Emotional Labor and Mental Health Among Junior High School Public School Teachers: The Mediating Roles of Psychological Flexibility and Mindful Attention Awareness

Abstract

Teaching requires sustained emotional regulation, with important implications for teachers’ mental health. However, the psychological processes that may help explain the relationship between emotional labor and mental health remain insufficiently understood, particularly in Philippine public schools. Guided by Emotional Labor Theory, Acceptance and Commitment Theory, and Positioning Theory, this sequential explanatory mixed-methods study examined the relationship between emotional labor and mental health among 324 Junior High School teachers in public schools in the Division of Calamba City. Quantitative data were collected using standardized measures of emotional labor, psychological flexibility, mindful attention awareness, and mental health and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Qualitative interviews were subsequently conducted with eight purposively selected teachers to explain the quantitative findings, using Positioning Theory as the interpretive lens. Results showed that emotional labor had a significant total effect on mental health; however, its direct effect became non-significant when psychological flexibility and mindful attention awareness were included in the model. Psychological flexibility significantly predicted mental health but did not significantly mediate the relationship between emotional labor and mental health. In contrast, mindful attention awareness emerged as a significant specific mediator. The total indirect effect through both mediators was not statistically significant. Qualitative findings further indicated that teachers managed emotional demands through heightened awareness, values-guided responses, and ongoing negotiation of their professional roles and identities. These findings suggest that teachers’ mental health is associated not only with emotional demands but also with how teachers interpret and manage these experiences. The findings provide empirical support for the proposed BANAAG Program, an ACT-informed mental health enrichment initiative emphasizing mindfulness, emotional awareness, psychological flexibility, and supportive practices.