'I'm So Tired and Have No Time for My Family': The Consequences of Heavy Workload in Principalship.

This paper explores the personal and organizational consequences of the heavy workload in the principalship in our neoliberal era in education, and thereby fills the gap in theoretical knowledge concerning principal workload. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 principals from the elementary and secondary educational systems of Israel. The analysis followed the principles of qualitative research. Several consequences of principal workload were found, such as unclear boundaries between work and leisure time, a lack of time for the principal's family, a sense of fatigue and stress, negative attitudes towards the workplace, and a sense of losing control at work. Yet, some principals highlighted positive consequences such as self-fulfillment deriving from their work intensity. Principal preparation programs ought to contain debates about principal workload and its actual and potential implications rather than to ignore it and, instead, idealize principalship. [ABSTRACT FROM