Emotional regulatory flexibility mitigates effects of school-related stress

Educators often experience burnout due to their demanding work and its inherently stressful nature. Previous research has demonstrated the buffering effects of emotional regulatory flexibility on the development of clinical symptoms in various populations that are repeatedly exposed to stress as part of their occupational routine. This study is the first to explore whether regulatory flexibility moderates the relationship between school-related stress exposure and burnout in educators. Eighty-nine educators (80.9% female; M_age=48.18, SD = 7.32) completed a performance-based paradigm evaluating regulatory flexibility and were assessed for stress exposure and burnout. Consistent with our predictions, increased school-related stress exposure was associated with a greater sense of burnout. Furthermore, greater regulatory flexibility was associated with lower levels of burnout. Importantly, regulatory flexibility moderated the relationship between school-related stress exposure and burnout. Specifically, for educators with low regulatory flexibility, we found a strong positive relationship between school-related stress exposure and burnout. This relationship was attenuated for educators with high regulatory flexibility, suggesting that regulatory flexibility serves as a protective factor against burnout among educators. These results highlight the potential for developing interventions targeting emotional regulatory flexibility to alleviate burnout in this population.