Analysis of the correlation between work stress and emotional labor in college counselors: the moderating effect of psychological resilience | BMC Psychology

In today’s fast-paced society, the pursuit of happiness has transcended mere personal aspiration, becoming a core component of global consensus and societal development goals [1]. Against this backdrop, happiness management has emerged as a novel organizational management paradigm, fundamentally aimed at creating a workplace ecology that balances efficiency with humanistic care [2]. However, in the realm of current occupational happiness management, primary emphasis is placed on aspects such as mitigating work stress levels and modulating strategies for emotional labor, with less consideration given to the protective functions of intrinsic resources like psychological resilience for individuals [3, 4]. Research [5, 6] validates these inner resources as cornerstones of happiness management, enabling individuals to demonstrate greater tenacity and recuperative strength when confronting occupational challenges and life adversities, facilitating dual personal and professional growth. For university counselors, who are on the frontlines of education, investigating changes in their emotional labor state under work srtess and the underlying mechanisms of intrinsic coping resources can provide empirical foundations for both institutional and personal career happiness management.

College counselors, henceforth referred to as “counselors,” play a crucial role in China’s unique higher education management system, bearing the essential responsibility of guiding student development and nurturing future talent [7]. Their responsibilities encompass not only ideological and political education but also daily administrative tasks, reflecting a high degree of multidimensionality and complexity in their roles [8]. In contrast to “career advisors” or “student affairs officers” in Western universities—who primarily focus on psychological counseling and academic guidance without the added responsibility of ideological education—Chinese counselors exhibit significant institutional differences in their functions. Chinese counselors must simultaneously fulfill multiple roles, including ideological and political educators, psychological counselors, daily life managers, academic supervisors, and safety officers. This functional configuration, which integrates value guidance with administrative management, far exceeds the job boundaries of their Western counterparts [9]. In light of ongoing higher education reforms, as safety management responsibilities for college students are progressively delegated, counselors’ mental workload has systematically increased [10]. This “unlimited liability” work model sharply contrasts with the standardized service processes typical of Western positions, making research on Western “career advisors” or “student affairs officers” inapplicable to this group. Therefore, it is essential to conduct specialized research on Chinese university counselors. Reason: Improved clarity, vocabulary, and technical accuracy while maintaining the original meaning.

Work stress and emotional labor

Work stress refers to the psychological and physiological tension experienced by an individual in the workplace when facing various demands, challenges, or adverse factors that exceed their ability to adapt or cope [11]. Empirical studies [12, 13] have revealed that counselor groups are universally encountering unprecedented pressure challenges. Work stress not only leads to physical and mental distress such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, and headaches [12], but also erodes their sense of occupational happiness [14], triggering alterations in their attitudes towards work [13].

Work stress precipitates changes in counselors’ work attitudes, with emotional labor being the first to be affected [15]. The essence of a counselor’s work is to foster personal development, their emotional expression is not merely a natural outpouring of personal feelings but also a reflection of societal expectations and professional demands [16]. Counselors are expected to present themselves as positive, caring figures. This societal expectation and the demands of their professional role necessitate that counselors manage their emotions in response to work stress, to align with external perceptions of their professional identity [10]. Consequently, the occupational characteristics of counselors dictate that, in addition to intellectual and physical labor, they are also heavily engaged in emotional labor, making them a group highly susceptible to emotional labor overload [10].

Emotional labor, a covert yet ubiquitous phenomenon in the workplace, involves the management of one’s emotional expressions to align with societal expectations and organizational culture, categorized into three strategies: natural acting, a raw and unadorned outpouring of genuine feelings; deep acting, which entails the positive adjustment of internal emotions to achieve harmony between felt emotions and displayed emotions; and surface acting, which modifies only the outward emotional display without altering the underlying emotional state [17]. Within this framework, natural expression is considered by scholars as “non-emotional labor” due to its lack of active emotional management, whereas deep acting and surface acting constitute the core strategies of emotional labor, embodying the subtle interplay and negotiation between the individual and the organization [18]. Diefendorff [17] suggests that surface acting, as a relatively direct and easily implemented strategy, often becomes the preferred choice for individuals when facing intense work stress. The frequent employment of this strategy, while satisfying organizational expectations in the short term, may accumulate emotional exhaustion over time, leading to a disconnection between the individual’s inner feelings and outward expressions, and consequently impacting job satisfaction and occupational happiness [12, 19].

Existing research [10, 12, 18, 20] confirms that there is a reciprocal relationship between work stress and emotional labor: On one hand, work stress predicts emotional labor, showing a significant positive correlation with surface acting and a significant negative correlation with deep acting [18]. counselors’ work stress positively predicts surface acting and negatively predicts deep acting in emotional labor [12]. This implies that under high work stress, counselors are more likely to adopt superficial coping strategies rather than deep emotional adjustments. On the other hand, it has been shown that emotional labor also serves as a predictor of work stress [10]. Emotional labor itself is a source of stress. When individuals need to constantly monitor and adjust their emotional expressions, they feel more tense and anxious, thereby exacerbating their perception of work stress. Increased work stress may then lead to a heavier burden of emotional labor, affecting the quality of emotional labor; whereas a decline in the quality of emotional labor may further intensify the perception of work stress, creating a vicious cycle [18].

