Do Older Teachers Benefit More From Workday Break Recovery Than Younger Ones?

Abstract

Age has not received much attention in research on work stress recovery. The present study addressed this research gap by studying whether age moderates the relationship between recovery experiences (detachment from work and relaxation) during workday breaks and recovery outcomes (need for recovery and job burnout) among teachers. Both lunch breaks and breaks between classes offer teachers recovery opportunities during workdays. The cross-sectional data were collected via an electronic questionnaire among Finnish class and subject teachers (N = 769) working in publicly funded comprehensive schools (83% female, mean age 49.8 years). Moderated hierarchical regression analyses showed that older subject teachers benefitted more from break detachment and relaxation than their younger colleagues in terms of lower levels of exhaustion and sense of inadequacy at work. In addition, break detachment was more strongly related to a lower need for recovery among older subject teachers. These moderator effects were not found among class teachers who had fewer opportunities to detach and relax during workday breaks than subject teachers. In conclusion, age seems to play a minor role in internal recovery occurring during workdays among teachers.