See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334106760
Emotional labor strategies and job burnout in preschool teachers:
Psychological capital as a mediator and moderator
Article in Work · June 2019
DOI: 10.3233/WOR-192939
CITATIONS
READS
12
858
6 authors, including:
Jiaxi Peng
Chengdu University
51 PUBLICATIONS 1,286 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
All content following this page was uploaded by Jiaxi Peng on 03 April 2020.
The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.
335
Work 63 (2019) 335–345
DOI:10.3233/WOR-192939
IOS Press
Emotional labor strategies and job burnout
in preschool teachers: Psychological capital
as a mediator and moderator
Jiaxi Penga , Ye Hea,b , Jing Denga , Lulu Zhenga , Yi Changa and Xianqiang Liua,∗
a College
of Teachers, Chengdu University, Chengdu, China
Kindergarten, Chengdu University, Chengdu, China
b Affiliated
Received 8 August 2018
Accepted 8 April 2019
Abstract.
BACKGROUND: Preschool teachers can easily become exhausted and worn out, otherwise known as job burnout. Studies
have explored the effects of emotional labor strategies and psychological capital on job burnout; however, few have examined
their trilateral relationship, especially the role of psychological capital with respect to emotional labor strategies and job
burnout.
OBJECTIVE: This study explored the mediating and moderating effects of psychological capital in the relationship between
three kinds of emotional labor strategies and job burnout in preschool teachers.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among preschool teachers in China. A total of 355 preschool teachers
completed a self-report questionnaire, including three scales that measured emotional labor strategies, psychological capital,
and job burnout. Resultant data were analyzed based on correlations, multiple regressions, and structural equation modeling.
RESULTS: Results showed that for preschool teachers, two emotional labor strategies (deep acting and expression of natural
emotion) were found to be negatively correlated with psychological capital and positively correlated with job burnout.
However, surface acting was positively correlated with psychological capital and negatively correlated with job burnout.
Psychological capital partially mediated the effects of the three emotional labor strategies on job burnout. Additionally,
psychological capital significantly moderated the effects of surface acting and deep acting on job burnout.
CONCLUSIONS: Psychological capital can significantly mediate and moderate the effects of emotional labor strategies on
job burnout.
Keywords: Occupational mental health, positive psychology, mediating effect, moderating effect
1. Introduction
Job burnout has been studied extensively over prior
decades, resulting in numerous achievements [1, 2].
∗ Address for correspondence: Xianqiang Liu, College of
Teachers, Chengdu University, No. 2025 Chengnuo Avenue,
Chengdu, 610106, China. E-mail: xianqiangliu@tom.com.
Teachers have attracted wide attention as a high-risk
group [3, 4]; however, research on educators’ job
burnout has mainly focused on teachers in middle
schools or colleges and rarely on those in preschools.
Preschool teachers are educators who teach the
youngest pupils and are the foundation of basic education, reflecting the importance of their roles [5].
Thus, studying job burnout among preschool teachers
1051-9815/19/$35.00 © 2019 – IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved
336
J. Peng et al. / Emotional labor strategies
will elicit worthwhile insights regarding teachers and
children. In this study, we explored the effects of emotional labor strategies and psychological capital on
job burnout among preschool teachers based on the
job demands–resources (JDR) model with particular focus on the trilateral relations among these three
variables.
the JD-R model. Xanthopoulou et al. criticized that
the model simply interprets resources as those in the
working environment, and ignored individuals’ mental capacity or personal resources [21]. Xanthopoulou
et al. further stated that individual resources can serve
similar purposes to job resources [21].
1.2. Emotional labor strategies
1.1. Job burnout
Job burnout represents a state of physical, mental,
and emotional exhaustion caused by working pressure or throwback [6–8]. Generally, job burnout is
thought to consist of three dimensions, namely emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced
personal accomplishment [9]. Emotional exhaustion is considered the most representative indicator
of burnout, characterized by lack of activity [10].
Depersonalization is associated with interpersonal
relations and is manifested by apathy or a lack
of empathy towards others [11]. Reduced personal
accomplishment refers to feeling less sense of purpose around a job, reduced self-efficacy, and little
to no sense of success or willingness to work hard
[12]. The JD-R model, proposed by Demerouti and
colleagues, is one of the most important theories
describing job burnout [13]. This model holds that
every job carries risk factors related to motivation
and working pressure, which can be classified into
two major categories: job demands and job resources.
Job demands refer to sources of ambient pressure
and include workload, time pressure, job responsibilities, job–family conflict, interpersonal obligations,
emotional labor, and one’s physical environment
[14–16]. Job demands induce energy depletion, in
which employees try their best to satisfy perceived
job demands by devoting increased physical and mental effort to task completion. Energy consumption
and perceived pressure around job demands become
gradually intensified, leading to physical and mental
fatigue [17]. Thus, job demands and job burnout are
positively correlated. Job resources are mainly external, including social support, work independence,
opportunities for decision-making involvement, and
feedback-based rewards [18]. Job resources can stimulate employees’ working motivation; contribute to
their growth, learning, development, and progress;
enhance their independence and perceived competence; and promote their willingness to make an effort
and apply their talents to accomplish tasks [19, 20].
