Adulthood in teachers of higher education: difference in the management of their work-life balance and organizational commitment

Abstract

This study aimed to compare the extent to which a sample of Portuguese teachers in Higher Education Institutions, divided into two groups (young adults, ages 20-39 years; and advance adults, ages 40-70 years), differed in the management of their work-life balance and organizational commitment. Data collection was conducted using the Work-Family Scale, the Organizational Commitment Scale and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Between 2012 and 2019, 652 participants were enrolled in the study. Through a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA, General Linear Model procedure), results suggest that young adult teachers display higher scores of family to work facilitation, while advance adult teachers evidence higher scores of normative commitment. Given the results found, recommendations for Higher Education Institutions were outlined.