The long arm of work: A motivational conflict perspective on teacher strain

Abstract Teacher strain is seen typically as a phenomenon within the job domain. Drawing on effort-recovery theory as well as on research on work–family conflict and motivational interference, we propose that intrapsychic conflict between different life domains also contributes to teachers' emotional exhaustion. Findings based on self-reports of 234 teachers show that particularly the negative impact of work on teachers' private life related positively to their emotional exhaustion, and that this effect is mostly mediated by motivational interference effects in the social domain. Hence, adequate leisure experiences and detachment from work seem to be crucial to prevent prolonged emotional strain.