Psychological wellbeing and perceived work intensification in Australian primary school teachers: the mediating effect of work-life conflict

Teachers continue to report low levels of psychological wellbeing and high attrition rates. Previous research has attributed work intensification (i.e. an increase in workload within the same timeframe) and work-life conflict to these issues. The current study aimed to investigate the associations between psychological wellbeing, satisfaction with workload, perceived work intensification, work-life conflict, and intention to leave the profession in Australian primary school teachers. A sample of 180 Australian primary school teachers (165 females; 91.7%; Mage = 43.1, SD = 9.8) completed an online, confidential, and anonymous survey. Results indicated perceived work intensification was negatively associated with psychological wellbeing, satisfaction with workload was positively correlated with psychological wellbeing, and perceived work intensification was positively related to intention to leave the profession. Furthermore, work-life conflict mediated the association between perceived work intensification and psychological wellbeing, and between perceived work intensification and intention to leave the profession. The findings of this study suggest that work-life conflict detrimentally impacts psychological wellbeing and that institutional strategies to better support teachers’ psychological wellbeing are warranted.