Job demands and job resources as predictors of teacher motivation and well-being

TLDR

The study examined how teachers’ perceptions of job demands and resources relate to their well‑being, engagement, and intent to leave teaching. Data from 760 Norwegian primary and secondary teachers were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Higher job demands, particularly time pressure, were associated with lower teacher well‑being, which predicted greater engagement and lower motivation to leave, whereas job resources were linked to better well‑being.

Abstract

We analyzed how teacher perception of job demands and job resources in the school environment were related to teacher well-being, engagement and motivation to leave the teaching profession. Participants were 760 Norwegian teachers in grade 1–10. Data were analyzed by means of confirmatory factor analysis and SEM analysis. A second order job demand variable strongly predicted lower teacher well-being, whereas job resources more moderately predicted higher well-being. Teacher well-being was in turn predictive of higher engagement and lower motivation to leave the profession. Analysis of primary factors showed that time pressure was the strongest predictor of teacher well-being.