Revisiting the Job Demands-Resources Model in the Teaching Satisfaction of Faculty Teaching Online: The Mediating Roles of Emotional Exhaustion and Motivation

Abstract: This study investigates the structural relationship among the job demands and job resources of higher education institutions (HIEs) regarding online teaching, faculty’s emotional exhaustion and autonomous motivation in online teaching, and their satisfaction in teaching. Since the pandemic, regardless of the capacities of HIEs where faculty work, there has been an increasing sense that the quality of online education and their decisions to offer more online courses and programs would be a significant strategic step for HIEs. This has brought new job demands and resources for faculty’s work. Situated in the Job Demands and Resources (JD-R) model, we collected survey data from 261 faculty members in US HIEs who teach online courses. The findings indicate the significant effect of job demands associated with online teaching on faculty’s emotional exhaustion. The study also highlights the mediating role of exhaustion from online teaching on the relationship between job demands and satisfaction for their teaching. Moreover, emotional exhaustion mediates the relationships between job demands and motivation. Lastly, job resources had a significant indirect effect on teaching satisfaction mediated by faculty motivation. This study contributes to the HRD literature by applying the JD-R model in HIEs, focusing on faculty teaching online. The study extends the JD-R model by introducing emotional exhaustion as a mediator and underscoring importance of autonomous motivation. The findings offer insights how HIEs can operate HRD principles by developing novel strategies to better support faculty in managing new job demands and revisiting their current job resources related online teaching.