Unpacking Three Novice EFL Teachers’ Emotional Wellbeing in Banzhuren Work in Chinese Secondary Schools

ABSTRACT Recent research has highlighted the importance of investigating language teachers’ emotional wellbeing as an avenue into the close relationship between teacher emotion and wellbeing. However, past studies mainly emphasize language teachers’ professional practices in language instruction, whereas the impact of administrative responsibilities on teachers’ emotional wellbeing remains unclear. To address this gap, the present study focused on three novice English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ banzhuren work as an example of their administrative responsibilities to explore the link between teacher emotion and wellbeing embedded in administrative work. A narrative inquiry design was adopted, and data were collected through semi‐structured interviews. The results provided an emic overview of the pressure experienced by the participants, and some main sources of the pressure involved teachers’ relatively long working hours, lack of rest during off‐work times, and investment in managing students’ disciplinary and mental issues. The working pressure then generated emotional struggles characterized by negative feelings such as pain, anger, and disappointment. Furthermore, pressure and emotional struggles led to teacher wellbeing issues of self‐reported mental and physical health concerns. These findings suggest the significant impact of working pressure and negative emotions on teacher wellbeing. Future research directions are discussed to address possible resolutions to teachers’ emotional wellbeing issues.