Navigating teacher demands: the role of digital resources in well-being and exhaustion

Purpose This study investigates the impact of job demands, such as work pressure, cognitive and emotional demands, and digital job resources on well-being and exhaustion, by comparing the attitudes of Norwegian and Lithuanian teachers. Design/methodology/approach We used a survey-based quantitative approach. The sample comprised 636 teachers: 301 from Lithuania and 335 from Norway. To analyse the data, we employed a confirmatory factor analysis and covariance-based structural equation modelling. Findings The main causes of teachers’ exhaustion and well-being were found to be influenced by country. In Lithuania, the main causes of exhaustion were emotional job demands, while in Norway, the causes were work pressure, cognitive demands, and emotional client (student and parent) demands. Interestingly, the use of digital job resources reduced teacher well-being in Lithuania, thus suggesting that these may be considered more as a job demand than a job resource; while for Norwegian teachers, the impact was non-significant. Practical implications Based on the high impact of the emotional job-related demands on teachers’ exhaustion, Lithuanian policymakers should consider deploying courses that enhance teachers’ emotional competencies. For Norway, considering that work pressure significantly affected both exhaustion and well-being, policymakers should determine how best to manage teachers’ work pressure. Originality/value This study integrates digital resources, differentiated emotional demands, and cross-national context to explain teacher well-being and exhaustion. It extends prior research by distinguishing types of emotional demands and highlighting the role of institutional context.