The work of teachers has a fundamental social value because education can ensure economic growth and technical and scientific development in any society (Vedovato & Monteiro, 2018). The teaching profession is characterized by high stress and physical complaints, a high workload, relatively high absenteeism, and early retirement (Grabara et al., 2018). The current age structure of teachers indicates several problems in higher secondary education that can occur in the future. The ageing of the teachers may be linked with higher absenteeism or a general shortage of teachers in schools. These problems may be caused not only by individual factors (reduced working ability) but also by factors related to the work performed (characteristics of the job performed, working conditions) (Hlaďo et al., 2020). Thus, the ageing of the teaching population raises the question of maintaining teachers' work ability. Work ability can be defined as a person's ability to meet the demands of his or her job (Cadiz et al., 2020). Work ability is based on the balance between the worker's resources and the job demands placed on him or her (Ilmarinen et al., 2005). This definition highlights an individual's capacity to fulfil required work tasks and effectively manage job demands (Ilmarinen et al., 1997). Work ability is a dynamic process influenced by various factors, including physical and mental health, functional abilities, qualifications, professional competencies, attitudes, motivation, working conditions, job demands, and environmental factors (Tuomi et al., 2001).

Several aspects go into the work ability, which can positively and negatively influence it. For management and support work ability, the concept of age management is mainly used, which offers the perspective to support work ability at three levels, depending on the interests of stakeholders expressed and implemented. These are the individual level, the organizational level and national/regional (Novotný et al., 2014). Managing work ability and wellbeing at schools requires, among others, leadership support and commitment, effective communication, employee health awareness and engagement (Shiri & Bergbom, 2023). Although the implementation of the measures of work ability support is not systematically addressed in the school environment, it is possible to identify measures that, within the organizational level, implementation of age management lead to the promotion of work ability. The first large group consists of benefits that can be positively reflected in the promotion of health and a healthy lifestyle. The second large group consists of workplace measures that lead to an increase in job resources. These include, for example, workplace ergonomics, the provision of support from a supervisor, work organization, feedback and opportunities for further training.

Schools can then be seen as essential actors that can contribute to the reduction of work demands and workload and, at the same time, are the ones who can, through individual measures, increase work resources and thus support teachers' work capacity. McGonagle et al. (2022) note that employers can prevent excessive work exhaustion and the associated deterioration in health and wellbeing by changing aspects of work that reduce staff workload or increase work resources.

This paper aims to reflect on the crucial role of headteachers in promoting teachers´ work ability and find an answer to the research question: What is the role of headteachers in promoting teachers´ work ability?

This research is part of a project focused on perceived work ability among lower secondary school teachers. Part of this project is aimed at the role of the headteachers and their leadership in promoting teachers' work ability. Considering the aim of the research and research questions, a qualitative approach has been chosen to bring participants' perspectives regarding how headteachers support teachers' work ability. This research design provides a rich understanding of how teachers' work ability is promoted and allows us to capture the complexity and nuances of this process. The research sample consisted of lower secondary school headteachers in the South Moravian Region and the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. In the first step, 44 public lower secondary schools were randomly selected and contacted via email with a brief description of the project and the data collection procedure. Concurrently, headteachers were recruited for semi-structured interviews in the first sampling stage. In the second step, all teachers were invited to participate in the self-administered questionnaires at each school. The method of data collection was in-depth interviews. Before data collection, the interview protocol was created, containing 80 open-ended questions. The interview questions were about the characteristics of the school, school climate and relations at school, professional development of teachers, teachers' health and lifestyle, competence and job requirements, work environment and wellbeing. The interviews were conducted during October and December 2023 and lasted approximately 100 minutes. The interviews were recorded and then transcribed into text form. Interviews were analyzed using computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software ATLAS.ti. Data analysis is based on the grounded theory of Charmaz (2014) and Corbin and Strauss (2014). First, open coding was performed, focusing on data fragments. In the next step, all units were categorized, and we tried to find relationships between the categories.

In the interviews, we focus on how headteachers perceived the concept work ability and how they deal with interventions which can promote or maintain teachers‘ work ability. The first analysis shows that headteachers are essential in promoting teachers' work ability. In our research, headteachers across different generations perceived challenges linked with the actual young generation and their needs. They admitted the importance of developing social competencies to adapt to the changing students. Headteachers also perceived that working with parents was more demanding for teachers than working with students. They reflected the importance of their role in supporting teachers in demanding communication with parents. Our data also confirmed the high demands of the teaching profession and the risk of burnout due to stress. Headmasters perceived that they should work on these problematic issues but are limited by bureaucracy and need more time for personal leadership. They also perceived the ageing population of teachers and the health issues which relate to it. They admitted that they should focus on interventions to improve teachers' health and healthy lifestyles. They thought about more education in this field or supporting more sports activities for teachers. On the other hand, headteachers view teaching as an individual profession. It is essential to point out that responsibility for promoting work ability lies not only on headteachers but is also an individual responsibility of teachers. Headteachers play a crucial role in setting the school environment and climate, but only with cooperation with the teachers can they promote their work ability.

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