense of hierarchy among staff
• Balance of autonomy and teamwork
• Compassionate discipline with emphasis on
  peaceful conflict resolution
• Emphasis on self- and family-care
• Prizing of individuals and valuing of input
  whether from students, families, or staff
• Climate of gentleness, humour, and optimism

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Promoting a Welcoming Facility

• Thematic display cases (sunflowers and bears,
  snowmen, Spring Fling promotion, etc.)
• Colorful bulletin boards and displays outside
  classrooms
• Inspirational posters throughout school
• Cozy touches to classrooms, library, offices, and
  staff room with plants, lamps, carpets,
  fountains, pictures, aquariums, class pets
• Memorial garden at entrance to school

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Inculcation of School Culture- Passing the
Baton

• Weekly staff get-togethers over summer break for
  brunch, lunch
• Staff parties and activities throughout year
• Potluck lunches on early dismissal days
• Coffee, muffins, and snacks at staff meetings and
  in-services
• Word bouquet board with notes of appreciation,
  congratulations, and praise
• Staff members in halls and outside to say
  good-bye to students each day

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Culture-Enhancing Initiatives

• Monthly Good News Awards Assemblies
• Peaceful Schools International induction
• Kingston School Great Things Graffiti Board
• Caring, Courtesy, and Cooperation symbol contest
• Reaching for Dreams goal-setting bulletin board
  for students and staff
• Reaching out to others in need at school,
  community, and global levels

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Not-So Secret Ingredients of a Psychologically
Healthy Workplace

• Close-knit culture of caring and support
• Celebration of each others accomplishments and
  successes
• Reaching out to each other during times of
  challenge and adversity
• Believing and conveying our conviction that our
  school is a great place to work
• Omnipresent sense of humour

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Fostering Reflection and Intention

• Inspirational and thought-provoking invitational
  challenges written daily on white board at
  juncture of three hallways (just outside the
  library)

• Change the world one act of kindness at a time.

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Front Lobby Chuckles

• Why did the chicken cross the playground?
• To get to the other slide!

• Daily joke or tongue twister on white board just
  inside the lobby (outside the vice-principals
  office)

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Smiles and Inspirations- Washroom Style

• Natural Highs
• Laughing until your face hurts.
• Accidentally overhearing someone saying
  something nice about you.

• Assortment of humorous, inspirational, and
  thought-provoking postings by staff in places
  where people stop to bide a while

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Benefits of Participating in Psychologically
Healthy Workplace Award Process

• Reinforcing nature of engaging in a
  reflective and celebratory process of looking at
  workplace strengths and growth areas
• Exploration and acknowledgement of individual
  and collective contributions
• Bringing to a conscious level our sense of
  accomplishment and fulfillment
• Process serves as reminder to avoid exclusive
  focus on workplace deficits

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Process ApproachElevating the Collective
Pre-conscious

• Explored positive aspects of school culture and
  climate
• at staff meetings
• in small groups of students and staff
• in individual sessions with students and staff
• via staff focus group
• through collective contributions to Kingston and
  District School Great Things Graffiti Board
• on photo board displayed in lobby

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Psychologically Healthy Workplaces- Inherent
Dangers

• Warning
• Be on the alert for those employees who display
  alarmingly elevated levels of motivation,
  enthusiasm, and enjoyment in the workplace. These
  individuals are considered to be highly
  contagious!