Abstract
BACKGROUND: College counselors often endure significant work stress, which directly impacts their emotional labor. Although previous studies have described the association between work stress and emotional labor, the critical role of psychological resilience has been overlooked. 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. METHODS: A cluster sampling method was employed, and through online means, 351 full-time counselors were selected as research subjects. Data were collected using the Work Stress Questionnaire, the Psychological Resilience Questionnaire, and the Two-Dimensional Emotional Labour Questionnaire. Normality tests and common method bias tests were conducted using the K-S test and Harman's single-factor method, respectively. Descriptive statistics were performed using mean z-tests, paired t-tests, and partial correlations. The moderating effect was tested using hierarchical regression analysis and simple slope analysis. The significance level for the analysis was α = 0.05 (two-sided). RESULTS: The mean scores (M ± SD ) for work stress, psychological resilience, deep acting, and surface acting were (2.881 ± 0.699), (3.398 ± 0.800), (3.723 ± 0.837), and (3.234 ± 1.014), respectively. Deep acting was significantly higher than surface acting (t = 5.159, p < 0.001). Work stress was significantly negatively correlated with psychological resilience and deep acting (r = - 0.417, r = - 0.816, both p < 0.01), and positively correlated with surface acting (r = 0.812, p < 0.01). Psychological resilience was significantly positively correlated with deep acting (r = 0.679, p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with surface acting (r = - 0.562, p < 0.01). Psychological resilience did not have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between work stress and deep acting (β=-0.053, p > 0.05). However, it had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between work stress and surface acting (β=-0.167, p < 0.001), explaining 2.9% of the variance in surface acting (∆R²= 0.027). CONCLUSION: College counselors experience high levels of work stress, with deep acting in emotional labor being higher than surface acting. The relationship between work stress and emotional labor among university counselors reveals a significant positive correlation with surface acting, while exhibiting a significant negative correlation with deep acting. Psychological resilience weakens the positive association between work stress and surface acting. It is recommended to reduce work stress and improve psychological resilience levels to enhance deep acting, reduce surface acting, and improve work efficiency among college counselors.