The Relationship Between Extra-Administrative Workload, Emotional Exhaustion, and Work Engagement of Primary and Secondary School Teachers: Based on Multilevel Linear Model Analysis

Primary and secondary school teachers in China bear a substantial additional administrative workload. However, no quantitative study has examined the effects of this workload on teachers. Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources model and Conservation of Resources theory, we examined the relationship between extra-administrative workload (school level), emotional exhaustion (personal level), and work engagement (personal level) by administering questionnaires and estimating a multilevel linear model. A total of 318 teachers from 51 primary and secondary schools participated in the study. The results indicated that (a) school-level extra-administrative workload significantly and positively predicted teachers' emotional exhaustion, and (b) emotional exhaustion, in turn, significantly and positively predicted teachers' work engagement. These findings provide an empirical basis for school management and policy formulation in primary and secondary education and offer practical guidance for promoting teachers' mental health.