Workload and Need for Recovery in the Academy: The Moderating Role of Student Demands and Meaningful Work Perceptions

Research has often focused on which teaching-related stressors might undermine teachers' effectiveness, with spillover effects on students' performance. This connection makes studies on teacher well-being crucial, as well as the search for variables that can act as a buffer for unavoidable job stressors. The present study investigates whether the relationship between academic workload and the need for recovery varies based on student demands and meaningful work perceptions. Hence, a moderated moderation model was tested on 236 Italian university teachers. The results show that the effect of academic workload on the need for recovery is higher in conditions of high student demands. Meaningful work plays a protective role, mitigating the effect of academic workload in both high and low student demands conditions. These findings suggest the promotion of protective elements that can trigger a virtuous process such that teachers' well-being improves effectiveness, which, in turn, improves students' learning experience.