IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jhappi/v26y2025i1d10.1007_s10902-025-00863-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Interplay between Teachers’ Affective Well-Being and Thriving at Work: A Cross-Lagged Study

Author

Listed:
  • Shuhua Wei

    (University of Jinan)

  • Hejuan Ding

    (University of Jinan)

  • Huihui Sun

    (University of Jinan)

Abstract

Affective well-being, as an important component of well-being, is related to an individual’s mental health and quality of life. Previous studies have found that some psychological variables of employees at work can affect their well-being, but most studies use cross-sectional design, and the exploration of the potential psychological mechanism of the relationship between the two is unclear. This study adopted a longitudinal design to explore the dynamic bidirectional relationship between the thriving at work and affective well-being among the primary and secondary school teachers, and further investigated the mediating mechanism of work-family enrichment between them. Thriving at Work Questionnaire, Work-Family Enrichment Questionnaire, and Affective Well-being Questionnaire are used to conduct a three-wave longitudinal study design which with a sample of 778 teachers at an interval of one year. The results of the cross-lagged analysis showed that: (1) There was an interactive and mutually predictive association between teachers’ affective well-being and thriving at work. (2) The relationship between the positive and negative affective dimensions of teachers’ affective well-being and thriving at work was different; the positive affective dimension rather than the negative affective dimension at the former time point significantly predicted thriving at work at the latter time point; and the thriving at work at the former time point significantly predicted the negative affective dimension rather than the positive affective dimension at the latter time point. (3) Teachers’ work-family enrichment mediated the effect of their thriving at work on their affective well-being, but did not mediate the effect of their affective well-being on their thriving at work. (4) For the relationship between positive affective dimension or negative affective dimension and work-family enrichment and thriving at work, only work-family enrichment was found to play a mediating role in the process of thriving at work affecting positive affective. The study revealed the relationship and mechanism between teachers’ thriving at work, work-family enrichment, and affective well-being, and provided empirical research basis for educational administration and school organizations to explore effective measures to improve the working experience and well-being of teachers.

