Relationship Between Work Engagement and Voice

Complaints Among Elementary School Teachers

*Minoo Nazari, †,‡Maryam Dastoorpoor, *Roya Ghasemzadeh, and §Negin Moradi, *yzxAhvaz, Iran

Summary: Introduction. Engaged teachers feel rewarded at work, complete assignments in a positive manner
and, often immerse themselves in their work. However, voice complaints are more common for teachers than
other professionals which may negatively affect their engagement. This study aims to determine the relationship
between work engagement and voice complaints for elementary school teachers.
Method. This descriptive-analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 elementary school teachers in
2018. To study voice complaints, the researchers used the self-reporting question “Have you complained about
your voice during the past year or so?” Work engagement was measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale
(UWES). To analyze the data, descriptive and analytical statistical methods, including two-way ANOVA, were
used.
Results. A total of 55.67% (n = 167) of the teachers had voice complaints, and 44.33% (n = 133) had no voice
complaints. After controlling for gender, the results of the study showed that there is a statistically significant
relationship between voice complaints and work engagement (P < 0.001) and its three dimensions, including:
vigor (P ≤ 0.001), dedication (P ≤ 0.001), and absorption (P ≤ 0.001).
Conclusion. The results of the present study showed that teachers with voice complaints have lower work
engagement than those without. Given the central importance of work engagement in organizational, social, and
financial systems, undivided attention should be given to treatment of voice disorders among teachers.
Key Words: Work engagement−Voice complaint−Teachers.

INTRODUCTION teachers can guarantee the effectiveness of a state’s educa-

A component of positive organizational behavior is work
engagement.1 A relatively new concept, work engagement
is the result of the impact of positive psychology on
human resources, focusing on optimal performance and
positive work experiences.2 Optimal work engagement
results in becoming deeply involved in and having a sense
of achievement in different activities and is identified with
three dimensions: vigor, dedication, and absorption.2
Baker believes that engaged employees exhibit an active,
acceptable behavior at work. In fact, engaged individuals
are cognitively, physically, and emotionally involved in
their work.3 Work engagement is of crucial importance,
as it has a considerable impact on organizational factors
such as job performance, job satisfaction, organizational
performance, reduced staff absenteeism, improved employee
attitude, higher productivity, improved profit and income
margins, and . . .2,4,5
One of the most important organizations in any country
is its educational organization and the key to the progress of
any educational organization is motivated and effective
teachers. As pillars of the teaching and learning process,
Accepted for publication December 2, 2019.
From the *Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Research Center, Department of Reha-
bilitation Administration, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz,
Iran; ySocial Determinants of Health Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University
of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran; zDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,
School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz,
Iran; and the xMusculoskeletal Rehabilitation Research Center, Department of
Speech Therapy, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Negin Moradi, Musculoskeletal
Rehabilitation Research Center, Department of Speech Therapy, Ahvaz Jundishapur
University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. E-mail: neginmoradist@gmail.com
Journal of Voice, Vol. 35, No. 4, pp. 665.e1−665.e5
0892-1997
© 2019 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2019.12.001
tion system through a high level of motivation, favorable
attitude, and passion.6 In his studies, Kahn points to teach-
ers’ work engagement and the degree to which they are
involved in and motivated by their occupation.7 According
to Kahn, engaged teachers feel energized at work, do their
tasks enthusiastically, and immerse themselves in their job.8
As they have an important role to play in students’ success,
identifying teacher-related factors that correlate to student
achievement is essential.9
On the other hand, teachers are found to have more voice
complaints than other professional groups.10 Teachers with
more voice complaints are at greater risk of developing
voice disorders.10 Symptoms such as hoarseness, vocal
fatigue, loss of voice, and sore throat are symptoms stem-
ming from inappropriate use known as work-related voice
disorders which can affect leisure activities, social relation-
ships, and well-being.11 Several studies have shown that ele-
mentary school teachers are more likely to have vocal
problems as result of educational activities.12 These prob-
lems can lead to occupational disability or have adverse
impacts on student learning.12,13 The conditions caused by
vocal problems can sometimes limit teachers’ work perfor-
mance and force them to leave their profession.13,14 In addi-
tion, vocal problems can lead to physical problems for
teachers, educational challenges for students, and financial
burden for communities.15 Teachers are likely to experience
financial, occupational, health-related, and social prob-
lems15 Therefore, it is important to identify the relation-
ship between vocal symptoms and teachers’ ability to
perform vocal tasks and carry out job requirements.16
Voice problems can have a significant negative impact on
teachers’ current and future careers.15
665.e2 Journal of Voice, Vol. 35, No. 4, 2021

