Predictors of Happiness among Teachers and School Counselors: Job Satisfaction and Loneliness in the Workplace

OpenAlex · İngilizce

The aim of this study is to investigate the extent to which teachers and school counselors' job satisfaction and their loneliness in the workplace predicts their happiness. The study was conducted on 277 (173 of them were female and 104 of them were male) people living in Istanbul province. Data was collected using the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire-Short Form, the Job Satisfaction Scale, and the Loneliness in the Workplace Scale. The independent samples t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and stepwise multiple regression analysis were used in the analysis of the data. The results of this study showed that the level of happiness of teachers and school counselors did not differ significantly according to age, gender, and marital status, and that job satisfaction alone predicted 19% of happiness. On the other hand, job satisfaction together with emotional deprivation, a sub-dimension of loneliness in the workplace, predicted 24% of the variance in happiness. In the research, it was found that there is a relationship between happiness and job satisfaction of teachers and psychological counselors in the school environment. Accordingly, factors that negatively affect job satisfaction can be determined in order to increase teachers' happiness levels. Career psychological counseling services can be offered to increase the job satisfaction of teachers and psychological counselors. In the study, it was found that there was a significant relationship between the happiness levels of teachers and psychological counselors in the school environment and their loneliness in the workplace.