WORKPLACE CHALLENGES, WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AMONG FEMALE TEACHERS IN PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: A QUANTITATIVE STUDY IN FAISALABAD, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Despite the growing presence of women in Pakistan’s private education sector, female teachers continue to encounter systemic professional and socio-economic disadvantages. This study examines the workplace challenges, family attitudes, socio-economic conditions, job security, and psychological well-being of female teaching staff employed in private schools and colleges in Faisalabad City, Punjab, Pakistan. Using a cross-sectional quantitative research design guided by Role Conflict Theory, data were collected from 200 female teachers selected through purposive sampling of ten private institutions followed by simple random selection of respondents, using a structured, five-point Likert-scale questionnaire. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations) and inferential techniques (chi-square, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression) were used to analyze the data. Findings reveal that excessive workload (27%), gender-based discrimination (70.5% reporting some experience), work–family conflict (89% reporting exhaustion from dual responsibilities), and job insecurity (66.5% in non-permanent employment) are pervasive. Chi-square analysis confirmed that workplace challenges are non-randomly distributed (χ² = 372.56, df = 26, p = .001). Family encouragement and career autonomy emerged as the strongest correlates of career satisfaction (r = .67 and .63, respectively, p < .01), while job security, a safe working environment, and timely salary payment were the strongest predictors of psychological well-being, jointly explaining 56% of its variance (R² = .56, p < .001). The study concludes that the disadvantages experienced by female teachers in Pakistan’s private education sector are structurally embedded rather than incidental, and recommends institutional, regulatory, and family-level interventions to improve gender equity, job security, and teacher well-being.