Exploring the Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Mental Workload Among University Professors

Professors' mental workload is critical as an influential factor in the quality of education and the delivery of educational services. Self-esteem can significantly impact their behavior and performance. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between self-esteem and mental workload in professors.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023 among 86 professors from all four faculties of Jiroft University of Medical Sciences (Medicine, Nursing and Midwifery, Health, and Paramedical Sciences), who were selected through census sampling. The data were collected using a three-part questionnaire consisting of demographic information, the standardized Rosenberg Self-Esteem Questionnaire, and the NASA Mental Workload Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, T-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient in SPSS v20 software at a significance level of 0.05.

The majority of professors were aged 30–40 years, 58.1% were men, 72.1% were married, 48.8% held professional doctorate degrees, 53.5% were affiliated with the medical school, and 65.1% had 1–10 years of work experience.

The findings revealed that professors experienced a higher-than-acceptable mental workload, while their self-esteem levels were categorized as high. Although an inverse relationship was observed between mental workload and self-esteem, it was not statistically significant. However, there was a significant relationship between mental workload and variables such as educational degree and faculty affiliation.

The study's findings suggest that while higher self-esteem may reduce mental workload among professors, no statistically significant relationship exists between these two factors. Nonetheless, mental workload was significantly associated with educational degree and faculty affiliation.