However, it is worth noting that even when facing similar levels of work stress, there are significant individual differences in the emotional labor strategies adopted by different counselors [21]. The underlying mechanism behind this phenomenon, that is, When work stress specifically predicts counselors’ choice of emotional labor styles still requires further in-depth exploration and explanation.

The moderating effect of psychological resilience

Psychological resilience refers to an individual’s ability to adapt, recover, and grow positively when faced with adversity and setbacks [22]. As a fundamental competency for navigating challenges, psychological resilience serves as a vital resource for managing work stress, protecting mental health, and achieving occupational well-being. Empirical research indicates that individuals with higher levels of psychological resilience are more likely to employ deep emotional regulation strategies (deep acting) to tackle work challenges, while those with lower resilience tend to rely on surface acting [23, 24].

The distinctive characteristics and mechanisms of psychological resilience are thoroughly validated and explained within the frameworks of the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model [25] and Conservation of Resources (COR) theory [26]. The JD-R model suggests that workplace job demands (e.g., work stress) and individual resources (e.g., psychological resilience) collaboratively influence an individual’s work processes and outcomes. From this perspective, psychological resilience serves as a crucial resource that empowers individuals to engage in positive cognitive appraisal, such as interpreting stress as a manageable challenge rather than an overwhelming threat. This resilience enhances their ability to proactively seek and mobilize resources, including emotional and cognitive support, thereby promoting positive work attitudes, such as work engagement, and strengthening their sense of environmental control and adaptability.

COR theory further examines the logic behind individuals’ strategic choices when confronted with threats of resource loss, such as work stress. This theory highlights that the coping strategies individuals employ under pressure—including emotional labor techniques—are heavily influenced by their perceived resource levels, especially their core psychological resilience. A more in-depth analysis of resilience’s moderating role indicates that its impact demonstrates significant directionality.

Under conditions of high psychological resilience, highly resilient individuals possess a more substantial buffer of resources and a greater capacity to acquire additional resources [27]. When faced with significant work stress, they are more likely to perceive the stress as a developmental challenge. This positive appraisal, combined with their superior emotional regulation skills and problem-solving confidence, motivates them to actively mobilize internal resources—such as empathy and value congruence—for deep emotional engagement and adjustment (i.e., deep acting). Although deep acting involves some short-term emotional expenditure, its ability to foster meaningful relationships, generate lasting fulfillment, and achieve resource gains positions it as a valuable and sustainable resource investment strategy for highly resilient individuals. This mechanism illustrates that high psychological resilience in stressful contexts not only promotes the activation of deep acting but also mitigates the tendency for stress to lead to surface acting.

In contrast, individuals with low psychological resilience possess relatively limited resource reserves and exhibit heightened sensitivity to resource loss [28]. Under conditions of high work stress, they are particularly vulnerable to resource depletion and experience intense negative emotions. To mitigate further resource losses, such as emotional exhaustion and identity conflict, individuals with low resilience often prioritize self-protective strategies that conserve resources. In this context, surface acting— which involves managing only outward behavior while requiring lower affective and cognitive involvement and immediate resource expenditure—naturally becomes a more appealing option. As a result, a state of low psychological resilience amplifies the positive correlation between stressors and surface acting: under high stress, low resilience significantly increases individuals’ reliance on surface acting.

Integrating the core tenets of the JD-R model and COR theory clearly demonstrates that psychological resilience is not merely a parallel predictor (antecedent variable) in the relationship between counselors’ work stress and emotional labor strategies; it is fundamentally a critical moderator that profoundly influences the nature of this relationship. Its core moderating effect manifests as a directional transformation: high psychological resilience promotes pressure-driven engagement in deeper positive emotional investment (deep acting) and inhibits stress-induced surface acting. Conversely, low psychological resilience significantly amplifies the impact of work stress in triggering surface acting [26]. Therefore, to thoroughly explore the intrinsic mechanisms by which work stress affects the emotional labor strategy choices of college counselors, it is essential to incorporate the moderating effect of psychological resilience as a fundamental element within the analytical framework and subject it to rigorous examination.

The goal and hypothesis of this study

The goal of this research is to explore the correlation between work stress and emotional labor among college counselors, and further tests the moderating effect of psychological resilience in this relationship. It aims to furnish empirical evidence for higher education institutions to manage stress effectively among this population, promote deeper expressions of emotional labor, minimize superficial displays. Additionally, it provides practical basis for career happiness management at both the institutional level and for individual counselors. Based on the aforementioned literature review, this study proposes the following hypothesis:

H1

The relationship between work stress and surface acting demonstrates a significant positive correlation;

H2

The relationship between work stress and deep acting demonstrates a significant negative correlation;

H3.1

psychological resilience weakens the positive association between work stress and surface acting;

H3.2

psychological resilience strengthens the negative association between work stress and deep acting.