The global issue of teacher attrition has led to a growing interest in various aspects of teacher well-being and their motivation to teach and remain in the profession. Among different indicators of well-being, work engagement and burnout often gain attention of studies on occupational well-being, including the teaching profession. According to Schaufeli et al. (2010), burnout and engagement can be seen as opposing constructs. Engagement is a relatively persistent state portrayed by vigor, dedication and absorption, while burnout, opposed to work engagement, is characterized by poor identification with one’s own work and a low level of work-related energy (Schaufeli et al., 2010), and teachers who experience burnout symptoms are more likely to reconsider other career options. The decision to leave the profession can occur as a result of several factors, including burnout, level of occupational stress and job satisfaction (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2017). Teachers’ job satisfaction is often defined by two main aspects: satisfaction with the profession itself and satisfaction with the school environment (Admiraal & Kittelsen Røberg, 2023). Previous studies imply that, regardless of their career stage, teachers who are reconsidering other occupational choices or decide to leave the profession often do so because they are dissatisfied with their working conditions (Innanen et al., 2014). Moreover, this issue might be even more pronounced during the initial years of teaching, as novice teachers experience “reality shock”, which can lead to a higher attrition rate in the early career stages (Admiraal et al., 2023). Thus, in the light of already mentioned issue concerning teacher attrition observed in many countries, understanding both antecedents and outcomes of teachers’ well-being and job satisfaction can provide a foundation for targeted measures aimed at providing additional and more tailored support for early-career teachers, particularly those at risk of leaving the profession early in their career path.

Following a person-centered approach, this study aimed to explore and identify different teacher profiles based on two contrasting indicators of teacher well-being: burnout and work engagement. This approach enables exploration of the differences among teacher profiles and provides insight into the proportions of teachers who are experiencing different levels of work engagement and burnout. This includes identifying those at risk due to decreased well-being, which may, consequently, lead them to consider leaving the profession. Additionally, this study explored the differences in perceived job satisfaction among different teacher profiles and their planned persistence in the profession.

Methodology Participants and procedure The sample included 590 early-career subject teachers (up to five years of teaching experience) from Croatian elementary schools who filled out an online questionnaire. The study was conducted in the scope of a larger research project “The role of personality, motivation and socio-emotional competences in early-career teachers' occupational well-being” funded by Croatian Science Foundation. Participation in the study was on a voluntary basis and the study adhered to all ethical standards. Instruments Teachers work engagement was assessed by the Engaged Teachers Scale (ETS; Klassen et al., 2013), which comprised 16 items in total for four subscales: Cognitive engagement, Emotional engagement, Social engagement: students, and Social engagement: colleagues. Participants rated how often they feel in a described way on a scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always). The results can be calculated for each subscale or as one composite result of overall teacher engagement. Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT; Schaufeli et al., 2019), consisting of 23 items, was used to explore the level of experienced professional burnout on a rating scale from 1 (never) to 5 (always) on four subscales: Exhaustion, Mental distance, Cognitive impairment, and Emotional impairment. Total scores can be calculated as a subscale scores or as a total burnout score. Job satisfaction questionnaire (TALIS, 2018) was used to assess two aspects of job satisfaction: Job satisfaction with work environment (four items) and Job satisfaction with profession (four items). Participants rated their level of agreement for each item on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Finally, planned persistence in the teaching profession was assessed with one item from Watt and Richardson’s (2008) scale, measuring the extent to which teachers are sure that they will stay in the profession (from 1-not at all to 7-extremely). Data analysis Teachers' work engagement and burnout profiles were identified through latent profile analysis (LPA), incorporating four dimensions of work engagement and four burnout symptoms. Differences in job satisfaction and intended persistence in the profession among the identified profiles were examined using the automatic BCH (Bolck-Croon-Hagenaars) approach (Asparouhov & Muthén, 2021).

Based on the levels of the two indicators of teachers’ occupational well-being - work engagement and burnout - obtained results indicated three different profiles of early-career teachers: highly engaged teachers, which are characterized by very high work engagement and very low burnout; moderately engaged teachers, who display moderately high work engagement and at the same time moderately low burnout, and teachers at risk who are characterized by an average level of both engagement and burnout. According to the results, half of teachers (50%) fall into highly engaged profile, 44% are moderately engaged, and the proportion of teachers at risk is 6%. Further analyses of the differences between the profiles regarding two outcomes – job satisfaction and planned persistence in the profession – revealed some theoretically meaningful differences among the three profiles of teachers. More specifically, highly engaged teachers reported the highest levels of job satisfaction, both with their profession and their work environment. Moderately engaged teachers followed, with significantly lower but still above-average satisfaction, while teachers at risk exhibited the lowest levels of job satisfaction, which were only average. A similar pattern was observed for planned career persistence - highly engaged teachers expressed a strong intention to remain in the profession, while moderately engaged teachers reported significantly lower, but still moderate levels of planned persistence. In contrast, teachers at risk expressed the lowest planned persistence, indicating uncertainty about remaining in the teaching profession. Consistent with previous research (Madigan & Kim, 2021), these findings highlight the critical role of occupational well-being in enhancing teachers' job satisfaction and reducing teacher attrition.

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