Choose your strategy wisely: Examining the relationships between emotional labor in teaching and teacher efficacy in Hong Kong primary schools

Abstract

Following Grandey's integrative model of emotional labor, this study examined the relationships between teachers' emotional labor strategies, the emotional job demands of teaching, trust in colleagues, and teacher efficacy. The results from a sample of 1115 Hong Kong primary school teachers showed that surface acting played a dysfunctional role, but deep acting and expression of naturally felt emotion facilitated teacher efficacy. Trust in colleagues was found to be an organizational resource for teachers that helped them to cope with the challenges brought about by the emotional demands of teaching. The results indicate that teachers should perform emotional labor wisely.