Navigating workaholism, life balance, and quality of life among academic nurse educators: exploring the role of resilience.

BACKGROUND: Academic nurse educators play a vital role in shaping the future nursing workforce. However, the high demands of their profession often contribute to workaholism-an uncontrollable compulsion to work excessively-which disrupts work-life balance and negatively impacts professional quality of life and well-being. PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the relationships among workaholism, resilience, life balance, and professional quality of life among academic nurse educators. Additionally, it explored whether resilience mediates the effects of workaholism on quality of life. METHODS: A descriptive correlational research design was used, involving a convenience sample of 317 academic nurse educators from the Faculty of Nursing at Alexandria University, Egypt. Four validated and reliable tools were utilized: the Dutch Work Addiction Scale, Life Balance Inventory, Professional Quality of Life Scale, and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and path analysis using structural equation modeling (SEM) were applied. RESULTS: The findings revealed that approximately two-thirds of academic nurse educators exhibited workaholic tendencies, particularly compulsive working patterns, and reported unbalanced lives. While 77.9% demonstrated moderate professional quality of life, 67.5% exhibited moderate resilience. Significant negative correlations were found between workaholism and life balance, professional quality of life, and resilience (p < 0.001). Path analysis showed that resilience and life balance both played significant roles in reducing the negative impact of workaholism and enhancing professional quality of life. Demographic factors such as age, gender, academic qualifications, and years of experience significantly influenced levels of workaholism and resilience. CONCLUSIONS: Workaholism significantly undermines life balance and professional quality of life among academic nurse educators, while resilience and life balance act as protective factors that mitigate these negative effects. Academic institutions should implement structured interventions such as resilience building programs, workload management strategies, and faculty well-being policies to support educators. For policymakers, prioritizing resilience building and workload reforms within national higher education frameworks is essential to protect faculty well-being, strengthen retention, and ensure the sustainability of nursing education. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.