Job resources tend to be negatively correlated with job
burnout. Many empirical studies have substantiated
Emotional labor is a new form of labor [22]; that is,
service labor providers contribute physical and mental labor along with emotional labor, which involves
efficient emotional management [23, 24]. Hochschild
proposed the concept of emotional labor and noted
that flight attendants must adjust their facial expressions and body language to align with those required
by the organization [25]. Morris and Feldman defined
emotional labor as a process in which individuals, in an attempt to meet organizational objectives,
try to adjust their emotions, feelings, and behaviors
accordingly [26]. In the event of perceived differences between personal emotional performance and
required emotional performance, individuals often
adopt strategies to adapt. This method of modifying
emotional labor is called an emotional labor strategy [27, 28]. Based on previous studies, Diefendorff
et al. proposed three such strategies: expression
of natural emotion, surface acting, and deep acting [27]. Expression of natural emotion refers to
the naturally appearing emotional expressions that
align with the demands of an organization. Deep
acting is an emotional labor strategy in which individuals alter their emotional expression and their
internal emotional experiences. By contrast, surface
acting only changes external emotional expressions
without changing inner emotional feelings [27].
Emotional labor can yield either active or negative
results. Active results contribute to the achievement
of service goals and to coordinating a relationship
with the service target, thereby improving one’s
sense of professional achievement and organizational
performance [29]. Negative results may induce emotional fatigue, increased absenteeism, and increased
employee turnover [30, 31]. Based on the JD-R
model, emotional labor can be regarded as a job
demand and a major source of pressure [32, 33].
Emotional labor strategies reflect the various forms
of emotional labor and may influence burnout in different ways. Brotheridge et al. found that surface
acting could positively predict one’s level of depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment;
deep acting, on the contrary, negatively predicted the
J. Peng et al. / Emotional labor strategies
two dimensions of job burnout [34, 35]. Bozionelos
et al. found surface acting to be positively correlated
with job burnout, whereas deep acting was negatively correlated with it [35]. Näring et al. noted that
expression of natural emotion was negatively correlated with job burnout among teachers [36]. Teachers
and staff associated with the service industry each
belong to populations prone to high emotional labor
[37]. Compared with other teacher groups, preschool
teachers may require more emotional devotion to
their work, translating into intensive emotional labor.
Therefore, we propose Hypothesis 1: Three kinds of
emotional labor strategies correlate differently with
job burnout in preschool teachers.
1.3. Psychological capital
Psychological capital is a comprehensive positive psychological resource and a higher-order factor
encompassing self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and
resiliency [38, 39]. Self-efficacy is the confidence
and desire to devote efforts to realizing success in the
face of challenges. Hope is analogous with perseverance and adjusting to achieve desired targets when
necessary. Optimism is defined as making active
attributions about one’s current and future success.
Resiliency involves persistence and rapid recovery
from environmental stress or personal problems [40,
41]. Psychological capital is a state-like psychological resource, somewhat between a state and trait
variable [40, 42]. Many studies have shown that
psychological capital, as a positive psychological
resource, extensively influences individuals’ attitudes
and behaviors [40, 42–45]. For example, a metaanalysis by Avey et al. revealed that psychological
capital positively predicted the active attitudes [e.g.,
job satisfaction and organizational commitment],
behaviors [e.g., organizational citizen behaviors], and
job performance of employees and negatively predicted negative attitudes [e.g., turnover intention and
work pressure] and behaviors (e.g., transgression)
[46]. In the JD-R model, psychological capital is
regarded as an individual resource with an effect similar to job resources; hence, it should be negatively
correlated with job burnout. Research has supported
this assumption. Avey et al. found high psychological capital to weaken stress responses and effectively
reduce turnover [47]. Peng indicated that psychological capital can significantly predict job burnout
among nurses [41]. Xanthopoulou et al. discovered
that individual resources could relieve the negative
effects of job demands, reduce physical and mental
337
fatigue from working, and mediate the effects of job
resources on job burnout [21]. Norman et al. found
psychological capital to negatively predict depersonalization [48, 49]. Based on these studies, we put forth
Hypothesis 2: psychological capital is significantly
and negatively correlated with job burnout.
1.4. Trilateral relations among emotional labor
strategies, psychological capital, and job
burnout
Although the effects of emotional labor strategies and psychological capital on job burnout have
been studied, scarce research has assessed these three
variables through a single model to unveil their trilateral relationship. Based on the JD-R model, the
effects of job demands and job resources on job
burnout are relatively independent yet mutually synergic [17]. On one hand, psychological capital may
mediate the effects of emotional labor strategies
on job burnout; different emotional labor strategies reflect distinct means of emotional expression
management and consume psychological resources
differently. Diefendorff et al. considered the expression of natural emotion to reflect consistency between
an individual’s emotional expression and organizational requirements, framing itas a spontaneous
emotional expression that consumes the fewest psychological resources [27]. Deep acting occurs when
an individual must adjust his or inner emotional
experience to remain consistent with external emotional expression, which consumes psychological
resources. Surface acting only changes external
emotional expression; it does not modify internal
emotional feelings but still consumes considerable
psychological resources [50]. As a state-like psychological resource, psychological capital may be
reduced due to excessive emotional labor and may
play a mediating role between emotional labor strategies and job burnout (Hypothesis 3). On the other
hand, psychological capital is a positive individual
resource that is relatively stable and can provide
individuals with energy during energy consumption
from job demands, hence alleviating the effects of
work stress and negative emotions on job burnout.
