Beyond Burnout: How Workplace Relationships Shape Teacher Job Satisfaction

Abstract

Teachers’ job satisfaction is influenced by both occupational demands and workplace relationships. This paper develops an integrated conceptual framework examining job satisfaction among teachers in Guangdong’s private undergraduate institutions in China. Drawing on six theoretical perspectives, it proposes affective commitment as a mediating mechanism linking perceived team Cha-xu climate and job burnout to job satisfaction. It highlights how relational exclusion, preferential treatment, and resource depletion may undermine teachers’ organizational attachment and job satisfaction. By integrating culturally embedded relational dynamics with occupational strain, this framework advances understanding of teacher job satisfaction and provides directions for future empirical research.