Job satisfaction as a condition for teachers’ psychological well-being: An empirical study

Abstract

Introduction. The article examines the problem of the correlations between teachers’ psychological well-being and job satisfaction. The purpose of the study is to identify the components of teachers’ psychological well-being and compare the level of psychological well-being of teachers with different attitudes towards the profession. Materials and Methods. The methodological basis of the study includes research articles by Russian and international scholars in the field of psychological well-being as a general scientific phenomenon and psychological well-being of teachers in particular. In order to collect empirical data, surveys were conducted in three municipalities of the Sverdlovsk region (N=1484 teachers) in 2021-2022 using the five-factor questionnaire TIPI-RU, the Meaning-in-Life Orientations test, the Muddy’s Resilience test, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, and the Life Satisfaction Scale (E. Diener). Methods of mathematical statistics were used to process the results obtained. Results. The main results of the study consist in identification of several regularities that influence the state of teachers’ psychological well-being in the surveyed municipalities. The authors found that the use of various sets of techniques gives comparable results on the phenomenon under study, and the key component of the psychological well-being of respondents is their attitude towards their work. The identified set of personal qualities is decisive for the analysis of the relationship between attitude towards the profession and the level of satisfaction with it. It is also shown that satisfaction with the teaching profession increases in proportion to the length of teaching experience. Conclusions. The article concludes about the correlation between the status of teachers’ psychological well-being and their job satisfaction. The presented results can be used in the development of measures aimed at professional burnout prevention and increasing meaningful attitudes towards teaching profession at both regional and federal levels.