As reported, the relationship between emotional
labor and job burnout appears to be moderated by
many individual psychological characteristics, such
as emotional intelligence [29]. Psychological capital may have a similar effect. Thus, we hypothesize
that psychological capital may relieve the effect
of emotional labor strategies on job burnout and
338
J. Peng et al. / Emotional labor strategies
play a moderating role between these two variables
(Hypothesis 4).
2. Methods
2.1. Participants and procedure
Participants were 355 female teachers from 12
kindergartens. Teachers were between 20 and39 years
old (M = 26.24; SD = 3.61), and their number of years
worked spanned from 0.5 to 19. Participants were
informed of the purpose and voluntary nature of the
study and completed the accompanying questionnaire
in a classroom environment. The researchers obtained
informed consent from all participants before questionnaire completion. All participants received 20
RMB (approximately USD $3.50) as compensation.
Three incomplete questionnaires were excluded from
analysis among the 355 collected.
of relevant items. The Chinese vision of the PCQ was
found to have good reliability and validity [3, 41].
In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for
the four subscales were 0.71, 0.78, 0.75, and 0.82,
respectively.
2.2.3. Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators
Survey
The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey
(MBI-ES), developed by Maslach et al., is a 22item self-report measure of teachers’ level of burnout,
containing three dimensions: emotional exhaustion,
depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment [52]. Items are rated on a 6-point Likert-type
scale (0 = never, 6 = every day). Sample items are “I
feel emotionally drained by my work” and “I don’t
really care what happens to some students.”This survey has been widely used in China and has good
reliability and validity [53]. In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the three subscales were
0.85, 0.83, and 0.81, respectively.
2.2. Instruments
2.2.1. The Emotional Labor Strategy Scale
The Emotional Labor Strategy Scale, developed by
Diefendorff et al., is a 14-item self-report measure
measuring three emotional labor strategies: expression of natural emotion (3 items), deep acting (4
items), and surface acting (7 items) [27]. Sample
items include the following: “The emotions I express
to customers are genuine”, “I try to actually experience the emotions that I must show to customers”,
and “I fake the emotions I show when dealing with
customers.” In the current study, “customers” in each
item was changed to “children.” The Emotional Labor
Strategy Scale was translated into Chinese by Huang
and colleagues and demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity [51]. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients
for the three subscales were 0.70, 0.73, and 0.85,
respectively, in this study.
2.2.2. The Psychological Capital Questionnaire
The Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ),
developed by Luthans et al., is a 24-item self-report
scale including four dimensions: self-efficacy, optimism, resiliency, and hope [40]. Items are rated on
a 6-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree,
6 = strongly agree). Sample items include, “I usually
take stressful things at work in stride”, and “I always
look on the bright side of things regarding my job.”
Scale scores are the sum of items with reverse-coding
2.3. Data analysis
Data analyses were performed using SPSS. Correlation analyses and regression analyses were
conducted, and the structural equation model was
generated in AMOS 17.0.
3. Results
3.1. Sample characteristics
Table 1 presents participants’ demographic information.
Table 1
Sample characteristics
Category
Age (years)
20–25
26–29
30 and above
Marriage
Married
Unmarried
Years of working
0–5
6–9
11 and above
N (%)
Mean (SD)
Range
26.24 (3.61)
20–39
4.27 (3.82)
0.5–20
122 (34.70)
169 (48.00)
61 (17.30)
219 (62.20)
133 (37.80)
234 (66.48)
76 (21.59)
42 (11.93)
J. Peng et al. / Emotional labor strategies
339
Table 2
Bivariate correlation among all observed variables
1. Naturally emotion
2. Deep acting
3. Surface acting
4. Self-efficacy
5. Optimism
6. Resiliency
7. Hope
8. Emotional exhaustion
9. Depersonalization
10. RPA
Mean
SD
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0.38∗∗
–0.18∗∗
0.33∗∗
0.28∗∗
0.27∗∗
0.29∗∗
–0.34∗∗
–0.38∗∗
–0.31∗∗
3.63
0.63
–0.29∗∗
0.14∗∗
0.13∗
0.17∗∗
0.13∗
–0.22∗∗
–0.27∗∗
–0.26∗∗
3.72
0.64
–0.24∗∗
–0.22∗∗
–0.24∗∗
–0.20∗∗
0.27∗∗
0.27∗∗
0.17∗∗
3.36
0.63
0.67∗∗
0.59∗∗
0.47∗∗
–0.53∗∗
–0.44∗∗
–0.34∗∗
4.05
0.85
0.62∗∗
0.56∗∗
–0.52∗∗
–0.42∗∗
–0.38∗∗
4.06
0.85
0.52∗∗
–0.41∗∗
–0.38∗∗
–0.32∗∗
4.11
0.71
–0.40∗∗
–0.33∗∗
–0.34∗∗
3.95
0.61
0.74∗∗
0.28∗∗
1.62
1.17
0.39∗∗
2.4
1.19
2.47
1.26
Note: RPA, reduced personal accomplishment; ∗ p < 0.05; ∗∗ p < 0.01.
3.2. Correlation analysis
Table 2 presents the descriptive statistics and
bivariate correlations among assessed variables.
Results show that for preschool teachers, expression of natural emotion and deep acting were
negatively correlated with psychological capital
dimensions (self-efficacy, optimism, resiliency, and
hope) and positively correlated with burnout dimensions (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and
reduced personal accomplishment). Surface acting
was positively correlated with psychological capital
dimensions and negatively correlated with all burnout
dimensions. Additionally, the four dimensions of psychological capital were significantly correlated with
the three dimensions of job burnout.
