Background

Teacher shortages, high teacher turnover rates, and the low appeal of the teaching profession are challenges in many OECD countries. Understanding what influences the occupational well-being of teachers may help the educational authorities address these problems (Viac & Fraser, 2020).

Emotional exhaustion, one of the key indicators of occupational well-being, arises as a result of exposure to intense physical, cognitive, and/or affective demands (Demerouti et al., 2001). About 28.1% of secondary teachers report severe exhaustion (García-Carmona et al., 2019), impacting job satisfaction (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2011), teaching quality (Klusmann et al., 2008) and student performance (Klusmann et al., 2016). Therefore, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms that lead to exhaustion in order to identify relevant malleable factors.

Theoretical framework

The Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model (Bakker & Demerouti, 2014) analyzes occupational well-being through two processes: Chronic job demands deplete employees’ mental and physical resources, leading to exhaustion and health issues (health impairment process), while job resources foster engagement, performance, and resilience (motivational process) (Bakker et al., 2007). The JD-R framework has been validated in teaching and other contexts (Taris et al., 2017). However, Schaufeli and Taris (2014) noted that it lacks detailed explanations of the health impairment process and its underlying mechanisms.

The submitted paper aims to investigate the health impairment process by incorporating transactional stress theory (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) and the concept of coping.  It examines prolonged working hours (PWH; N. Deci et al., 2016) as a coping strategy and perceived autonomy (Ryan & Deci, 2002) as a resource. PWH is a strategy to cope with work overload but on the same time restrict recovery from work, possibly leading to exhaustion on the long run.

Autonomy, referring to the ability to control one’s own actions within a framework set by others (Ryan & Deci, 2002), is an important resource. Numerous studies show that individuals who have their need for autonomy satisfied are less likely to experience exhaustion.

Research questions and hypotheses

Based on the literature and previous research findings, we test four hypotheses in order to answer the following research questions:

RQ1. Can the PWH explain the relation between work overload and exhaustion?

Hypothesis 1. Work overload at t₀ positively predicts exhaustion in teachers at t₀₊₁.

Hypothesis 2. PWH at t₀₊₁ mediates the positive effect between work overload at t₀ and exhaustion at t₀₊₁.

RQ2. What influence does the resource autonomy have on PWH, work overload and exhaustion?

Hypothesis 3. Teachers’ autonomy at t₀ negatively predicts exhaustion at t₀₊₁.

Hypothesis 4. Teachers’ autonomy at t₀ moderates the positive effect of work overload at t₀ on exhaustion at t₀₊₁ such that this effect is weaker for high (vs. low) autonomy.

Sample/Data source. The data were collected from K-12 teachers in Switzerland in a longitudinal online survey with two measurement points. The presented analysis is based on a sample of 557 teachers (drop-out rate: 37.8%). The sample was 80.8% female and had an average age of 40 years (SD = 10.6). The participants had an average workload of 70.9% (SD = 25.25) and an average tenure as teachers of 15.67 years (SD = 10.54). Instruments. Work overload. We used Van der Doef and Maes (2002) measure to assess teacher-specific work load using 8 positively worded items such as “I need more time to do my job well as a teacher». Cronbach’s alpha for this scale was α =.78. Exhaustion. As the outcome of the health impairment process we measured exhaustion with the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (Kristensen et al., 2005) using 6 items such as «How often are you emotionally exhausted?». The internal consistency was α = .88. Prolonged working hours as a coping strategy was measured with three items of Krause et al. (2015) inventory, containing the following questions: “How often do you refrain leisure activities in favour of work (e.g. hobbies such as social and cultural activities or sports)?», «How often do you give up enough sleep in favour of work?” and “How often do you work more than 10 hours a day? ». The items were scored on a five-point Likert scale that ranged from 1 («rarely/never» to 5 («very often»). The Cronbach’s Alpha of this scale was α = .73 Autonomy. To assess autonomy, we used the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction Scale at Work (BPNS-W) by Van den Broeck et al. (2010), which contains six items, such as “I feel free to do my work the way I think is best.” The items were scored on a seven-point Likert scale that ranged from 1 (“Not true at all”) to 7 (“Very true”). Cronbach’s alpha was α = .77. Analysis. Structural equation models (SEM) were computed using the package lavaan (2012) of the open source statistical software Rstudio (https://www.rstudio.com/). When testing the mediation model, ML estimation with bootstrapping of the standard error (1000) was applied. MLM with robust standard error estimation was defined as the estimation method for the overall model. Indicators for the fit of the models with benchmarks for good fit by Hu & Bentler (1999).

Results and Conclusions In reference to the health impairment process hypothesized by the JD-R model and prior studies, we expected work overload to positively predict exhaustion after a 12-months period (Hypothesis 1). The study findings did not confirm the assumption of a direct effect. Instead we found an indirect effect: A higher level of work overload leads to a stronger tendency among teachers to use PWH as a coping strategy, which, in turn, leads to more exhaustion. PWH fully mediated the relationship between work overload and exhaustion after a 12-months period, confirming Hypothesis 2. When used in an attempt to cope with work-related demands, PWH seems to increase the likelihood of exhaustion because it potentially impedes necessary recovery from work-related stress. Thus, the present study adds to the research on the mechanisms involved in the health impairment process of the JD-R model. In addition to the role of coping strategies, the present study analyzed how autonomy influences exhaustion, the relationship between work overload and exhaustion, and PWH. We found, in line with Hypothesis 4 and the assumptions of the JD-R theory, the so-called “buffer effect” (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007), which states that a high level of resources reduces the impact of job demands on strain. Autonomy reduces working long hours and buffers the negative effect of work overload on exhaustion. In other words, when people feel autonomous in coping with their work-related tasks and feel free to set their own priorities in terms of the order and quality of task completion, the extension of working time decreases. To promote occupational well-being in schools, administrators should monitor prolonged working hours (PWH) as an early warning sign of teacher health risks. Additionally, fostering teacher autonomy through choice, agency, and access to information is crucial. Autonomy supports flexible coping strategies.

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