Preschool teachers’ effort–reward imbalance and job burnout: The role of psychological empowerment and employment status

We explored the relationship between effort–reward imbalance and job burnout among preschool teachers in China, along with the role of psychological empowerment and teachers’ employment status. Preschool teachers (N = 433) completed the Effort–Reward Imbalance Questionnaire, the Psychological Empowerment Scale, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Educators Survey. Results showed that effort–reward imbalance significantly predicted preschool teachers’ job burnout by contributing to their psychological empowerment. Further, the predictive effect of effort–reward imbalance on psychological empowerment was moderated by teachers’ employment status. Thus, we can conclude that effort–reward imbalance predicts job burnout among preschool teachers through the mediating effect of psychological empowerment and the moderating effect of teachers’ employment status. This study not only further reveals the mechanism underlying the relationship between effort–reward imbalance and job burnout, but will also help with the development of interventions in a wider range of job burnout situations among preschool teachers.