Recovery Experiences Moderate the Impact of Work Stressors on Well-Being: A Two-Wave Study of Preschool Teachers

Abstract

Working in early childhood education exposes preschool teachers to a wide variety of work stressors that deplete energy and necessitate recovery. Based on the effort-recovery model and conservation of resources theory, this two-wave study examined the effects of recovery experiences (i.e., psychological detachment and relaxation) on the association between several work stressors (i.e., work overload, emotional dissonance, and work-home conflict) on the one hand, and well-being outcomes (i.e., vigor, job satisfaction, and insomnia symptoms) on the other. This study was conducted among 298 preschool teachers in China over a period of 1 year. Results showed that continuous exposure to work stressors negatively influences preschool teacher well-being over time and, more importantly, recovery experiences protect against the detrimental effects. These findings contribute to prior literature and show how preschool teachers can avoid the adverse effects of work stressors through fostering well-functioning recovery experiences during off-job time.

Stay at Home and Teach: A Comparative Study of Psychosocial Risks Between Spain and Mexico During the Pandemic

“…Teachers in Spain, however, also inform about role conflict, workload, interpersonal conflict, psychosomatic problems, and burnout. These data go in line with previous literature about the social risks that teachers are exposed to (Zapf et al, 1999;Jennings and Greenberg, 2009;Kaur and Singh, 2014;Yerdelen et al, 2016;Travers, 2017;Makhdoom et al, 2019;Martínez-Monteagudo et al, 2019;McLean et al, 2019b;Schonfeld et al, 2019;Gu et al, 2020). Regarding resources and information available about COVID-19, the impact of COVID-19 on their jobs, as well as measures taken by responsible entities (national and regional government, as well as work center), data from teachers in Spain point to a perception of insufficient resources, information, and measures and to a perception of a moderatehigh impact of COVID-19 on their jobs.…”

“…Among them, teachers of preschool and primary and secondary education have had to assume their important role in the best possible way, with limited means and resources and with the uncertainty of the moment and with the enormous responsibility that comes with educating and training children and adolescents, helping them to cope with the crisis and often providing relief as much as possible with homework and how to take school home (Boletín Oficial del Estado, 2020; Faro de Vigo, 2020). Considering that teachers are vulnerable to burnout and job stress (Zapf et al, 1999;Jennings and Greenberg, 2009;Kaur and Singh, 2014;Yerdelen et al, 2016;Travers, 2017;Makhdoom et al, 2019;Martínez-Monteagudo et al, 2019;McLean et al, 2019b;Schonfeld et al, 2019;Gu et al, 2020), and therefore the negative consequences these can have on their health and professional performance (Bergh et al, 2018;Fornell et al, 2018;Junne et al, 2018; European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 2020d), it is essential to study how psychosocial risks affect this group at a time of such vulnerability and general demand as the present. The literature on social risks to teachers in a pandemic context is extremely limited; however, it is critical to study the extent to which factors related to teachers' well-being may be affected during a health crisis such as the current one in order to ensure the well-being of teachers and, in turn, the children and adolescents in their care.…”

“…Given this prevalence in recent years, the study of burnout in the education sector has become increasingly important ( Kim and Burić, 2019 ; McLean et al, 2019a ; Schonfeld et al, 2019 ). Most researches pointed out the importance of burnout on teachers ( Kaur and Singh, 2014 ; Yerdelen et al, 2016 ; Schonfeld et al, 2019 ), considering it as a risk for teachers that can negatively affect effective teaching ( Travers, 2017 ), their interaction with their students ( Travers, 2017 ), and their motivation for the job ( McLean et al, 2019b ), resulting in absenteeism ( Makhdoom et al, 2019 ), depression ( Martínez-Monteagudo et al, 2019 ), insomnia ( Gu et al, 2020 ), or a decrease in the capacity to give support to the students ( Zapf et al, 1999 ; Jennings and Greenberg, 2009 ).…”

Development of Burnout Syndrome in Non-university Teachers: Influence of Demand and Resource Variables

“…Given this prevalence in recent years, the study of burnout in the education sector has become increasingly important (Kim and Burić, 2019 ; McLean, D., et al, 2019 ; Schonfeld et al, 2019 ). Most research has pointed out the importance of burnout on teachers (Kaur and Singh, 2014 ; Yerdelen et al, 2016 ; Salmela-Aro et al, 2019 ; Schonfeld et al, 2019 ; Mäkikangas et al, 2020 ; Pyhältö et al, 2021 ), considering it as a risk for teachers (Cecho et al, 2019 ) that can affect negatively their well-being (physically and psychologically) (Mousavy, 2014 ), effective teaching (Yerdelen et al, 2016 ), the interaction with students (Travers, 2001 ), their motivation for the job (McLean, L., et al, 2019 ), absenteeism (Makhdoom et al, 2019 ), depression (Martínez-Monteagudo et al, 2019 ), insomnia (Gu et al, 2020 ), or a decrease in the capacity to give support to the students (Jennings and Greenberg, 2009 ).…”

Occupational Well-Being in Beginning Early Childhood Educators of Hong Kong and the Prediction of Job-Related Factors: Variable-Centered and Person-Centered Approaches

“…There is an increasing concern for the occupational well-being (OWB) of early childhood educators (ECEs) in recent years around the globe ( Hall-Kenyon et al, 2014 ; Cumming, 2017 ). This is all the more important because a positive OWB is associated with a range of desirable consequences, such as better job performance, more capacity to provide quality education and supportive classroom climate, and stronger intention to stay in the early childhood education (ECE) sector ( Jeon et al, 2019 ; Penttinen et al, 2020 ; Schaack et al, 2020 ; Sönmez and Betül Kolaşınlı, 2020 ; Li et al, 2021 ), whereas the nature of the job itself (e.g., interactions with children, handling challenging behavior of children) entails numerous challenges and demands that often put OWB of ECEs at risk ( Whitaker et al, 2015 Gu et al, 2020 ). Prior research has examined OWB of ECEs and its associated predictors, revealing that sufficient job resources (e.g., job support) and few job demands (e.g., long working hours) are linked with a positive OWB ( Cheng and Chen, 2011 ; Li et al, 2020 ; Schaack et al, 2020 ).…”