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The business of education can feel like a circus at times. Often, mental health for school business leaders can become a lower priority.

When you became a school business manager, you weren’t trying to join the circus, yet you’ve probably felt like you were walking a tightrope (or taming a lion) as you attempt to balance this big, important role every day.

In larger institutions, you may be juggling multiple direct reports, and in smaller schools, you might be expected to move from high-level strategic planning to approving a new canteen menu. Either way, you spend your time working to ensure the staff and students at your school are happy, safe and thriving. 

But through no fault of theirs, those same people often have very little understanding of your role. This adds to your mental load through isolation, misunderstanding and unreasonable requests. How do you maintain energy and enthusiasm for the years to come? it’s important that managers have the right support and tools to go the distance.  

Through our experience partnering with schools, we have identified some ways school business managers can look after their mental health and stay nimble in this challenging yet rewarding career. 

Share the mental load

One of the ways school business leaders manage their stress is by establishing a strong network of peers, mentors and trusted experts. 

The good news is that this doesn’t need to be awkward or uncomfortable. Some business managers avoid getting help because they’re concerned they’ll appear less than capable or feel that people in their organisation don’t understand their position. Or maybe they’ve subscribed to the old saying ‘put your head down and get it done’. 

However, partnering with experts who can suggest solutions can be a powerful way to decompress, clarify your thoughts, re-establish goals and boundaries, reduce isolation and (most importantly) help relieve stress. 

Here are some ways school business managers can use strategic networking to reduce their mental load:
  • Utilise subject matter experts. The good news is that you don’t have to be an expert on everything. Call on a subject matter expert who can suggest solutions based on your unique circumstances - saving you hours of research and trial and error. 

  • Join a business networking or school networking group. Even if it’s not a favourite activity, it’s a great way to build relationships with like-minded professionals, providing the opportunity to talk about your work with people who understand. 

  • Get a coach or mentor. These professionals are valuable for providing perspective and reducing stress as an unbiased ‘sounding board’. 

  • Utilise your school’s mental health support options. Access a third-party counsellor or psychologist or attend mental health training for management professionals. These support services, often provided to staff free, are beneficial for managing ongoing stress, unloading the challenges of your position and reducing isolation.

Optimise your time and capacity

Have you ever wondered “why am I never getting [insert important task here] done?” Do you check emails throughout the day because you’re waiting to put out fires? Do you say ‘yes’ to every request or ‘no’ to every request because you’re overwhelmed? If only you could magically add hours to your day. 

While you might not be a magician, you can create structures, boundaries and processes to reduce stress.

This may be an idea you’ve heard many times, but with the right partners and support systems, boundaries and processes this can be one of the best ways to optimise your time and mental capacity. 

How do you optimise your workload in a demanding management position? Here are a few actions we’ve seen work in a busy education setting:
  • Take a time self-audit. You can’t restructure until you know where all your time is going. Make a note of the regular activities you do each day or week and how much time is devoted to them. Then notice how much time you have left - it might not be much! Empowered with this knowledge, you can begin to assign your time more intentionally by reducing the time allocated to less important tasks and meetings and creating space to do the work you truly want to do. 

  • Create systems that integrate technological solutions to reduce your mental load and the workload of staff. By identifying those time-gobbling activities in your audit, you can integrate systems using automation to dramatically reduce the time allocated to repetitive tasks or low-value work. Offloading these tasks can relieve the workload of your staff, freeing them to assist in higher-level tasks. The flow-on effect is a lighter workload for you and a more effective team. 

  • Build in well-being non-negotiables. In the same way you have prioritised your time at work, it may be useful to take an audit of your time outside of work. This will help you establish some essential well-being non-negotiables, so you can take on your managerial load with ease. 

Integrate technology solutions without the stress   

You’ve probably experienced the frustration of spending hours researching for the right technology only to find it doesn’t integrate with your current programs; or staff complain about having to change or the technology is out of date frustratingly quickly. 

However, when it’s done right, technology solutions can accelerate your school’s efficiency and growth and free up financial and human resources. Keep these principles in mind to make the technology integration process smoother for your school: 
  • Create synergistic ecosystems. In other words, partner with a company that either offers a range of services that integrate with each other (which aids in seamless transitions) or check that a brand ‘plays nice’ with other programs before you move forward.

  • Choose partners who offer timely support and responsive customer service. It might cost a bit more, but having a resource at your fingertips to ask questions or get help will save you hours down the road. 

  • Look for evidence of global leadership and forward thinking. The last thing you want is to accumulate out-of-date technology. If a business partner has a stellar reputation for using proven, leading-edge solutions, and communicates their forward-focused innovation, you’re in the right place.

  • Invest in technology systems that fully cater for the education environment. Schools are unique in themselves and are generally more complex than many small to medium businesses and corporations. Make sure the company you are speaking to has experience in the education space so that you know the new technology will suit your needs.

At FUJIFILM Business Innovation Australia, we offer education solutions built for education business managers to streamline and systemise time-consuming tasks. We want to help your institution transition from legacy systems to effective future-focused technology.

While we can’t give you ten more hours in your day, we can offer innovative technology along with outstanding support services. Here are some of the solutions that are already supporting schools across Australia:

Find out more about solutions for School Business Managers here or complete the form below to speak to one of our education experts

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