The Relationship Between Emotional Labor And Job Performance Of Preschool Teachers: The Mediating Effect Of Job Burnout

Emotional labor,as an important factor of teachers’ occupational health and professional development,has become a research hotspot in pedagogy,psychology and other fields in recent years.Preschool teachers belong to high emotional workers.Understanding the current situation and characteristics of emotional labor and exploring its impact on teachers’ work performance can provide research support for further improving the quality of preschool teachers.This research mainly consists of two parts,one is the formulation of the preschool teachers’ emotional labor questionnaire ",using the method of literature and interview method to determine the main structure of preschool teachers’ emotional labor,in strict accordance with the questionnaire revised process,finally formed 12 questions,including deep emotion perception,behavior and surface behavior of three dimensions of the formal questionnaire.It is suitable for measuring the emotional labor of preschool teachers in China.The second part discusses the relationship between emotional labor and job performance of preschool teachers and analyzes the mediating effect of job burnout between them.Through the investigation of 430 preschool teachers,the main conclusions are as follows:1.The overall emotional labor level of preschool teachers is above medium level,and the scores of each dimension are emotion perception,deep behavior and surface behavior from high to low.The overall work performance of preschool teachers shows a high level,and the scores of each dimension from high to low are interpersonal promotion,work dedication,task performance.2.There are significant differences in the demographic variables such as gender,age,teaching age,educational background and marital status of preschool teachers’ emotional labor,but there are no significant differences in the types,professional titles and enrollment of kindergartens;There are significant differences in the work performance of preschool teachers in demographic variables such as age,teaching age,educational background,marital status and professional title,but there are no significant differences in gender and enrollment.3.In the emotional labor of preschool teachers,emotional perception and deep behavior are significantly positively correlated with job performance and all dimensions,and significantly negatively correlated with job burnout and all dimensions,that is,emotional perception and deep behavior can significantly positively predict job performance and significantly negatively predict job burnout;However,surface behavior in emotional labor is significantly positively correlated with job burnout and all dimensions,surface behavior can significantly predict job burnout.Job burnout partly mediated the relationship between emotional labor and job performance of preschool teachers.Specifically,emotional perception and deep behavior in emotional labor of preschool teachers could not only directly predict job performance,but also indirectly predict job performance through negative prediction of job burnout.However,surface behavior in emotional labor of preschool teachers can indirectly affect job performance through positive prediction of job burnout.The research conclusion makes clear the positive significance of optimizing emotional labor of teachers.On this basis,the corresponding suggestions are put forward: to introduce relevant policies and attach importance to the professional emotional cultivation of preschool teachers;Create a positive friendly atmosphere to ensure the emotional health of preschool teachers;Carry out targeted emotional management and training,optimize the organizational functions of the park;To guide the public to understand and support the work of teachers and improve their achievements.