3.3. Testing psychological capital as a mediator
In the mediation effects analysis, psychological
capital and job burnout were each regarded as latent
variables. To verify the structural relations of the
latent structured model, a two-step procedure introduced by Anderson and Gerbing was adapted to
analyze the mediation effect [54]. First, the measurement model was tested to assess the extent to which
each latent variable was represented by its indicators.
Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine
whether the measurement model fit the sample data
adequately [55]. To avoid common method variance,
Harman’s Single-Factor Test was used, which means
to test the significance of fitting index difference
between the single factor model and multi-factor
model. In this study, a two-factor model, which was
consisted with two latent variables (psychological
capital and job burnout) and seven observed variables
(self-efficacy, optimism, resiliency, hope, emotional
Fig. 1. Measurement model of psychological capital and job
burnout. Note: All factor loadings were standardized.
Table 3
Measurement Models comparison
2-factor model
(Baseline Model)
Single dimension
model
χ2 /df
χ2
RMSEA
SRMR
CFI
2.83
–
0.07
0.01
0.98
6.36
139∗∗
0.18
0.07
0.85
exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal
accomplishment), (see Fig. 1), and a single dimension
model (psychological capital and job burnout were
combined) were compared, see Table 3. The proposed
two-factor model provided the better fit index, and
all the factor loadings for the indicators on the latent
variables were significant (p < 0.01), indicating that
both the two latent constructs were well represented
by their indicators.
340
J. Peng et al. / Emotional labor strategies
Table 4
Models fitness indexes
Models
χ2 /df
CFI
SRMR
RMSEA
Model a
Model b
Model c
2.01
3.16
2.22
0.99
0.97
0.98
0.03
0.05
0.04
0.05
0.07
0.05
logical capital were all significant with associated
95% confidence intervals of (–0.12, –0.31), (–0.03,
–0.21), and (0.11, 0.26), respectively, all excluding
zero. Taken together, these results suggest that psychological capital significantly mediated the effects
of emotional labor strategies on job burnout.
3.4. Testing psychological capital as a
moderator
Fig. 2. Mediating effects of psychological capitalbetween emotional labor strategies and job burnout. Note: All path coefficients
were standardized.
Next, maximum likelihood estimation was used to
test the structural model. The direct effects of the
predictor variables (expression of naturally emotion,
deep acting, and surface acting) on the dependent
variable (job burnout) without mediators were tested
separately. The directly standardized path coefficients
were all significant [␤ (natural emotion) = –0.42,
p < 0.01; ␤ (deep acting) = –0.28, p < 0.01; ␤ (surface
acting) = 0.30, p < 0.01]. Then, three partially mediated models (Models A–C) containing the mediator
(psychological capital) and direct paths from emotional labor strategies to job burnout were tested
successively. The results and fitness index are presented in Fig. 2 and Table 4. Lastly, the partial
mediating effects of psychological capital between
emotional labor strategies and job burnout were tested
for significance by adopting the Bootstrap estimation
procedure in AMOS (a bootstrap sample of 1,000 was
specified). Results revealed that the indirect effects of
expression of natural emotion (␤ = –0.22, p < 0.01),
deep acting (␤ = –0.12, p < 0.05), and surface acting
(␤ = 0.19, p < 0.01) on job burnout through psycho-
Psychological capital may also moderate the
effects of the three emotional labor strategies on
job burnout. We tested these hypotheses using stepwise regression analysis in which the mean of
self-efficacy, optimism, resiliency, and hope was considered the outcome of psychological capital, and
the mean of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization,
and reduced personal accomplishment was considered the result of job burnout. Psychological capital,
emotional labor strategies, and job burnout were centralized before testing for moderating effect to reduce
problems related to multi-co-linearity between the
interaction term and the main effects [56, 57]. In
Model 1, demographic variables, psychological capital, and expression of natural emotion were entered
into the regression equation successively. Then, in
Step 4, the interaction of expression of natural emotion and psychological capital was added. Results
show that the interaction did not significantly predict
job burnout in the fourth step (␤ = –0.05, p = 0.25).
The same method was used to test the moderating
effect of psychological capital between deep acting and job burnout (see Step 4 in Model 2) and
between surface acting and job burnout (see Step 4 in
Model 3). Findings revealed that psychological capital significantly moderated the effects of deep acting
(␤ = –0.08, p = 0.04), and surface acting (␤ = –0.12,
p < 0.01) on job burnout.
To illustrate the moderating effects of psychological capital between deep acting and job burnout and
between surface acting and job burnout, we plotted
the regression of deep acting and surface acting on job
burnout at high and low levels of psychological capital (high, above the median; low, below the median;
see Figs. 3 and 4). Results indicate that in the low
J. Peng et al. / Emotional labor strategies
341
Table 5
Hierarchical regression analysis
Models
Model 1
Model 2
Model 3
Steps
Independent
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 3
Step 4
Step 3
Step 4
Demographic variables
Psychological capital
Expression of naturally emotion
Psychological capital × Naturally
Deep acting
Psychological capital × Deep acting
Surface acting
Psychological capital × Surface acting
Fig. 3. Moderating effect of psychological capital between deep
acting and job burnout.
