Exploring the Associations Between Job Demands, Job Resources, and the Sustainability of the Teaching Profession in Hungarian and Swedish Educational Contexts

Sammanfattning

Teacher shortages and occupational strain have increased interest in understanding the factors that support long-term teacher sustainability. Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and the Sustainable Working Life for All Ages (SwAge) framework, this study examined how organizational demands and resources relate to teacher professional sustainability in Hungary and Sweden. Professional sustainability was operationalized through job satisfaction, subjective well-being, professional development opportunities, and intention to remain in the profession. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 241 Hungarian and 148 Swedish teachers working in public elementary and secondary education. The study assessed organizational hindrances, emotional demands, leadership, collegial support, and organizational culture, while comparing patterns across the two educational contexts. Results revealed significant differences between Hungarian and Swedish teachers in several organizational conditions and sustainability outcomes. Swedish teachers generally reported more favourable organizational conditions, although sustainability outcomes showed a more nuanced pattern. Organizational demands and resources explained a substantial proportion of variance in sustainability outcomes, and these relationships remained largely consistent across countries, providing support for the applicability of the JD-R framework across the two educational contexts examined. Furthermore, findings suggested that teacher professional sustainability is multidimensional, consisting of both affective and cognitive-behavioural components. Overall, the study highlights the importance of organizational working conditions for supporting teacher sustainability and examines teacher sustainability through complementary JD-R and SwAge perspectives in a cross-national educational context.