Mediating and Moderating Variables in the Relationship Between Emotional Demands and Teachers’ Emotional Exhaustion

Abstract

Teachers tend to suffer high levels of emotional exhaustion, a variable that is associated with poor mental health and lower job performance. The present study analyzed how emotional demands, emotional dissonance, and self-efficacy to cope with stress interact in predicting teachers’ emotional exhaustion. To conduct this longitudinal research, 108 Andalusian teachers (57.3% women; mean age = 45.30, SD = 8.68) completed an online survey at three different time points. Moderated mediation analysis suggested that emotional dissonance mediated the relationship between emotional demands and emotional exhaustion, with self-efficacy acting as a moderator between the two. Teachers who perceived high emotional demands saw their levels of emotional dissonance increase, which in turn led to an increase in emotional exhaustion. In addition, self-efficacy acted as a protective factor against emotional exhaustion, buffering the negative effect of emotional dissonance. Strengthening these protective variables through interventions that increase levels of self-efficacy to cope with stress and reduce levels of emotional dissonance could help prevent teachers’ emotional exhaustion.