Fig. 4. Moderating effect of psychological capital between surface
acting and job burnout.
psychological capital group, surface acting significantly predicted job burnout (␤ = 0.29, p < 0.01), but
the relationship between deep acting and job burnout
was not significant (␤ = –011, p = 0.12). However, in
the high psychological capital group, the association between surface acting and job burnout was not
significant (␤ = 0.06, p = 0.40), and deep acting significantly predicted job burnout (␤ = –0.46, p < 0.01).
4. Discussion
In this study, which involved preschool teachers,
we discussed the effects of emotional labor strategies and psychological capital on job burnout and
explored the mediating and moderating roles of psychological capital between different emotional labor
␤
t
R2
–0.58
–0.24
–0.05
–0.21
–0.08
0.13
–0.12
–13.53∗∗
–5.45∗∗
–1.16
–5.07∗∗
–2.04∗
2.96∗∗
–2.81∗∗
0.01
0.32∗∗
0.05∗∗
<0.01
0.04∗∗
0.01∗
0.02∗∗
0.02∗∗
strategies and job burnout. Expression of natural
emotion, deep acting, and psychological capital were
all significantly and positively correlated with job
burnout, whereas surface acting was significantly and
negatively correlated with job burnout. Psychological
capital significantly mediated the effects of emotional
labor strategies on job burnout. Additionally, psychological capital significantly mediated the effects of
deep acting and surface acting on job burnout.
Consistent with previous studies, we also found
that expression of natural emotion and deep acting
could each negatively predict job burnout; surface
acting could positively predict job burnout; and psychological capital significantly reduced job burnout
[34, 35, 41, 47]. The theoretical contributions and
innovations of this study involved the incorporation of these three variables into the same model.
First, psychological capital was found to partially
mediate the effects of emotional labor strategies on
job burnout. Based on the JD-R model, burnout
was generated due to an imbalance between job
demands and resources. Preschool teachers consume abundant internal resources [psychological
capital]in response to job demands, but this loss of
psychological resources leads to further exhaustion
and burnout. To maintain sufficient psychological
resources, preschool teachers reduce their devotion
to their jobs and treat children coolly, which leads to
depersonalization.
Different emotional labor strategies consume
psychological resources differently [27]. Zapf indicated that individuals using surface acting should
strive to maintain external emotional expression.
Additionally, the inconsistency between internal
feelings and external expression can reduce one’s
sense of self-authenticity and induce emotional
maladjustment, both of which consume certain psychological resources (psychological capital) [50]. If
this resource cannot be efficiently supplemented,
individuals using surface acting experience exhaustion and burnout. Thus, surface acting negatively
342
J. Peng et al. / Emotional labor strategies
affected psychological capital and increased job
burnout. Conversely, although deep acting consumed
psychological capital by regulating internal and external emotions, it also unified individuals’ internal
feelings and external emotional expression. Such
internal–external unification can generate a greater
sense of authenticity [58], which can lead to increased
psychological resources [59]. Thus, deep acting
may enhance psychological capital and reduce job
burnout. Expression of natural emotion is a spontaneous and automatic emotional labor strategy that
does not require adjustment; thus, it does not consume
psychological energy and instead results in increased
occupational happiness and psychological capital,
thereby reducing the risk of job burnout [60]. Therefore, psychological capital can mediate the effects of
the three kinds of emotional labor strategies on job
burnout.
Additionally, psychological capital was found to
significantly moderate the effects of surface acting
and deep acting on job burnout. For preschool teachers with a large amount of psychological capital,
deep labor could significantly affect job burnout;
whereas surface labor was found not to be significantly correlated with job burnout. For those
with low psychological capital, however, surface
labor could significantly influence job burnout; deep
labor was not significantly correlated with burnout.
According to the JD-R model, psychological capital is an important personal resource similar to job
resources [21, 61]. When personal or job resources
are sufficient, individuals can effectively address the
challenges of job demands and relieve the effects of
work stress on job burnout [62, 63]. Surface acting
denotes incongruence between external emotional
expression and internal emotional experiences, which
consumes substantial psychological resources and
can contribute to conflict, a poor sense of authenticity, and job burnout. High psychological capital can
effectively supplement the consumption of psychological resources due to surface acting and efficiently
relieve accompanying negative effects. For teachers
with low psychological capital, more resources are
consumed as the degree of surface acting intensifies, amplifying overdraft of psychological resources
and increasing burnout [64]. Deep acting, another
emotional labor strategy, restrains negative emotions perceived to meet job demands but can also
involve the positive meaning of work to realize internal adjustment [27]. In this process, teachers should
devote themselves to certain endeavors and consume
psychological energy or resources; however, deep
acting also results in consistency between internal
experience and external expression and raises one’s
sense of achievement and authenticity to acquire
more resources [65, 66]. Psychological capital is a
positive psychological resource, and individuals with
higher psychological capital can examine diverse life
events from a more positive perspective to better
self-regulate and unify internal emotional experiences and external emotional expression, reducing
job burnout [67]. Thus, deep acting was correlated
with job burnout only in the high psychological capital group in this study. The effect of expression of
natural emotion, which does not consume psychological resources, on job burnout was more stable and
thus not influenced by psychological capital [68].