Since work engagement can affect students and teachers work engagement by moderating the gender confounding
in different occupational and organizational dimensions, effect. SPSS 22 software was used for analysis. The signifi-
the present study aims to determine the relationship between cance level 0.05 was used throughout the test.
work engagement and voice complaints among elementary
school teachers.
RESULTS
Table 1 shows the demographic information of the teachers
METHOD participating in the study. Of the 300 teachers in atten-
This is a cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study dance, 70 were male and 230 females, of whom 167 had
conducted on 300 elementary teachers by convenience voice complaints (114 females and 53 males) and 133 had
sampling in 2018. Subjects were selected from teachers no voice complaints (108 females and 25 males). The mean
aged 20−60 years. Inclusion criteria for the study were no age of the teachers participating in the study was 40 years
history of neurogenic, hormonal, neurological, and hear- with a standard deviation of 9.385. The majority of teachers
ing disorders, no use of voice therapy medications, and participating in the study were married, held a bachelor's
having no experience of speech therapy sessions, having no degree, and were full-time employed (Table 1). Other demo-
cold and respiratory or allergic disease 2 months prior to graphic characteristics of the participants are presented in
the test,15,17 no smoking history or alcohol and drugs Table 1.
affecting voice. The consent of the respondents to take Table 2 shows that there is no significant correlation
part in the study was taken. The information was obtained between total work engagement and voice complaint and
through demographic checklists. age (P value > 0.05).
The data collection tools included: (1) a demographic Table 3 shows the mean distribution of total work
checklist: This checklist contains information on the inclu- engagement score and its three dimensions, according to
sion criteria for this study. (2) Self-report of teachers about voice complaints in men and women. As can be seen in both
voice complaint (the question: “Have you complained about genders, the total mean for work engagement and dimen-
your voice during the past year or so?”).18 Thus, the partici- sions of vigor, dedication, and absorption were significantly
pants were divided into two groups of teachers with and lower in people with voice complaints (P < 0.05).
without voice complaints. (3) To assess work engagement,
the researchers used the Persian version of the Utrecht
Work Engagement Scale. The work engagement scale con- TABLE 1.
sists of 17 items in three parts: vigor (six items), dedication The Frequency Distribution of Demographic Information
(five items) and absorption (six items). The reliability and of Teachers Participating in the Study
validity of the scale is verified by Torabinia et al (Cron-
Variable Category N %
bach’s alpha coefficient: 0.84).19 The sum of all items is the
total score of work engagement. A 7-point scale 0 (never) to Gender Female 222 74.00
6 (always) was used for each item. The average for each Male 78 26.00
part of the scale is calculated by the number of items divided Marital status Married 234 78.00
by the sum of the items. Therefore, the score for each section Divorced 5 1.66
Widow 5 1.66
and the mean total score ranges from 0 to 6, a higher score
single 56 18.66
indicating higher work engagement. Number of 0 78 26.00
A brief description of the study was given to the subjects. children 1 54 18.00
Separate approval and written consent were obtained, and 2 97 32.33
they were assured that their information would be kept 3 53 17.66
confidential. At this stage, a personal information form 4 and more 18 6.00
was completed by the subjects (their personal information Education High school 6 2.00
was sorted by number). Each questionnaire was handed Associate’s degree 33 11.00
out to all the teachers of a school in one day and was col- Undergraduate 177 59.00
lected the same day. The instructions to fill in the question- Master and PhD 84 28.00
naire and the time (10 min) was written above the first Employment Permanent 220 73.33
Temporary 34 11.33
paper.
Fixed term 46 15.33
Descriptive statistics, standard deviation, and frequency Time of work Part time 63 21.00
were used. The normality of the data was tested using the Full time 237 79.00
Shapiro-Wilk test, indicating that the data are normally Female With 114 38.00
distributed. Inferential statistics section was used to inves- Without 108 36.00
tigate the relationship between voice complaints variable Voice complaint Male With 53 17.66
and work engagement using independent sample t test. Without 25 8.33
Also, the two-way ANOVA test was used to investigate Total 300 100.00
the relationship between the voice complaints variable and
Minoo Nazari, et al Relationship Between Work Engagement and Voice Complaints 665.e3

TABLE 2.
Correlation Between Total Work Engagement, Voice Complaint and Age
Pearson Correlation Age (year)
Total work engagement Correlation coefficient 0.104
P value 0.073
Voice complaint Correlation coefficient 0.009
P value 0.881

TABLE 3.
Comparison of the Mean Distribution of Total Work Engagement Score and its Three Dimensions Among Teachers With
and Without Voice Complaints by Gender
Female Male
Voice Complaint N Mean § SD P Value* N Mean P Value*
Total work engagement Yes 114 3.67 § 1.07 0.001 53 3.57 § 0.7 0.002
No 108 4.98 § 0.72 25 4.47 § 1.22
Vigor Yes 114 3.98 § 0.97 0.001 53 3.81 § 0.78 0.005
No 108 5.06 § 0.74 25 4.60 § 1.21
Dedication Yes 114 3.98 § 1.16 0.001 53 3.96 § 0.87 0.014
No 108 5.25 § 0.73 25 4.72 § 1.34
Absoption Yes 114 3.10 § 1.29 0.001 53 3.06 § 0.71 0.001
No 108 4.67 § 0.96 25 4.13 § 1.35
* P values extracting from independent-samples t test.

