Combining teaching with another job: a possible resource to face professional challenges. Preliminary findings from a Swiss study in vocational education and training

Abstract

Background: There is a general consensus regarding the stressful nature of the teaching profession and an extensive body of literature has shown a multitude of risks and protective factors that influence teachers’ professional well-being. In this framework, a growing interest has been observed in the research dealing with the effects of combining teaching with another job (multiple job-holding) on teachers’ professional well-being. However, the literature investigating the relationship between multiple job-holding and professional well-being is quite heterogeneous and related findings are still inconsistent. Thus, the need for further investigation to clarify the psychological and behavioural consequences of multiple job-holding for teachers emerges. The present study will contribute to meeting this need by exploring the possible protective role of combining teaching with another job in a large sample of Swiss vocational education and training (VET) teachers in Canton of Ticino. Methods: Data on perceived threatening factors and professional well-being were collected from 602 VET teachers using an online questionnaire. A one-way ANOVA test was employed to investigate the effect of multiple job-holding on perceived threatening factors and professional well-being. A multiple group path analysis was performed to examine the moderating effect of multiple job-holding on the relationship between threatening factors and professional well-being. Results: The findings showed that combining teaching with another job has an indirect impact on teachers’ professional well-being by reducing their perceived exposure to threatening factors and related stress. Moreover, multiple job-holding helps moderate the negative effects of school-related challenges as well as the difficulties in balancing work and other activities on professional well-being. Conclusions: The study reinforced the positive interpretation of multiple job-holding as a possible resource for teachers at both the instructional and personal levels. The added value of this condition should be taken into greater consideration at the policy and school levels through the creation of favourable conditions for teachers who are interested in and available to experience additional jobs outside school walls. However, further investigation is needed to better understand the positive impact of combining teaching with another job, particularly in relation to specific jobs’ structural characteristics and individuals’ biographical situations.