Indefinite vs. fixed-term work contracts: the impact over the teachers’ work-engagement

A teacher’s work during the school year should be seen as a marathon or as a sprint? This paper intends to contribute to the expanding body of literature on the work-engagement issues of education employees from a perspective of strategic human resources management. It investigates how the length of their working contracts influences the level of engagement shown for their work. It was assumed that the existence of an indefinite or a fixed-term work contract brings up aspects such as stability, predictability and coherence for a teacher’s work, all thought to be parts of a positive engagement state of mind. Nevertheless, the acknowledgement and the acceptance of a short time collaboration could bring just as good results if the focus remains on the present moment. In order to gain a better understanding it was performed a quantitative research materialized in a questionnaire, answered by school teachers employed under both forms of contracts. The findings of this study are of value for any of the educational field stakeholders as the system’s human resources are the most valuable asset for a qualitative result. In the end, implications of a predominant engaged or disengaged stuff will be discussed and human resources management suggestions will be made.