Work Stress and Personal and Relational Well-Being Among Chinese College Teachers: The Indirect Roles of Sense of Control and Work-Related Rumination

PURPOSE: The association between work stress and well-being has been well documented. However, the underlying mechanism for such association is not clear, especially in terms of how work stress relates to both personal and relational well-being. Based on the Conservation of Resources Theory and the Stress Process Model, the present study examined the potential indirect roles of the sense of control and the work-related rumination in the associations between work stress and both personal and relational well-being. METHODS: Data were collected from 536 married Chinese university teachers (M(age) = 39.40 + 7.64, 38.6% males) through an online survey. Analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling via Mplus. RESULTS: Work stress was indirectly associated with life satisfaction through (a) sense of control, (b) work-related rumination, and (c) a sequential pathway from sense of control to work-related rumination. Work stress was indirectly associated with relationship satisfaction through sense of control. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that sense of control would be an important linking mechanism underlying the association between work stress and college teachers’ well-being. Personal well-being may be more vulnerable to work-related rumination than relational well-being. Insights for prevention and intervention efforts in enriching college teachers’ well-being are discussed.