Insecurity and psychological well-being among faculty in academia: exploring the constraints and conduits of positive psychological functioning.

Abstract

Purpose: Job insecurity characterizes academic work, with potential risks for the health, well-being, and personal lives of faculty. Notwithstanding, faculty with job insecurity experiences may still find academia conducive to pursuing personal fulfilment. As faculty experiences of psychological well-being may be coloured by insecurity, this study sought to qualitatively investigate the ways in which experiences of insecurity and psychological well-being co-occur.

Methods: This study followed a questionnaire study of a representative sample of faculty in Swedish academia and their job insecurity perceptions, inviting the most insecure to participate. The participant group included 19 faculty from nine public Swedish higher education institutions. Transcripts of the semi-structured interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, guided by the six theoretical dimensions of psychological well-being.

Results: Two themes were developed: 1) Staying afloat?, and 2) I'm not yet where I'm supposed to be. These themes elucidate faculty experiences of managing their current work (and personal) situations, and reveal how faculty orient themselves in relation to their futures, pasts and presents.

Conclusions: The findings demonstrate how experiences of insecurity co-exist with psychological well-being in constraining and enhancing faculty well-being. This reveals how psychological well-being involves a dynamic process of negotiation, especially during transitional periods.