Moderating effect of resilience on the relationship between emotional labour and job satisfaction among South Korean correctional officers: a cross-sectional study

Correctional officers face intense emotional labour, yet personal resources that buffer it remain under-examined in non-Western settings. This cross-sectional study tested whether resilience moderates the relationship between emotional labour and job satisfaction among South Korean correctional officers. In September 2024, 198 male officers from four facilities completed validated measures; data were analysed using multiple regression and PROCESS macro (Model 1). Emotional labour was negatively (β = −0.211, p = 0.001) and resilience positively (β = 0.541, p < 0.001) associated with job satisfaction, together explaining 39.9% of the variance. Resilience moderated this relationship (B = −0.311, p = 0.012, ΔR2 = 0.019): the negative slope was steeper at higher resilience, yet more resilient officers retained higher satisfaction at every level of emotional labour. The interaction was small, consistent with typical field moderator effects, implying modest practical gains. The findings extend the Job Demands-Resources model to an Asian correctional setting and support controlled piloting of culturally adapted resilience programmes for male officers, as a complement to, not a substitute for, reducing job demands. Evidence for female officers is lacking, and the cross-sectional design permits only associational inference.