Teachers' multiple roles and skill flexibility: Effects on work attitudes

This study investigated the mediating effect of teachers' skill flexibility (the mastery and utilization of various skills) on the relationship between holding multiple roles (extrateaching school roles) and work attitudes (burnout, tendency to quit, and organizational commitment). In this study, skill flexibility was composed of three components: skill utilization, skill variety, and multiskilling orientation. SEM path analysis revealed that skill utilization mediated the effect of holding multiple roles on all three work attitudes, and skill variety mediated the effect of holding multiple roles on burnout. Multiskilling orientation added little explanation to the final model. Skill flexibility components also mediated the effects of demographic variables (age, education, nationality, and school size) on all three work attitudes. These results contribute to the conceptualization of skill flexibility, which has been relatively underresearched in the organizational literature. Implications for teachers' work design are discussed.