Teachers’ Work Orientations And Flourishing: Mediated By Flow In Different Domains

Abstract

According to recent studies, teachers’ well-being is a significant contributor to teacher effectiveness in terms of students’ academic achievement, so it would be worth finding out what contributes to teachers’ well-being. By extending previous research that revealed the positive relationship between the calling orientation and well-being and the negative between job/career orientation and well-being, the present study aimed to explore the role of flow in different life domains as mechanisms underlying this relationship, with an accent on flow at work. Correlational research design was used to examine the relationship between work orientations, flow in different life domains and flourishing of 315 classroom teachers from Croatia. The following self-report measures were used: Work-Life Questionnaire, Swedish Flow Proneness Questionnaire, and Flourishing Scale. Three parallel mediations were performed to test the hypothesized mediation role of flow in different life domains on the relationship between work orientations and flourishing. Results showed that career orientation was insignificant for teachers’ flourishing. Flow at work partially mediated the positive relationship between calling orientation and flourishing, and the negative relationship between job orientation and flourishing. The study provides empirical support for the role of flow at work relationship between calling and wellbeing, suggesting that flourishing of calling oriented teachers can be enhanced by experiencing flow at work.