Understanding Teacher Wellbeing Through Job Demands-Resources Theory

Abstract

Job demands-resources (JD-R) theory has emerged as one of the most influential conceptual frameworks for interpreting and explaining factors affecting employees' wellbeing in the workplace. The present chapter provides a broad overview of JD-R theory, and discusses how the theory can be harnessed to further understand the factors influencing teachers' wellbeing. The chapter also reviews prior research employing JD-R theory in teaching populations, and explores the job demands (e.g., workload, disciplinary issues, time pressure) and job resources (e.g. perceived autonomy support, opportunities for professional learning, and relationships with colleagues) that influence teacher engagement, burnout, and organisational outcomes. Theoretical extensions of the model, such as the inclusion of personal resources (e.g. adaptability, cognitive and behavioural coping, self-efficacy), are further considered to extend knowledge of how teacher wellbeing can be promoted at both an individual and broader organisational level. Finally, the chapter considers the practical implications of how JD-R theory can guide interventions, comprising whole-school efforts, as well as approaches that support individual teachers to maximise their wellbeing.

Motivation and Continuance Intention towards Online Instruction among Teachers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Effect of Burnout and Technostress

“…Teachers’ self-efficacy, regarded as the correct perception of one’s own abilities and an interest in developing students’ competencies, is known to positively influence students’ performance, involvement, wellbeing, attitude towards school, and academic success [ 34 ]. Concurrently, teachers’ self-efficacy has been proved to be a predictor of higher engagement and lower burnout [ 35 ], which advocates the complementarity of the factors investigated in this study. A study revealed that an 8-month computer training program for teachers, in terms of its integration into education, significantly reduced teacher computer anxiety [ 36 ].…”

The Interplay of Emotional Intelligence Abilities and Work Engagement on Job and Life Satisfaction: Which Emotional Abilities Matter Most for Secondary-School Teachers?

“…As stated above, work engagement increasingly represents a critical job-related motivational construct as it relates to several relevant outcomes within educational settings (Taris et al, 2017;Granziera et al, 2021). For example, work engagement is positively associated with teachers' job satisfaction, which in turn impacts students' development and academic achievement (Perera et al, 2018).…”

“…Current knowledge suggest that levels of work engagement are closely related to teachers' attitudes toward their work and life, which has key implications in educational settings (Perera et al, 2018;Granziera et al, 2021). Although work engagement might be an important factor linked to teachers' personal and work-related well-being (Schaufeli and Taris, 2014), it is shown that low work engagement does not necessarily lead to low levels of work-related indicators (Parker and Griffin, 2011).…”

“…There is an extensive meta-analysis literature on the correlates of work engagement underlying the potential value of this construct for both employees and organizations (Bakker et al, 2014;Knight et al, 2017). In the teaching field, existing studies indicate that work engagement predicts relevant outcomes such as teacher efficacy, satisfaction, and well-being (for a recent overview, see Granziera et al, 2021).…”

“…A study with beginning teachers has demonstrated that highly engaged individuals invest more efforts in achieving their work-related goals and, thus, they perform better than their counterparts who experience lower engagement (Bakker and Bal, 2010). When teachers feel vigorous and dedicated they are more satisfied with their job and feel more positive emotions, thereby showing more positive appraisals of their own lives (Upadyaya et al, 2016;Li et al, 2017;Granziera et al, 2021). These latter findings become particularly relevant given that teaching is an occupation at elevated risk for psychological distress (Taris et al, 2017;Harmsen et al, 2018).…”