Invisible labour: Principals’ emotional labour in volatile times

My mother died - but due to the situation at the school I was unable to take any time off to grieve for her.

Within the first few weeks of undertaking a new principal role, I was sent an email threatening to explode a bomb in the school that morning.

Some students need things that I cannot provide as a person, or as a school.

The work I did professionally was of a very high standard. But it came at great personal cost.

Having a suicidal person come to you is quite daunting, and so my responses were fuelled by adrenaline. It did impact my thinking for some time.

The father verbally threatened me, and stated if he wasn't satisfied with the outcome I was on notice - he would do something about it.

I took up a position in a school and was greeted as the first female principal in the school’s history. Parents were negative and unwelcoming, staff were equally unwelcoming.

I now take anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication daily.

On the day, I left school about 7:30pm, and just cried to release the pressure.

I learnt a lot about myself and my leadership. It also helped me to realise that there was more to my life than my work.

I started to dread each email, I could feel my stress levels rise each time.

You need to be resilient, you need a lifestyle with other interests in it like I have to be able to escape the whirlwind of thought that sees some spiral into depths of darkness.

The parent became abusive and made death threats via an incessant stream of emails and phone calls over a period of time.

The incident made me feel exhausted, and as though I was everyone's punching bag. It made me question whether it was worth doing the job that I've loved.

I wish people understood how difficult it is to manage the rights of the student and the rights of the teacher.

A staff member I’ve managed for many years continues to make horrible, baseless allegations against my personal character. I feel helpless..