School leader well-being under pressure: Emotional and quantitative demands, resilience, and burnout in Australian schools

School leaders are experiencing increasing job demands, high turnover, burnout, and declining well-being. Given the critical role school leaders play in our community, it is crucial to explore the factors contributing to and protecting from these issues. Guided by the Job Demands-Resources Model, this study examines the complex interplay between emotional demands, quantitative demands, resilience, burnout, and job satisfaction among school leaders. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse data from 2307 Australian school leaders. The results showed that job demands were positively related to burnout and negatively related to job satisfaction. In contrast, resilience was negatively related to burnout and positively related to job satisfaction. Interestingly, the results showed that individuals with higher levels of resilience exhibited a significantly stronger relationship between emotional demands and burnout. There was no significant interaction between resilience and quantitative demands. These results show that while building resilience is important, it is also crucial to implement strategies that reduce job demands, such as manageable workloads, adequate support, and organisational changes that prioritise well-being. A dual approach utilising policies and interventions to address both resilience and job demands is essential to ensure school leaders can thrive, ultimately benefiting the entire community.