A profession of silent struggle: Associations among distributive justice, work overload, work-related depressive symptoms, and teachers' self-reported job performance

The mental strain associated with teaching makes this profession highly demanding. In particular, the prevalence of work-related depressive symptoms remains largely understudied among Malaysian educators. We employed a mixed-methods approach to study the association between depressive symptoms and performance among school teachers working in Penang, Malaysia. In the 1st phase, we evaluated how workplace depression is associated with distributive justice and work overload through a quantitative approach. The study also examined the association of work-related depressive symptoms with teachers' job performance. In addition, the indirect association consistent with the indirect association of work-related depressive symptoms and the interacting role of managerial support was also assessed. We employed convenience sampling and analyzed the collected data using structural equation modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS 4. The results demonstrate that distributive justice and work overload significantly association work-related depressive symptoms. The findings also confirm the indirect association consistent with the indirect association of work-related depressive symptoms and the interaction effect of managerial support. The 2nd phase of the study employed a qualitative approach by conducting semi-structured interviews with school heads. The thematic data structure was constructed to develop first-order and second-order themes comprising two categories; contributing factors of depression, and depressive symptoms-performance association. This study underscores the critical role of distributive justice, manageable workloads, and supportive management in mitigating work-related depressive symptoms among teachers and subsequently improving their job performance. These findings necessitate interventions by educational institutions and policymakers that prioritize teacher well-being by addressing these key factors, ultimately contributing to a more effective and supportive educational environment.