The influence of autonomy, competence, and relatedness on teacher well-being

School morale and teacher satisfaction are declining. Fewer students are enrolling in teacher preparation programs, and teachers are leaving the professions due to stress and lack of satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to gain a rich understanding of the experiences that teachers with well-being have at work. The study was grounded in self-determination theory, and I examined the three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness to determine how teachers with well-being experienced these factors in the workplace.;The research design I chose for this study was phenomenology. The phenomenological design most closely aligned with the goal of the study, which was to gain a deep understanding of the lived experiences of teachers with well-being. After selecting two participants with well-being, I interviewed them multiple times. I also visited the schools in which the participants worked. I then coed and analyzed the data using NVivo.;After analyzing the data, I concluded that relatedness most heavily influenced teachers' well-being. Specifically, feelings of connectedness with students and colleagues elevated the teachers' feelings of well-being. Autonomy and competence also contributed to well-being, but according to the participants, relatedness had the most significant influence on well-being.;Further research should continue to explore teachers' well-being. To gain a more in-depth understanding of teacher well-being, researchers could use a larger and more diverse sample to more accurately represent the population as a whole. Additionally, I recommend that researchers monitor teachers' well-being throughout the school year in order to understand the fluctuation in well-being throughout the year.