How to value yourself
Every day, we hear of situations where members feel over worked and under recognized. The discussion starts with a request to be reclassified but ends with finding ways to be properly respected. A common assumption that if you work harder, it will be recognized and rewarded is an absolute myth and dangerous to your health. Don’t buy into the rhetoric that working excessive hours is the only answer. The excuse that there is no money for additional staff, is not written in stone. We have heard it said that HR can work a salaried position as many hours as they want. Although it may be legal, it is highly unadvised. This is antiquated thinking that is destructive to mental and physical health, dangerous to those around us, a primary cause of low staff retention, as well as negatively affecting our students’ success.
How do we move forward? Through self-value, self-care, and self-growth. Let’s start with recognizing your own skills. The APA represents a little over 3,000 support staff positions involving more than 300 unique classifications. Although sometimes invisible, every one of us is important to our students and their families. We are the Subject Matter Experts (SME) in our field. Your skills are of critical value to your department and how that department supports students. If they succeed, we have done well and the rest will follow due to that success. There will be doubters but do not accept biased opinions and respect yourself for that value that you bring.
You need to recognize and practice self-care through a work life balance. Don’t put off your own care issues for some time in the future. Know how to set healthy, respectful boundaries and if you don’t know, contact your union. We are here to help and support you. Consider self-growth through continued professional development. We often hear concerns with the lack of promotion opportunities. Part of that involves keeping our skills current. Promotions are not based solely on seniority but on skill growth. If this is intimidating, use your resources. Having skilled partners is essential and that is what your union is for. Our goals are to engage, educate and empower you for your future. Know your advocacy team and start moving forward, together.
