Occupational Well-being Among University Faculty: A Job Demands-Resources Model

The effects of changing academic environments on faculty well-being have attracted considerable research attention. However, few studies have examined the multifaceted relationships between the academic work environment and the multiple dimensions of faculty well-being using a comprehensive theoretical framework. To address this gap, this study implemented the Job Demands-Resources (JDR) model to investigate how job demands/resources in the academic environment interact with multiple dimensions of faculty well-being. The study participants were 1389 full-time faculty members employed in public universities in the Czech Republic. The participants completed a questionnaire assessing perceived job resources (influence over work, support from supervisor and colleagues), job demands (quantitative demands, work-family conflicts and job insecurity) and three dimensions of faculty well-being (job satisfaction, stress and work engagement). A structural equation model was used to test the effects of “dual processes” hypothesized by the JDR theory, i.e., the existence of two relatively independent paths between job demands/resources and positive/negative aspects of faculty well-being. The model showed a very good fit to our data and explained 60% of the variance in faculty job satisfaction, 46%, in stress and 20% in work engagement. The results provide evidence for the dual processes, including the “motivational process” (i.e., job resources were related predominantly to work engagement and job satisfaction) and the “health impairment process” (i.e., job demands were predominantly associated with stress, mostly through work-family conflict). The study expands current research on faculty well-being by demonstrating the complex, non-linear relationships between academic work environments and different dimensions of faculty well-being.     

Finding a Better Person-Environment Fit in the Academic Deanship

Individuals seek a balance between the demands of their institutions and the dimensions that make up their personalities and determine their needs (Getzels & Guba, 1957). Academic deans are no exception. Indeed, the fit (or lack of it) between the work environment and the unique characteristics of individuals asked to function within a given setting helps determine whether they experience levels of stress that move them forward in their work or suffer debilitating stress that leads to excessive physical and mental strain. This article examines the fit between academic deans and their work environments in the U.S. and Australia as it relates to multiple role stress factors affecting deans.     

Job demands and resources as antecedents of university teachers’ exhaustion,engagement and job satisfaction

Abstract

This study aims at testing the application of the job demands-resources model on university teachers in mainland China. It investigates the relationship between the job characteristics of university teaching and teachers’ well-being. Based on the analyses of a sample of 2,758 university teachers, the results of structural equation modelling support the health impairment and motivational processes suggested by the model. Specifically, job demands consisting of teaching demands, teaching-research conflict and new challenges reduced university teachers’ job satisfaction through the mediation of emotional exhaustion; job resources comprising teaching resources, social support and administrative support increased university teachers’ job satisfaction through the mediation of work engagement. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Teaching Styles and Occupational Stress among Chinese University Faculty Members

The primary aim of this research is to investigate the predictive power of occupational stress for teaching style among university faculty members. A sample of 144 faculty members from a large university in the People’s Republic of China rated themselves on three ability scales and responded to the Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory and to four scales from the Occupational Stress Inventory‐Revised (role overload, role insufficiency, psychological strain, and rational/cognitive coping). Satisfactory reliability and validity data were obtained for the Chinese version of the four occupational stress scales. After self‐rated abilities were taken into account, occupational stress remained a significant predictor of teaching style. A stronger feeling of role overload and more frequent use of a rational/cognitive coping strategy were conducive to employing both creativity‐generating and conservative teaching styles; a stronger feeling of role insufficiency and psychological strain had a negative impact on the use of creative‐generating teaching styles. The implications of this research for both university faculty members and university administrators are discussed.     

Stress,Coping Strategies and Job Satisfaction in University Academic Staff

This study aims to identify sources of stress and consequent stress levels in university academic staff, to identify the coping strategies used by staff, and to examine the relationship between stress levels and job satisfaction. The study sample, consisting of 414 (305 males and 109 females) academic staff, was asked two open‐ended questions which invited them to specify the five main causes of stress in their lives in general and at work. The Life Stress Scale (LSS) was used to assess academics’ stress levels. A coping strategies list was used to identify the strategies used by academic staff during stressful periods. Two questions were asked to assess the level of satisfaction felt by academics with their jobs. The results indicated that academic staff rate work as the most significant cause of stress in their lives (74%) and conducting research (40.3%) was the main cause of stress at work. Results showed also that 74.1% and 10.4% of the academic staff fall into the moderate and serious stress categories respectively, and that there were no significant differences between males and females in stress levels. There were significant differences between the four academic rank groups in stress levels, with lecturers as the most stressed group. The results also indicated that academic staff use a wide range of coping strategies. A negative significant correlation between stress and job satisfaction (r= – 0.444) was found, indicating an inverse relationship between stress level and satisfaction.     