Suggested Citation

  • Shuhua Wei & Hejuan Ding & Huihui Sun, 2025. "Interplay between Teachers’ Affective Well-Being and Thriving at Work: A Cross-Lagged Study," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 1-23, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:26:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10902-025-00863-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-025-00863-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10902-025-00863-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10902-025-00863-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ed Diener, 1994. "Assessing subjective well-being: Progress and opportunities," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 103-157, February.
    2. Melikşah Demir & Metin Özdemir, 2010. "Friendship, Need Satisfaction and Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 243-259, April.
    3. Arkadiusz M. Jasiński & Romuald Derbis, 2022. "Work Stressors and Intention to Leave the Current Workplace and Profession: The Mediating Role of Negative Affect at Work," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-16, October.
    4. Pinar Bayhan Karapinar & Selin Metin Camgoz & Ozge Tayfur Ekmekci, 2020. "Employee Wellbeing, Workaholism, Work–Family Conflict and Instrumental Spousal Support: A Moderated Mediation Model," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(7), pages 2451-2471, October.
    5. Zohra Saleem & Ayaz Muhammad Hanif & Zhou Shenbei, 2022. "A Moderated Mediation Model of Emotion Regulation and Work-to-Family Interaction: Examining the Role of Emotional Labor for University Teachers in Pakistan," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, May.
    6. Gretchen Spreitzer & Kathleen Sutcliffe & Jane Dutton & Scott Sonenshein & Adam M. Grant, 2005. "A Socially Embedded Model of Thriving at Work," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(5), pages 537-549, October.
    7. Berlin, Martin & Fors Connolly, Filip, 2019. "The association between life satisfaction and affective well-being," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 34-51.
    8. Marigen Narea & Ernesto Treviño & Alejandra Caqueo-Urízar & Catalina Miranda & Javiera Gutiérrez-Rioseco, 2022. "Understanding the Relationship between Preschool Teachers’ Well-Being, Interaction Quality and Students’ Well-Being," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(2), pages 533-551, April.
    9. Gavin Slemp & Dianne Vella-Brodrick, 2014. "Optimising Employee Mental Health: The Relationship Between Intrinsic Need Satisfaction, Job Crafting, and Employee Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 957-977, August.
    10. Michael Busseri & Stan Sadava, 2013. "Subjective Well-Being as a Dynamic and Agentic System: Evidence from a Longitudinal Study," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 1085-1112, August.
    11. Jiménez-Estévez, Pedro & Yáñez-Araque, Benito & Ruiz-Palomino, Pablo & Gutiérrez-Broncano, Santiago, 2023. "Personal growth or servant leader: What do hotel employees need most to be affectively well amidst the turbulent COVID-19 times?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kennon M. Sheldon & Mike Corcoran & Mike Prentice, 2019. "Pursuing Eudaimonic Functioning Versus Pursuing Hedonic Well-Being: The First Goal Succeeds in Its Aim, Whereas the Second Does Not," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 919-933, March.
    2. Indy Wijngaards & Owen C. King & Martijn J. Burger & Job Exel, 2022. "Worker Well-Being: What it Is, and how it Should Be Measured," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(2), pages 795-832, April.
    3. Ömer Şimşek & Melikşah Demir, 2013. "Parental Support for Basic Psychological Needs and Happiness: The Importance of Sense of Uniqueness," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 112(3), pages 661-678, July.
    4. Haiyang Lu & Ivan T. Kandilov, 2021. "Does Mobile Internet Use Affect the Subjective Well-being of Older Chinese Adults? An Instrumental Variable Quantile Analysis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(7), pages 3137-3156, October.
    5. Melikşah Demir & Ömer Şimşek & Amanda Procsal, 2013. "I Am so Happy ‘Cause My Best Friend Makes Me Feel Unique: Friendship, Personal Sense of Uniqueness and Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 1201-1224, August.
    6. Melikşah Demir & Ayça Özen & Aysun Doğan & Nicholas Bilyk & Fanita Tyrell, 2011. "I Matter to My Friend, Therefore I am Happy: Friendship, Mattering, and Happiness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 12(6), pages 983-1005, December.
    7. Svenja Damberg & Lena Frömbling, 2022. "“Furry tales”: pet ownership’s influence on subjective well-being during Covid-19 times," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(5), pages 3645-3664, October.
    8. István Tóth-Király & Beáta Bőthe & Miriam Jánvári & Adrien Rigó & Gábor Orosz, 2019. "Longitudinal Trajectories of Passion and Their Individual and Social Determinants: A Latent Growth Modeling Approach," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(8), pages 2431-2444, December.
    9. František Petrovič & Patrik Maturkanič, 2022. "Urban-Rural Dichotomy of Quality of Life," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-18, July.
    10. Ghulam Abid & Francoise Contreras & Saira Ahmed & Tehmina Qazi, 2019. "Contextual Factors and Organizational Commitment: Examining the Mediating Role of Thriving at Work," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-18, August.
    11. Matthias Lühr & Maria K. Pavlova & Maike Luhmann, 2022. "They are Doing Well, but is it by Doing Good? Pathways from Nonpolitical and Political Volunteering to Subjective Well-Being in Age Comparison," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 1969-1989, June.
    12. Amar Fall & Fatéma Safy-Godineau & David Carassus, 2018. "Perceptions de justice organisationnelle dans les collectivités locales : quels impacts sur le bien-être psychologique au travail et sur l’intention de quitter des agents ?," Post-Print hal-02142237, HAL.
    13. Mia M. Vainio & Daiva Daukantaitė, 2016. "Grit and Different Aspects of Well-Being: Direct and Indirect Relationships via Sense of Coherence and Authenticity," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 2119-2147, October.
    14. E. Huebner & Rich Gilman & James Laughlin, 1999. "A Multimethod Investigation of the Multidimensionality of Children's Well-Being Reports: Discriminant Validity of Life Satisfaction and Self-Esteem," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 1-22, January.
    15. Violeta Misheva, 2016. "What Determines Emotional Well-Being? The Role of Adverse Experiences: Evidence Using Twin Data," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 1921-1937, October.
    16. Susana Marques & J. Pais-Ribeiro & Shane Lopez, 2011. "The Role of Positive Psychology Constructs in Predicting Mental Health and Academic Achievement in Children and Adolescents: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 12(6), pages 1049-1062, December.
    17. Muhammad Shahnawaz Adil, Kamal bin Ab Hamid, 2017. "Impact of Individual Feelings of Energy on Creative Work Involvement: A Mediating Role of Leader-Member Exchange," Journal of Management Sciences, Geist Science, Iqra University, Faculty of Business Administration, vol. 4(1), pages 82-105, March.
    18. Koen Decancq & Marc Fleurbaey & Erik Schokkaert, 2015. "Happiness, Equivalent Incomes and Respect for Individual Preferences," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 82, pages 1082-1106, December.
    19. Alexandra Nonnenmacher & Jürgen Friedrichs, 2013. "The Missing Link: Deficits of Country-Level Studies. A Review of 22 Articles Explaining Life Satisfaction," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(3), pages 1221-1244, February.
    20. Ciorbagiu Ioana & Stoica Adrian, 2020. "The Importance Of Affective And Cognitive Dimensions Of Happiness - Analysis In European Countries," Annals - Economy Series, Constantin Brancusi University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 6, pages 138-148, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:26:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10902-025-00863-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.