Mindfulness and Job Burnout Among Preschool Teachers: A Sequential Mediation Model of Perceived Organizational Support and Psychological Safety

Background:Job burnout among preschool teachers is a growing occupational health concern. This study examined the association between preschool teachers’ mindfulness and job burnout, as well as the mediating roles of perceived organizational support and psychological safety.Methods:A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 1284 preschool teachers. Participants completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, the Perceived Organizational Support Scale, the Psychological Safety Scale, and the Teacher Job Burnout Scale. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS and the PROCESS macro.Results:Mindfulness, perceived organizational support, and psychological safety were negatively associated with job burnout. Moreover, perceived organizational support and psychological safety each significantly mediated the relationship between mindfulness and job burnout, both independently and in a sequential mediation pattern. Higher mindfulness was associated with increased perceived organizational support, which was associated with higher psychological safety and, subsequently, lower levels of job burnout.Conclusions:These findings suggest the importance of providing mindfulness-based training for preschool teachers and strengthening organizational support to promote psychological safety. Furthermore, the results identify modifiable work environment factors that may help reduce the risk of job burnout in this population.