中学教师工作压力、社会支持、应对方式与职业倦怠的关系

目的:探讨中学教师工作压力、社会支持、应对方式与职业倦怠的关系。方法:运用工作压力问卷、社会支持问卷、应对方式问卷和教师职业倦怠问卷(MBI)对362名中学教师进行调查。结果:1.中学教师职业倦怠现象不严重,成就感较高,女教师情感枯竭水平高于男教师,差异极其显著(p<0.01);2.中学教师的工作压力、社会支持、应对方式和职业倦怠有显著的相关;3.工作压力、社会支持、应对方式与职业倦怠3个维度间存在显著的线性关系(p<0.01)。结论:中学教师职业倦怠现象并不严重,成就感较高,女教师情感枯竭水平较高;工作压力、社会支持、应对方式对职业倦怠有很好的预测作用。     

旅游景区星级酒店一线服务人员工作压力与职业倦怠的关系——特质应对方式的调节作用

采用工作压力问卷、特质应对方式问卷和职业倦怠问卷对乐山市旅游景区星级酒店的98名一线服务人员进行调查研究,以考查三者的关系,以及特质应对方式在工作压力和职业倦怠间的调节作用.研究表明：（1）酒店一线服务人员的工作压力处于中等水平;习惯采用积极应对的方式;（2）职业倦怠与工作压力、消极应对呈正相关（r分别为0.72、0.66）,与积极应对呈负相关（r=-0.33）;工作压力与积极应对呈负相关（r=-0.33）,与消极应对呈正相关（r=0.50）;（3）分层线性回归分析表明工作压力对职业倦怠有正向预测作用,两种应对方式在工作压力与职业倦怠间的调节作用显著.结论：对于旅游酒店一线服务人员,应该多采用积极的应对策略来缓解工作压力所致的职业倦怠.     

Personality traits and occupational stress among Chinese academics

The primary objective of this study was to examine the predictive power of personality traits for occupational stress among Chinese university academics. Two hundred and forty-six participants responded to the NEO Five-Factor Inventory and the Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised. Results indicated that the strongest predictor for occupational stress is neuroticism, with those higher on neuroticism being more vulnerable to role overload and psychological strain. An equally important predictor is conscientiousness, with academics higher on conscientiousness reporting more frequent use of adaptive coping strategy and less susceptible to the feeling of role insufficiency. Extraversion and openness contributed modestly to occupational stress, while agreeableness was the least important factor in occupational stress. Implications of these findings are discussed concerning faculty members and university senior managers.     

高校心理咨询教师心理枯竭的成因与对策

探讨高校心理咨询教师心理枯竭的成因与对策。成因有：心理咨询的职业特点;成就动机高、不客观的自我评价;心理咨询教师自身的人格特征和行为方式的影响;高校来访者数量多与心理咨询教师数量少之间的矛盾;相关服务机构设施与条件不够完善。对策有：确定现实可行的职业理想和咨询目标;正视心理咨询的职业特点,丰富自己的生活内容;学会合理宣泄;建立有效的社会支持系统等。     

Stressing academia? Stress-as-offence-to-self at Danish universities

Academic work has traditionally been seen as relatively stress free. However, a growing number of studies have reported increases in occupational stress experienced by university researchers. In order to explain stress among this group, we build on a new perspective in occupational stress research: the so-called stress-as-offence-to-self perspective. In line with this perspective, we have investigated the incongruence between the researchers’ work values and their perceptions of the working conditions provided by the organisation. The analysis is based on a sample of 2127 Danish university researchers. The results show that person-organisation incongruence with regard to freedom and independence in the job, job security, personal and professional development at work, and receiving peer recognition are associated with higher levels of stress among the researchers. Based on these results, we suggest three strategies for managers at universities to mitigate stress among academic employees: a tough recruitment process, a team-based organisation and a proactive human resource strategy.     

Motivation and coping with the stress of assessment: Gender differences in outcomes for university students

The main objectives of the present research were to test a conceptual model linking motivational processes involved in coping with the stress of university assessment, and to examine gender differences in these processes. Self-determined motivation was hypothesized to predict coping strategies and the response to assessment-related stress, and coping was hypothesized to play a considerable role in short- and long-term outcomes of assessment. We examined this model using multiple group path analysis. In Study 1 (N = 265), music students’ use of engagement-coping strategies led to stronger musical career intentions, while disengagement-coping strategies led to weaker intentions. In Study 2 (N = 340), students’ increased use of engagement coping, and decreased use of disengagement coping strategies led to higher grades, higher positive affect and lower negative affect. In both studies, engagement and disengagement-coping were predicted by autonomous and controlled motivation, respectively. Motivation also indirectly predicted academic outcomes through stress appraisal and coping. While women experienced higher levels of stress, men were more negatively affected by the use of disengagement-oriented coping. Gender differences were also found on the links between engagement-oriented coping and outcomes. These results fill an important gap in the literature regarding gender differences in the outcomes coping in education, as well as contributing to a better understanding of the processes linking motivation, coping and academic outcomes.     

Assessing Teacher Appraisals and Stress in the Classroom: Review of the Classroom Appraisal of Resources and Demands

Stress research increasingly emphasizes the role of appraisal in determining which events are perceived as stressful. The Classroom Appraisal of Resources and Demands (CARD) was developed to measure teachers’ appraisals of their classroom demands and resources in order to assess their risk for experiencing occupational stress. The present purposes are to review the literature identifying appraisals as a key determinant of stress, to describe the development of the CARD, and to provide meta-analytic results from 18 studies comparing CARD scores to the following variables: teacher’s job satisfaction and occupational commitment, burnout symptoms, stress prevention resources, and challenging student demands. Results suggest moderate effects for associations between the CARD and these constructs, and implications for educational policy aimed at reducing turnover and increasing teacher and student welfare are discussed.     

