Teacher Work Stressors and Professional Attitudes: A Moderated Mediation Model of Work-Related Strain and School Climate from the Perspective of Conservation of Resources Theory

Abstract Based on Conservation of Resources Theory, this study explored the relationship between Chinese teachers’ work stressors and professional attitudes, examining Work-Related Strain’s mediating role and school climate’s moderating effects. Using OECD TALIS 2018 data from 3,088 Chinese teachers, confirmatory factor analysis tested scale validity, PROCESS macro examined mediation and moderation effects, and bias-corrected Bootstrap assessed significance. Results showed work stressors significantly negatively impacted professional attitudes. Work-Related Strain significantly mediated this relationship, with indirect effects accounting for 66.9% of total effects. School climate demonstrated differentiated moderating effects: buffering the transformation of work stressors into Work-Related Strain while amplifying direct negative impacts on professional attitudes. These findings reveal complex psychological mechanisms underlying teacher professional attitude changes, with Work-Related Strain as a key mediating variable. The dual moderating effects challenge traditional buffering assumptions, providing new insights for understanding organizational contextual factors and offering guidance for optimizing teacher work environments.