Work‐Related Outcomes Mediate the Associations of Job Demands With Psychological Well‐Being Among Chinese Kindergarten Teachers

ABSTRACT Teaching in a kindergarten can be demanding. Prior research has linked the job demands of kindergarten teachers to their psychological well‐being. However, whether different types of job demands are uniquely associated with kindergarten teachers' psychological well‐being and whether work‐related outcomes may mediate these associations remain underexplored. Therefore, this cross‐sectional study examined whether physical, psychological, social, and emotional job demands were uniquely linked to psychological well‐being (indicated by life satisfaction and depressive symptoms) among kindergarten teachers and tested work‐related outcomes (indicated by work performance and work engagement) as mediators. Using an online questionnaire, data were collected from 336 kindergarten teachers (86% female; mean age = 31.6 years) working in Hong Kong, China. Kindergarten teachers rated their job demands, psychological well‐being, and work‐related outcomes and provided demographic information. Structural equational modeling revealed that work‐related outcomes mediated the associations of psychological, social, and emotional job demands with psychological well‐being. However, work‐related outcomes did not mediate the association between physical job demands and psychological well‐being. Theoretically, findings highlighted the importance of conceptualizing job demands as a multidimensional construct and the roles of work‐related outcomes in understanding kindergarten teachers' psychological well‐being. Practically, findings pointed to the possible utility of helping kindergarten teachers manage different types of job demands and improve their work performance and work engagement as means to support their psychological well‐being.