5. Implications and limitations
This study has some merits. Theoretically, we
tested and developed the JD-R model of job burnout
to some extent, particularly substantiating the viewpoint of Xanthopoulou et al. that personal resources
function similarly to job resources and can significantly reduce job burnout [21]. Moreover, the
trilateral relations among emotional labor strategy,
psychological capital, and job burnout were analyzed and could be reasonably interpreted within the
framework of the JD-R model to further enhance
its applicability. Practically, we found that preschool
teachers suffered from modest job burnout, which
was uniquely associated with different emotional
labor strategies. Teachers should thus be trained in
implementing positive emotional labor strategies to
minimize burnout [69]. In particular, psychological
capital was shown to mediate the effects of emotional
labor strategies on job burnout in addition to effectively relieving the negative effects of surface acting,
thus magnifying the positive effect of deep acting
on job burnout. Psychological capital is an individual
psychological resource [70, 71]. Avey et al. found that
psychological capital can be significantly enhanced
through micro-intervention [42]; as such, assisting
preschool teachers in increasing their psychological
capital may be an effective way to reduce job burnout.
This study also has some limitations. First, participants were enrolled from only two cities in West
China, and all were women, and the vast majority of
the participants were relatively inexperienced (234 of
354 participants worked 5 years or less) and young
(291 participants are under 30 years of age). We
didn’t factor age and experience into the analysis. The
J. Peng et al. / Emotional labor strategies
findings should therefore be interpreted with caution.
Secondly, this cross-sectional study did not clarify
the causality of variables. A cross-lagged panel correlation paradigm and longitudinal study should be
used to further validate the effects of emotional labor
strategies and psychological capital on job burnout.
6. Conclusions
In this study, we found that different emotional
labor strategies correlated uniquely with job burnout
in preschool teachers. Psychological capital appeared
to significantly mediate and moderate the effect of
emotional labor strategies on job burnout.
Conflict of interest
None to report.
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
Funding
This study was funded by the MOE (Ministry
of Education in China) Project of Humanities and
Social Sciences (No. 19YJC190020); the Social Sciences Planning Project of Sichuan Province (No.
SC18C003); the Project Supported by Center for
Early Childhood Education Research of Sichuan
Province (No. CECER-2019-B01).
[15]
[16]
[17]
References
[18]
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
Maslach C, Schaufeli WB, Leiter MP. Job burnout. Annual
Review of Psychology. 2001;52(1):397-422.
Dreison KC, Luther L, Bonfils KA, Sliter MT, McGrew
JH, Salyers MP. Job burnout in mental health providers: A
meta-analysis of 35 years of intervention research. Journal
of Occupational Health Psychology. 2018;23(1):18-30.
Pu J, Hou H, Ma R, Sang J. The effect of psychological capital between work–family conflict and job burnout in Chinese
university teachers: Testing for mediation and moderation.
Journal of Health Psychology. 2017;22(14):1799-807.
Wang H, Hall NC, Rahimi S. Self-efficacy and causal attributions in teachers: Effects on burnout, job satisfaction,
illness, and quitting intentions. Teaching and Teacher Education. 2015;47:120-30.
Coplan RJ, Bullock A, Archbell KA, Bosacki S. Preschool
teachers’ attitudes, beliefs, and emotional reactions to young
children’s peer group behaviors. Early Childhood Research
Quarterly. 2015;30:117-27.
Lizano EL, Barak MM. Job burnout and affective wellbeing:
A longitudinal study of burnout and job satisfaction among
public child welfare workers. Children and Youth Services
Review. 2015;55:18-28.
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
343
Gharakhani D, Zaferanchi A. The effect of job burnout on
turnover intention with regard to the mediating role of job
satisfaction. Journal of Health. 2019;10(1):109-17.
Parent-Lamarche A, Marchand A. Work stress, personality
traits, and cortisol secretion: Testing a model for job burnout.
Work. 2018;60(3):485-97.
Maslach C. Job burnout: New directions in research and
intervention. Current Directions in Psychological Science.
2003;12(5):189-92.
Skaalvik EM, Skaalvik S. Teacher job satisfaction and
motivation to leave the teaching profession: Relations with
school context, feeling of belonging, and emotional exhaustion. Teaching and Teacher Education. 2011;27(6):1029-38.
Loughnan S, Haslam N, Murnane T, Vaes J, Reynolds C,
Suitner C. Objectification leads to depersonalization: The
denial of mind and moral concern to objectified others.
European Journal of Social Psychology. 2010;40(5):709-17.
Kokkinos CM. Job stressors, personality and burnout in
primary school teachers. British Journal of Educational Psychology. 2007;77(1):229-43.
Demerouti E, Bakker AB, Nachreiner F, Schaufeli WB.
The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of
Applied Psychology. 2001;86(3):499.
Bakker AB, Demerouti E, Verbeke W. Using the job
demands-resources model to predict burnout and performance. Human Resource Management: Published in
Cooperation with the School of Business Administration,
The University of Michigan and in Alliance with the Society
of Human Resources Management. 2004;43(1):83-104.
Wang Y, Peng J. Work–family conflict and depression in
Chinese professional women: The mediating roles of job
satisfaction and life satisfaction. International Journal of
Mental Health and Addiction. 2017;15(2):394-406.
McFadden P, Mallett J, Leiter M. Extending the two-process
model of burnout in child protection workers: The role of
resilience in mediating burnout via organizational factors of
control, values, fairness, reward, workload, and community
relationships. Stress and Health. 2018;34(1):72-83.
Hakanen JJ, Schaufeli WB, Ahola K. The job demandsresources model: A three-year cross-lagged study of
burnout, depression, commitment, and work engagement.