中小学教师职业压力与职业倦怠的关系研究

探讨新课程背景下中小学教师职业压力与职业倦怠之间的关系。采用中小学教师职业压力和职业倦怠问卷,对913名初中和小学教师进行调查。调查结果显示,职业压力和职业倦怠存在显著正相关,职业压力对职业倦怠具有一定的预测作用。教师的职业压力越大,职业倦怠越严重,不同来源的职业压力对职业倦怠的3个维度具有不同的预测作用。     

The role of state and trait motivational regulation for procrastinatory behavior in academic contexts: Insights from two diary studies

Academic procrastination can theoretically be conceptualized as a failure in motivational self-regulation. It can be assumed that besides the mere use of motivational regulation strategies, fitting motivational regulation strategies with the current motivational problem can also have beneficial effects on academic procrastination. As both academic procrastination and motivational regulation can be conceptualized as over time fluctuating and situation-specific behaviors, not only trait, but also state fractions of these constructs have to be considered. To elucidate the interrelations between academic procrastinatory behavior and motivational regulation, we therefore examined trait use, state use, trait fit, and state fit of motivational regulation strategies. To test their relevance for academic procrastinatory behavior, we conducted two longitudinal and situation-specific diary studies with 128 and 218 university students. Results of growth curve modeling indicate that academic procrastinatory behavior varies between persons, declines during exam preparation, and can be reduced by using well-fitting motivational regulation strategies. Specifically, both trait and state strategy fit were negatively associated with academic procrastinatory behavior, while mere strategy use was not.     

Teachers’ workplace well-being: Exploring a process model of goal orientation,coping behavior,engagement, and burnout

The current research integrated components of the transactional model of stress and coping with self-worth and goal theories to examine a model where (a) teachers’ goal orientation (as indicated by mastery and failure avoidance) was hypothesized to predict their teaching coping strategies (as indicated by problem- and emotion-focused coping) and (b) teaching coping was hypothesized to predict occupational well-being (as indicated by engagement and burnout). A longitudinal sample of 430 teachers took part in the research. With the structural equation model suggesting an acceptable fit to the data, findings generally supported hypotheses. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Asserting the demand and needs for research as indicated by various groups in community colleges

This study investigates the future role of the community colleges in a southeastern state. Presidents, deans of instruction, deans of student services, representative department chairmen, state community college administrators, and educators in a state university formed a panel of 100 respondents in a four iteration delphi study. The panel rated the importance of meeting seven major demands: physical facilities, financial bases, curricula needs, system coordination, student services, personnel needs, and accountability, and also evaluated the importance of about 60 specific research projects. The use of multivariate techniques showed that: (1) agreement was obtained on the importance of meeting the major demands, (2) the importance of the various demands are differentially related to concerns about major types of research, and (3) there are significant differences between types of decision-makers on the needs for various types of research. These results show the need of additional efforts to obtain agreement concerning research priorities. They also reveal the relative predispositions of the various groups of decision-makers concerning research needs.     

赣州市中小学教师工作压力和职业倦怠状况调查

通过对赣州市18个学校1096名教师的问卷调查及41位教师的访谈发现:赣州市中小学教师工作压力处于中等水平,以社会、学生、教育教学改革方面的压力为主;近四成左右的教师有明显的职业倦怠,主要表现为情绪疲惫和少成就感;人口学变量和职业状态变量对工作压力、职业倦怠水平有影响;工作压力和职业倦怠在最高获奖级别上的差异折射出教师发展阶段中的"高原期";对职业的认同度及其职业能力共同影响着教师的工作压力和职业倦怠。     

How Often Is the Misfit of Item Response Theory Models Practically Significant?

Standard 3.9 of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing ( 1999 ) demands evidence of model fit when item response theory (IRT) models are employed to data from tests. Hambleton and Han ( 2005 ) and Sinharay ( 2005 ) recommended the assessment of practical significance of misfit of IRT models, but few examples of such assessment can be found in the literature concerning IRT model fit. In this article, practical significance of misfit of IRT models was assessed using data from several tests that employ IRT models to report scores. The IRT model did not fit any data set considered in this article. However, the extent of practical significance of misfit varied over the data sets.     

Funny Students Cope Better: Patterns of Humor Enactment and Coping Effectiveness

Increasingly, college students are employed in jobs outside of class—and contend with additional stressors as a result—when they attempt to balance work and academic demands. Enacting humorous communication is one productive way to handle such stress. In a college student, the replication of the process of using humor to cope with job stress (i.e., higher humor orientation, HO) was associated with higher ratings of effectiveness, greater self-perceived coping effectiveness, and subsequently with higher job satisfaction. Path analysis demonstrated that, as the transactional theory would predict, students' trait HO influences their job satisfaction through its effect on heightened coping efficacy. Results indicated that, across two very different sample populations, college students and fully employed adults are extremely similar in the process and benefits of using humor to cope.