Job Demands and Resources in the Work of University Teachers in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

[EN] The situation of higher education as a workplace as well as that of the academics has changed significantly in recent decades. Earlier, compared to working in other fields, teaching at a university was considered to be a predictable, calm, relatively stress-free, flexible, autonomous, and socially recognized profession. Teachers and colleagues were protected from many sources of workplace stress, such as uncertainty, work-related ambiguity, or low job control, but today this is no longer the typical case (Kinman, 2014). The expectations (or needs) related to these roles and activities put strong pressure on the teachers, they are serious sources of stress that have a negative impact on their health, well-being (KIinman et al., 2006; Kinman, 2014). Based on the job demands-resources theory (JD-R theory) this paper investigates the workplace factors affecting the health and well-being of Central and Eastern European (CEE) university teachers.