
Work-family Conflict, Optimism, and Job Satisfaction among Teachers in Chinese Private Middle Schools
- 1 Lingnan University
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Work satisfaction is the emotional orientation that an employee holds toward their work. Prior researchers found that teachers in Chinese schools tend to have low job satisfaction and high turnover intention. However, the factors influencing job satisfaction among teachers in China is not well examined. There is a lack of attention to teachers in private schools in China. The importance of work-family conflict and optimism among employees were emphasized in prior studies, but few studies were conducted among Chinese middle school teachers. It is unclear how work-family conflict influence teachers’ wellbeing and performance. This study investigates the relationship between optimism, work-family conflict, and job satisfaction among middle school teachers in private schools in China. Utilizing a quantitative research design, the study surveyed 380 private middle school teachers in Changsha, China. Data analysis reveals that higher levels of optimism are associated with lower levels of work-family conflict and higher job satisfaction. Optimism was found to negatively impact job satisfaction, and mediates the relationship of work-family conflict and job satisfaction. These findings suggest that fostering optimism among teachers may mitigate the adverse effects of work-family conflict, thereby enhancing their job satisfaction. The study provides implications for school administrators and policymakers aiming to improve teacher well-being and effectiveness by addressing work-family balance and promoting a positive outlook.
Keywords
work-family conflict, optimism, job satisfaction, private schools
[1]. An, J., Liu, Y., Sun, Y., & Liu, C. (2020). Impact of work–family conflict, job stress and job satisfaction on seafarer performance. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(7), 2191.
[2]. Burhanudin, B., Tjahjono, H., Eq, Z., & Hartono, A. (2020). Work-family enrichment as a mediator effect of supervisor support, self-esteem, and optimism on job satisfaction. Management Science Letters, 10(10), 2269-2280.
[3]. Cheng, T., Mauno, S., & Lee, C. (2014). Do job control, support, and optimism help job insecure employees? A three-wave study of buffering effects on job satisfaction, vigor and work-family enrichment. Social Indicators Research, 118, 1269-1291.
[4]. Li, X., Lin, X., Zhang, F., & Tian, Y. (2021). Playing roles in work and family: effects of work/family conflicts on job and life satisfaction among junior high school teachers. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 772025.
[5]. Nart, S., & Batur, O. (2014). The relation between work-family conflict, job stress, organizational commitment and job performance: A study on Turkish primary teachers. European journal of research on Education, 2(2), 72-81.
[6]. Nazim Ali, D. M. I. S., Ahmad, S., Tauqeer, A. M., Muhammad, S., & Kundi, M. F. (2021). Does Optimism Mediate the Relationship between Work to Family Conflict and In-Role Job Performance among Teachers of Public Schools. Indian Journal of Economics and Business, 20(3).
[7]. Situmorang, N. Z., Tentama, F., Mujidin, M., Sari, E. Y. D., Andini, Y., Silawati, A., ... & Wahyudin, U. (2019, July). Female teachers’ subjective well-being from the aspects of gratitude, optimism, and work-family balance. In 1st International Conference on Life, Innovation, Change and Knowledge (ICLICK 2018) (pp. 141-144). Atlantis Press.
[8]. Yang, Z., Qi, S., Zeng, L., Han, X., & Pan, Y. (2021). Work-family conflict and primary and secondary school principals’ work engagement: a moderated mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 596385.
Cite this article
Li,J. (2024). Work-family Conflict, Optimism, and Job Satisfaction among Teachers in Chinese Private Middle Schools. Advances in Social Behavior Research,10,49-53.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
Disclaimer/Publisher's Note
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
About volume
Journal:Advances in Social Behavior Research
© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who
publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this
series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published
version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial
publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and
during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See
Open access policy for details).