'It's a lonely job': how can we help stressed-out principals? - ABC News

“For a number of years the evidence has been telling us that school principal wellbeing is on the decline. Only last week a principal in Western Australia died at her desk.

It's sad and shocking and it's a very clear reminder of just how much they are suffering.

The research of Associate Professor Philip Riley from the Australian Catholic University's Institute showed that principals are experiencing workplace demands that are 1.5 times higher than the general population.

That makes them subject to higher levels of burnout (1.6 times higher), stress symptoms (1.7 times higher), difficulty sleeping (2.2 times higher), and depressive symptoms (1.3 times higher).

Why, I hear you ask? The answer is complicated but it was the focus of our research.

Without a doubt the workloads of principals have increased exponentially for a multitude of reasons.

The risk-adverse nature of our society means they have more reporting and compliance to do. This ensures that standards are met, that principals are delivering on expectations of students, parents, staff, the community, the department and even of themselves.

However as a service giving profession like nurses, there has been a long-standing view (often held by the principal themselves) that they are required to do all of this in addition to their more publicly perceived role of leading the school.

They have less time to lead, mentor and support staff as well as engage with students, which is the reason they became an educator in the first place.”