TABLE 4.
The Relationship Between Voice Complaint and the Three Dimensions of Work Engagement after Adjustment for Gender
Work Engagement Voice Complaint Mean § SD Mean Square b P Value*
Total work engagement Yes 3.64 § 0.97 39.66 0.323 <0.001
No 4.88 § 0.86
Vigor Yes 3.92 § 0.91 28.91 0.271 <0.001
No 4.97 § 0.87
Dedication Yes 3.97 § 1.07 36.17 0.270 <0.001
No 5.15 § 0.89
Absorption Yes 3.09 § 1.14 55.91 0.317 <0.001
No 4.57 § 1.06
* P values extracting from two-way ANOVA test.

The results in Table 4 show the relationship between voice
complaint and the work engagement, after adjustment for
gender. As can be seen, there is a significant relationship
between teachers' voice complaint and total work engage-
ment score and its three dimensions. After adjustment for
gender, the mean scores for total work engagement and the
dimensions of vigor, dedication, and absorption in subjects
with vocal complaints were significantly lower than those
without (P < 0.05; Table 4).
DISCUSSION
Our results showed that there is a significant difference
between the total score and the three dimensions of work
engagement (vigor, dedication, and absorption) and gender
in teachers with and without voice complaints. With com-
plaints, teachers’ work engagement degrades, and it is more
significant for women. The study also found that the medi-
ating effect of gender and voice complaint had no effect on
work engagement and its three dimensions.
The results of this study are similar to the results of a
study by Asadi et al and Pinto Giannini et al. The literature
shows that teachers with voice complaints have more prob-
lems with job performance than teachers without.20 Voice
disorders are significantly associated with work ability and
may affect teachers’ ability to continue working.21
In this study, comparison of mean data on work experi-
ence, age, and income with voice complaints showed no sig-
nificant differences between variables, which are similar to
studied by Kooijman et al,22 Preciado-L opez et al,23 and
665.e4
Kasbey et al20 but differed from a study by Smith and col-
leagues in 1997 on the prevalence and impact of teacher
voice problems.12 Teachers that are older and have more
work experience reported more voice complaints.12
The Tukey test was used to investigate the differences
between groups, and the results showed that there is a sta-
tistically significant difference between males and females
as regards work engagement and its three dimensions (ie,
vigor, high level of energy, and mental resilience; dedica-
tion, referring to the ability to get involved in work and
perceive emotions, enthusiasm, passion, and pride; and
absorption, giving full attention to work and happiness
with being immersed in work).24 These results were not in
line with a study by Tshilongamulenzhe et al, showing that
there is no significant difference between work engagement
and its three dimensions and gender among staff at the
University of South Africa.25 This study found no signifi-
cant difference between voice complaints and gender.
These results were not in line with the results of a 2007
study by Munir et al, who found that, compared to men,
women are more likely to develop vocal disorders and seek
treatment.26
Given the importance of training human resources, as the
major asset of any community, and a highly competitive
environment, teacher performance needs to be enhanced.
This will hopefully educate teachers who are committed to
school values and are enthusiastic to go beyond their occupa-
tional obligations to get involved in organization citizenship
behavior.27 In general, engaged employees fully integrate and
identify themselves with the organization, perceiving its fail-
ures and successes as their own. These indicate the impor-
tance of this variable in organizations and especially in the
educational system.9
Dedicated and engaged people bring a positive attitude
to organizations and positive results and high perfor-
mance. Therefore, it is important for organizations to be
aware of indicators that lead to positive results. This is
highly important to educational organizations, because
they need organization citizenship behavior.27
On the other hand, teachers “voice disorders have a detri-
mental impact on students” concentration and learning, and
with negative educational effects on their perception. Thus,
in addition to raising concerns about teachers’ health, voice
problems can influence their professional life, occupational
satisfaction, and personal life to different degrees.16
Moreover, teachers should be encouraged to self-report
voice complaints to minimize their effects. In addition, differ-
ent methods are recommended to prevent problems, includ-
ing voice hygiene training, educating teachers about healthy
voices, creating an environment with less noise, and putting
teachers in an improved physical and mental atmosphere. It
is also suggested to find ways to increase teachers' work
engagement.
One of the limitations of this study is the use of self-
reported questionnaire to assess teachers’ voice complaints.
Therefore, it is suggested that acoustic tests be used to assess
teachers’ voices.
Journal of Voice, Vol. 35, No. 4, 2021
CONCLUSION
The study of the difference between work engagement and
voice complaint revealed that teachers with voice complaints
have lower work engagement score both overall and per
dimension. This indicates that individuals who depend on
their voices in the profession, need to give particular attention
to work engagement. Work engagement is closely associated
with absenteeism, creativity, and innovation, commitment
and organizational performance. Thus, if neglected, it will
leave multiple consequences.
Acknowledgment
This study was carried out at the Musculoskeletal Rehabili-
tation Research Center Ahvaz Jundishapur University of
Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
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