Who pays more for early starts? Early-morning time pressure, sleep-related states, and role-contingent work engagement among Chinese university teachers

Background Early-morning work schedules may act as temporal job demands by reducing recovery opportunities. This study examined associations among early-morning time pressure, sleep-related states, and work engagement in Chinese university teachers. Methods A cross-sectional, multi-regional online survey was conducted among 516 university teachers from 30 provincial-level regions in China. Early-morning time pressure was indexed by weekly early-duty frequency, institutional advance-arrival requirements, and actual advance-arrival behavior. Participants also reported prior-night sleep quality, morning fatigue, and UWES-9 work engagement. Analyses were conducted using SPSS 22.0, principal component analysis, and PROCESS Models 6, 7, and 14. Results The three indicators showed sufficient convergence to support a composite early-morning time pressure index. Greater time pressure was directly associated with lower work engagement but also showed positive indirect associations through better-rated sleep quality, lower fatigue, and their serial pathway, indicating inconsistent mediation. The time pressure–fatigue association varied by professional rank and administrative responsibilities; age-related moderation was weaker, and teaching experience was not significant. Administrative responsibilities also strengthened the negative association between fatigue and engagement. Conclusion Although the cross-sectional self-report design precludes causal inference, the findings suggest that universities should assess early schedules by their total time cost, distribute advance-arrival demands more equitably, and avoid combining early teaching with intensive administrative duties.