The influence of organizational support on emotional labor of Chinese vocational college teachers: The mediating role of professional identity and the moderating role of work-life balance

Teaching is a highly emotionally demanding emotional work, and educators often engage in significant emotional labor during their work. Investigating the factors that influence the emotional labor of Chinese vocational college teachers (CVCT) is crucial for their professional growth. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, this study highlights organizational support as a key external resource with a multifaceted impact on CVCT's emotional labor. Additionally, professional identity and work-life balance may act as mediating and moderating factors in this dynamic. By analyzing survey data from 592 CVCT, the study reveals that: (1) organizational support has a significant positive effect on the deep and natural emotional labor behaviors of teachers; (2) professional identity partially mediates the relationship between organizational support and emotional labor; (3) work-life balance significantly moderates the mediation process, enhancing the influence of organizational support on professional identity. This study enhances our understanding of the various factors shaping emotional labor among CVCT, providing valuable insights into its development. Furthermore, it offers a positive perspective on managing teachers' emotional labor through organizational behavior and work psychology, with important theoretical and practical implications.