Challenge and threat appraisal of job demands and their impact on mental health among vocational education teachers

Abstract Background Teachers in vocational schools are confronted with many daily job demands. However, these demands are not directly associated with stress. According to the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat, such demands can be judged as either challenging or threatening. Based on this model, the present study addressed the following research questions: (1) To what extent are different job demands appraised as challenges and threats by teachers in vocational education? (2) How does the appraisal of job demands moderate the relationship between perceived job demands and well-being, job satisfaction, risk of burnout, and experience of stress among teachers in vocational schools? (3) How do the personality traits and resilience of these teachers influence the appraisal of job demands? Methods To answer these questions, we drew on data from an online survey conducted in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With the use of closed items, 1470 teachers in vocational education were asked about their perception of six categories of job demands as well as their personality traits, resilience, tendency to burnout, well-being, job satisfaction, and experience of stress. Descriptive analyses, moderation analyses using structural equation modelling, and path analyses were conducted. Results The descriptive analyses showed that the category of teaching and interacting with learners was perceived as the most challenging category. Furthermore, challenge appraisal as a moderator was found to increase job satisfaction and decrease levels of burnout, while threat appraisal decreased well-being. Finally, resilience had a significant influence on the appraisal of job demands: higher levels of resilience led to higher values for challenge appraisal and lower values for threat appraisal. Conclusion These results imply that the appraisal of job demands is related to the mental health of teachers in vocational education. Building a repertoire of resources, e.g., cognitive appraisal training or cooperation between colleagues, may support a more optimistic challenge appraisal of job demands and improve teachers’ mental health. Furthermore, as resilience has been found to influence this appraisal process in favor of teachers’ mental health, teachers are encouraged to increase their resilience, for example, by using interventions.