Balancing act: How work passion shapes educators’ work-life balance and retention
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35564/jmbe.2026.0018Keywords:
work-life balance, passion, intent to stay, moderation analysis, educators, spill over theoryAbstract
The modern era is moving at a fast pace. Every industry is affected by this dynamic change and shift from its traditional mode of operations. Education also undergoes rapid changes in content and pedagogy which puts more responsibilities and stress on the educators who facilitate this change. This study examines the critical role of work-life balance for the well-being and retention of educators and highlights the moderating role of work passion. The study targets educators, a high proportion of whom are women in their early or middle adulthood, as they are challenged to balance work and family responsibilities. Despite their high qualifications, there is constant conflict in the work-life balance among this talented group, and their intention to stay in this profession is often challenged by multiple factors. This study used a descriptive design using convenience sampling to target its respondents for the study in the region of Kerala, India, with a sample size of 315. A structured questionnaire based on the work-life balance scale, work passion and intent to stay scale was used in which the statistical analysis included Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman Rank Correlation and Moderation analysis using Hayes PROCESS macro. The gender influence on work passion was test using the Mann-Whitney U test while the Spearman correlation investigated the strength of association between the constructs of this research. The findings of moderation analysis by Hayes PROCESS macro demonstrate that work-life balance, work passion, and intent to stay are interconnected constructs that significantly impact educators’ decisions to remain in their profession. This highlights the urgent need for educational institutions to implement supportive policies that enhance work-life balance and nurture work passion.
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