Work & Stress. 2008;22(3):224-41.
Van den Broeck A, De Cuyper N, De Witte H, Vansteenkiste
M. Not all job demands are equal: Differentiating job hindrances and job challenges in the Job Demands–Resources
model. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. 2010;19(6):735-59.
Hu Q, Schaufeli WB, Taris TW. The job demands–resources
model: An analysis of additive and joint effects of
demands and resources. Journal of Vocational Behavior.
2011;79(1):181-90.
Bakker AB, Demerouti E, De Boer E, Schaufeli WB.
Job demands and job resources as predictors of absence
duration and frequency. Journal of Vocational Behavior.
2003;62(2):341-56.
Xanthopoulou D, Bakker AB, Demerouti E, Schaufeli WB.
The role of personal resources in the job demands-resources
model. International Journal of Stress Management.
2007;14(2):121-41.
Ashforth BE, Humphrey RH. Emotional labor in service
roles: The influence of identity. Academy of Management
Review. 1993;18(1):88-115.
Bhave DP, Glomb TM. The role of occupational emotional
labor requirements on the surface acting–job satisfaction
relationship. Journal of Management. 2016;42(3):722-41.
344
[24]
[25]
[26]
[27]
[28]
[29]
[30]
[31]
[32]
[33]
[34]
[35]
[36]
[37]
[38]
[39]
[40]
[41]
J. Peng et al. / Emotional labor strategies
Newnam S, Petersen A, Keleher H, Collie A, Vogel A,
McClure R. Stuck in the middle: The emotional labours of
case managers in the personal injury compensation system.
Work. 2016;55(2):347-57.
Kruml SM, Geddes D. Exploring the dimensions of emotional labor: The heart of Hochschild’s work. Management
Communication Quarterly. 2000;14(1):8-49.
Morris JA, Feldman DC. Managing emotions in the workplace. Journal of Managerial Issues. 1997:257-74.
Diefendorff JM, Croyle MH, Gosserand RH. The dimensionality and antecedents of emotional labor strategies.
Journal of Vocational Behavior. 2005;66(2):339-57.
Dahling JJ, Perez LA. Older worker, different actor? Linking
age and emotional labor strategies. Personality and Individual Differences. 2010;48(5):574-8.
Lee JJ, Ok C. Reducing burnout and enhancing job satisfaction: Critical role of hotel employees’ emotional intelligence
and emotional labor. International Journal of Hospitality
Management. 2012;31(4):1101-12.
Chau SL, Dahling JJ, Levy PE, Diefendorff JM. A predictive study of emotional labor and turnover. Journal of
Organizational Behavior. 2009;30(8):1151-63.
Goodwin RE, Groth M, Frenkel SJ. Relationships between
emotional labor, job performance, and turnover. Journal of
Vocational Behavior. 2011;79(2):538-48.
Schaufeli WB, Bakker AB. Job demands, job resources,
and their relationship with burnout and engagement: A
multi-sample study. Journal of Organizational Behavior:
The International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and
Organizational Psychology and Behavior. 2004;25(3):293315.
Brotheridge CM, Lee RT. Testing a conservation of
resources model of the dynamics of emotional labor. Journal
of Occupational Health Psychology. 2002;7(1):57.
Brotheridge CM, Grandey AA. Emotional labor and
burnout: Comparing two perspectives of “people work”.
Journal of Vocational Behavior. 2002;60(1):17-39.
Bozionelos N, Kiamou K. Emotion work in the Hellenic
frontline services environment: How it relates to emotional
exhaustion and work attitudes. The International Journal of
Human Resource Management. 2008;19(6):1108-30.
Näring G, Briët M, Brouwers A. Beyond demand–control:
Emotional labour and symptoms of burnout in teachers.
Work & Stress. 2006;20(4):303-15.
Zhang Q, Zhu W. Exploring emotion in teaching: Emotional
labor, burnout, and satisfaction in Chinese higher education.
Communication Education. 2008;57(1):105-22.
Luthans F, Avolio BJ, Avey JB, Norman SM. Positive psychological capital: Measurement and relationship
with performance and satisfaction. Personnel Psychology.
2007;60(3):541-72.
Ferraro T, Moreira JM, dos Santos NR, Pais L, Sedmak C.
Decent work, work motivation and psychological capital:
An empirical research. Work. 2018;60(2):339-54.
Luthans F, Avey JB, Avolio BJ, Norman SM, Combs
GM. Psychological capital development: Toward a microintervention. Journal of Organizational Behavior: The
International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and Organizational Psychology and Behavior. 2006;27(3):387-93.
Peng J, Jiang X, Zhang J, Xiao R, Song Y, Feng X, et al. The
impact of psychological capital on job burnout of Chinese
nurses: The mediator role of organizational commitment.
PloS One. 2013;8(12):e84193.
[42]
[43]
[44]
[45]
[46]
[47]
[48]
[49]
[50]
[51]
[52]
[53]
[54]
[55]
[56]
[57]
[58]
[59]
Avey JB, Luthans F, Smith RM, Palmer NF. Impact of
positive psychological capital on employee well-being
over time. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.
2010;15(1):17-28.
Luthans KW, Luthans BC, Chaffin TD. Refining grit in academic performance: The mediational role of psychological
capital. Journal of Management Education. 2019;43(1):3561.
