{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T05:55:04Z","timestamp":1791179704536,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791158400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Emotional exhaustion has become a prevalent psychological concern among teachers working in high-demand educational environments. Drawing upon effort\u2013reward imbalance (ERI) theory and conservation of resources theory, this study examined the relationship between ERI and emotional exhaustion among teachers working in border regions of China, with meaningful work as a mediator and social support as a moderator.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 483 primary and secondary school physical education teachers. Data were analyzed using PROCESS Models 4 and 14 with 5,000 bootstrap resamples.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The results indicated that ERI was positively associated with emotional exhaustion. Meaningful work accounted for a significant indirect association between ERI and emotional exhaustion. In addition, social support moderated the association between meaningful work and emotional exhaustion, such that the positive association was weaker at higher levels of social support. The conditional indirect association between ERI and emotional exhaustion through meaningful work was also smaller at higher levels of social support.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings highlight the complex psychological role of meaningful work under chronically demanding work conditions and emphasize the importance of supportive school environments for maintaining teachers\u2019 psychological well-being.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1883202","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T05:32:13Z","timestamp":1791178333000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effort-reward imbalance and emotional exhaustion among border-region physical education teachers: the roles of meaningful work and social support"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Yintu","family":"Bao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Physical Education Teaching Department, Dalian Minzu University","place":["Dalian, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhaohua","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Liaoning Police Academy","place":["Dalian, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hongbin","family":"Yue","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Education, Northeastern University","place":["Shenyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Boya","family":"Dong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Education, Northeastern University","place":["Shenyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Changliang","family":"Yan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Education, Northeastern University","place":["Shenyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"500","DOI":"10.1111\/joms.12406","article-title":"Outcomes of meaningful work: A meta-analysis.","volume":"56","author":"Allan","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Manag. Stud."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"553230","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2021.553230","article-title":"Occupational burnout prevalence and its determinants among physical education teachers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.","volume":"15","author":"Alsalhe","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front. Hum. Neurosci"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"31","DOI":"10.1111\/ijmr.12077","article-title":"The meaning, antecedents and outcomes of employee engagement: A narrative synthesis.","volume":"19","author":"Bailey","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. Manag. Rev."},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"309","DOI":"10.1108\/02683940710733115","article-title":"The job demands\u2013resources model: State of the art.","volume":"22","author":"Bakker","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Manag. Psychol."},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"32","DOI":"10.2189\/asqu.2009.54.1.32","article-title":"The call of the wild: Zookeepers, callings, and the double-edged sword of deeply meaningful work.","volume":"54","author":"Bunderson","year":"2009","journal-title":"Adm. Sci. Q."},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"310","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-2909.98.2.310","article-title":"Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis.","volume":"98","author":"Cohen","year":"1985","journal-title":"Psychol. Bull."},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"859","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jm.2004.06.004","article-title":"Burnout in organizational life.","volume":"30","author":"Halbesleben","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Manag."},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"835","DOI":"10.1016\/S0742-051X(98)00025-0","article-title":"The emotional practice of teaching.","volume":"14","author":"Hargreaves","year":"1998","journal-title":"Teach. Teacher Educ."},{"key":"B9","volume-title":"Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-Based Approach","author":"Hayes","year":"2022"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"513","DOI":"10.1037\/\/0003-066x.44.3.513","article-title":"Conservation of resources. A new attempt at conceptualizing stress.","volume":"44","author":"Hobfoll","year":"1989","journal-title":"Am. Psychol"},{"key":"B11","volume-title":"Work Stress and Social Support.","author":"House","year":"1981"},{"key":"B12","first-page":"8","article-title":"Occupational stress, social support and health","volume-title":"Reducing Occupational Stress: Proceedings of a Conference","author":"House","year":"1978"},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1080\/10705519909540118","article-title":"Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives.","volume":"6","author":"Hu","year":"1999","journal-title":"Struct. Equ. Modeling"},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"995","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tate.2005.06.009","article-title":"Teachers\u2019 emotions in educational reforms: Self-understanding, vulnerable commitment and micropolitical literacy.","volume":"21","author":"Kelchtermans","year":"2005","journal-title":"Teach. Teach. Educ."},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"374","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jvb.2018.07.004","article-title":"Fostering meaningful work in organizations: A multi-level review and integration.","volume":"110","author":"Lysova","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Vocat. Behav."},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"103425","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tate.2021.103425","article-title":"Towards an understanding of teacher attrition: A meta-analysis of burnout, job satisfaction, and teachers\u2019 intentions to quit.","volume":"105","author":"Madigan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Teach. Teach. Educ."},{"key":"B17","first-page":"351","article-title":"Burnout","volume-title":"Stress: Concepts, Cognition, Emotion, And Behavior","author":"Maslach","year":"2016"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"91","DOI":"10.1016\/j.riob.2010.09.001","article-title":"On the meaning of work: A theoretical integration and review.","volume":"30","author":"Rosso","year":"2010","journal-title":"Res. Organ. Behav."},{"key":"B19","article-title":"Maslach burnout inventory\u2013general survey","volume-title":"Maslach Burnout Inventory manual (3rd ed.)","author":"Schaufeli","year":"1996"},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"71","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1015630930326","article-title":"The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach.","volume":"3","author":"Schaufeli","year":"2002","journal-title":"J. Happiness Stud."},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"27","DOI":"10.1037\/\/1076-8998.1.1.27","article-title":"Adverse health effects of high-effort\/low-reward conditions.","volume":"1","author":"Siegrist","year":"1996","journal-title":"J. Occup. Health Psychol"},{"key":"B22","volume-title":"Psychometric Properties Of The Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire.","author":"Siegrist","year":"2014"},{"key":"B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"322","DOI":"10.1177\/1069072711436160","article-title":"Measuring meaningful work: The work and meaning inventory (WAMI).","volume":"20","author":"Steger","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Career Assess."},{"key":"B24","volume-title":"Global Education Monitoring Report 2021\/2: Non-State Actors In Education.","year":"2021"},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"30","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1464-0597.2011.00454.x","article-title":"For fun, love, or money: What drives workaholic, engaged, and burned-out employees at work?","volume":"61","author":"Van Beek","year":"2012","journal-title":"Appl. Psychol."},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1117","DOI":"10.1016\/j.socscimed.2004.06.043","article-title":"Reviewing the effort-reward imbalance model: Drawing up the balance of 45 empirical studies.","volume":"60","author":"van Vegchel","year":"2005","journal-title":"Soc. Sci. Med"},{"key":"B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1929","DOI":"10.1177\/17479541231181971","article-title":"An integrated perspective of the demand\u2013control and effort\u2013reward imbalance models on burnout among sport coaches: The moderating role of over-commitment and coaching efficacy.","volume":"18","author":"Yan","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int. J. Sport. Sci. Coach."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1883202\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]],"date-time":"2026-10-05T05:32:16Z","timestamp":1791178336000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1883202\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]]},"references-count":27,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1883202"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1883202","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-1078"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-1078","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,5]]},"article-number":"1883202"}}