The School Business Leader Wellbeing Index 2026 is out, and I'm proud to be in it for another year.
Here's what most people get wrong about SBL burnout:
It isn't the workload. It's the mental load.
Switching between finance, HR, and estates. Holding multiple decisions in your head. Responding to whatever lands next. The pressure isn't the volume of tasks — it's the thinking behind the tasks. The constant context-switching. The responsibility for everything, often without the resource for any of it.
That's what makes the day feel so full.
The shift comes from reducing that load. Not adding another tool. Not another platform. Better use of what's already in your ecosystem — Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, the AI you're already paying for — used to take weight off, not pile more on.
My contribution to this year's report (pages 48–49) covers the practical side: quick wins you can start this week, where email is silently draining your day, how to use Copilot or Gemini without it becoming another job, and one tool worth exploring if you want to go further.
The whole report is worth your time. Especially if you're an SBL, line-manage one, or work alongside one.
Download the SBL Wellbeing Index 2026 →
With thanks to Ellie and Education Mutual for another year of making the invisible visible.