Gou Y, Jiang Y, Rui L, Miao D, Peng J. The nonfungibility of mental accounting: A revision. Social Behavior and
Personality: An International Journal. 2013;41(4):625-33.
Peng J, Zhang J, Liao J, Zhang Y, Zhu X. Justice and foresight: The effect of belief in a just world and sense of control
on delay discounting. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology.
2019;13. Doi.org/10.1017/prp.2019.3
Avey JB, Reichard RJ, Luthans F, Mhatre KH. Metaanalysis of the impact of positive psychological capital on
employee attitudes, behaviors, and performance. Human
Resource Development Quarterly. 2011;22(2):127-52.
Avey JB, Luthans F, Jensen SM. Psychological capital:
A positive resource for combating employee stress and
turnover. Human Resource Management. 2009;48(5):67793.
Norman SM, Avey JB, Nimnicht JL, Graber Pigeon N. The
interactive effects of psychological capital and organizational identity on employee organizational citizenship and
deviance behaviors. Journal of Leadership & Organizational
Studies. 2010;17(4):380-91.
Peng J, Zhang J, Zhang Y, Gong P. Relative deprivation and
job satisfaction in Army officers: A moderated mediation
model. Work. 2019;62(1):49-58.
Zapf D. Emotion work and psychological well-being: A
review of the literature and some conceptual considerations.
Human Resource Management Review. 2002;12(2):237-68.
Huang M, Wu Z, Tang J. How does personality relate to
mental health in service industry setting? The Mediating
Effects of Emotional Labor Strategies Acta Psychologica
Sinica. 2010(12):1175-89.
Maslach C, Jackson SE. The measurement of experienced
burnout. Journal of Organizational Behavior. 1981;2(2):99113.
Ju C, Lan J, Li Y, Feng W, You X. The mediating role of
workplace social support on the relationship between trait
emotional intelligence and teacher burnout. Teaching and
Teacher Education. 2015;51:58-67.
Anderson JC, Gerbing DW. Structural equation modeling
in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach.
Psychological Bulletin. 1988;103(3):411-23.
Zhang J, Miao D, Sun Y, Xiao R, Ren L, Xiao W, et al. The
impacts of attributional styles and dispositional optimism on
subject well-being: A structural equation modelling analysis. Social Indicators Research. 2014;119:757-69.
Frazier PA, Tix AP, Barron KE. Testing moderator and mediator effects in counseling psychology research. Journal of
Counseling Psychology. 2004;51(1):115-34.
Yuan G, Jia L, Zhao J. Organizational identification moderates the impact of organizational justice on job satisfaction.
Work. 2016;54(1):189-95.
Brotheridge CM, Lee RT. Testing a conservation of
resources model of the dynamics of emotional labor. Journal
of Occupational Health Psychology. 2002;7(1):57-67.
Goldberg LS, Grandey AA. Display rules versus display
autonomy: Emotion regulation, emotional exhaustion, and
J. Peng et al. / Emotional labor strategies
[60]
[61]
[62]
[63]
[64]
[65]
task performance in a call center simulation. Journal of
Occupational Health Psychology. 2007;12(3):301-18.
Rafaeli A, Sutton RI. Expression of emotion as part
of the work role. Academy of Management Review.
1987;12(1):23-37.
Fernet C, Austin S, Vallerand RJ. The effects of work
motivation on employee exhaustion and commitment: An
extension of the JD-R model. Work & Stress. 2012;26(3):
213-29.
Ariza-Montes A, Leal-Rodrı́guez AL, Leal-Millán AG.
Workplace bullying among teachers: An analysis from
the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model perspective.
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
2016;58(8):818-27.
Jun SY. Influences of burnout, emotional labor, and positive psychological capital on job satisfaction of nurses.
Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration.
2017;23(2):201-10.
Kwok SY, Cheng L, Wong DF. Family emotional support,
positive psychological capital and job satisfaction among
Chinese white-collar workers. Journal of Happiness Studies.
2015;16(3):561-82.
Paek S, Schuckert M, Kim TT, Lee G. Why is hospitality
employees’ psychological capital important? The effects of
psychological capital on work engagement and employee
morale. International Journal of Hospitality Management.
2015;50:9-26.
View publication stats
[66]
[67]
[68]
[69]
[70]
[71]
345
Cheung F, Tang CS-K, Tang S. Psychological capital as
a moderator between emotional labor, burnout, and job
satisfaction among school teachers in China. International
Journal of Stress Management. 2011;18(4):348-71.
Siu OL, Cheung F, Lui S. Linking positive emotions to
work well-being and turnover intention among Hong Kong
police officers: The role of psychological capital. Journal of
Happiness Studies. 2015;16(2):367-80.
Avey JB, Luthans F, Youssef CM. The additive value of
positive psychological capital in predicting work attitudes
and behaviors. Journal of Management. 2010;36(2):430-52.
Liu Y, Prati LM, Perrewe PL, Ferris GR. The relationship between emotional resources and emotional labor: An
exploratory study. Journal of Applied Social Psychology.
2008;38(10):2410-39.
Wang Y, Peng J. Work–family conflict and depression in
Chinese professional women: The mediating roles of job
satisfaction and life satisfaction. International Journal of
Mental Health and Addiction. 2017;15(2):394-406.
Peng J, Feng T, Zhang J, Zhao L, Zhang Y, Chang Y,
et al. Measuring decision-making competence in Chinese adults. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making. DOI:
10.1002/bdm.2114