Teachers’ well-being and job satisfaction: the important role of positive emotions in the workplace

With teacher shortages around the world and high attrition rates in some countries, teachers who experience high job satisfaction offer solid support for school systems as they are healthier, more productive and more likely to retain their job in the long term. This study sheds light on the relationship between job-related well-being and job satisfaction. It investigates the extent to which the well-being domains of (P) positive emotions, (E) engagement, (R) relationships, (M) meaning and (A) achievement are linked to job satisfaction. To do so, it analyses data from 511 German schoolteachers. Results show that higher PERMA profiles were linked to higher job satisfaction rates. Analyses further specified that, of the five factors, positive emotions provided the strongest contribution in predicting job satisfaction. The results suggest that the job-related well-being of teachers, especially positive emotions in the workplace, play an important role in teachers’ job satisfaction and their subsequent retention.