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Early Childhood Staff and their Work Engagement
Abstract   Peer reviewed

Early Childhood Staff and their Work Engagement

Prudence M Millear and Simone Chong
12th EAOHP Conference: Book of Proceedings, pp.138-139
European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology: Occupational Health Psychology in Times of Change: Society and the workplace, 12th (Athens, Greece, 11-Apr-2016–13-Apr-2016)
2016
url
http://www.eaohp.org/uploads/1/1/0/2/11022736/eaohp_2016_-_book_of_proceedings.pdfView
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Abstract

Specialist Studies in Education Psychology
Working in early childhood education and care is characterised by lower pay and conditions than similar staff in primary and secondary schools. Turnover can be particularly high for long day care centres (LDCs), where retention is taken as a marker of a high quality centre. Despite poorer wages, staff who remain report that supporting child development and fostering relationships are highly rewarding. The role of these rewards are explored over and above other workplace conditions, such as demands and amenities of the external environment, and the individual's coping strategies and perceptions of friendly relationships at work (as a measure of fulfilling the need for relatedness). It was expected that intrinsically motivated employees would cope better with job demands and would also benefit from more pleasant amenities (e.g., more shade, space to play), report greater social support and friendly relationships with colleagues, and have greater work engagement. Australian women volunteers (N = 214) from LDCs (n = 184), kindergartens (n = 20), and other services completed an online survey about the work environment, job demands, rewards, social support, coping strategies and need for relatedness. Hierarchical multiple regressions explored the predictors of work engagement. Block 1 included work role, health and friendly workplace relationships; Block 2: hours, job demands and amenities; Block 3: job rewards and social support; and Block 4: coping strategies. The female participants worked from 8 to 80 hours/week (M = 41.0, SD = 12.8); as room assistants (n = 53), group leaders (n = 34), kindergarten teachers/directors (n = 34) or LDC directors (n = 64). Most were in full-time (n = 143), rather than part-time (n = 65) or casual (n = 15) positions. More senior work roles (e.g., director, teacher) had greater levels of work engagement than room assistants, although job demands did not vary between these positions. All blocks contributed significantly to work engagement. Good health remained significant, whilst the positive effect of work role and friendly relationships were mediated by the successive blocks; as were amenities and job demands. At the final step, job rewards that were intrinsically motivating, good health, and coping strategies that focus on planning and seeking support to manage work stress, predicted greater work engagement. Further mediation analyses found that the effect of friendly relationships on greater work engagement was mediated by how rewarding the women perceived their work. Women with more senior positions reported greater work engagement, but this was mediated by better workplace amenities and by seeing work as more rewarding. Work engagement was strongly predicted by good health and the women's perceptions that their work was intrinsically rewarding and important for children to achieve their potential. This was regardless of their position within the early childhood industry, workplace amenities, job demands, or how supported or friendly they found their colleagues. Finding rewards within one's work buffered the effects of job demands; highlighting the need for employers to take effective steps to foster the staffs' intrinsic desire to help children's educational development.

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