The roles of general mattering, anti-mattering, psychological distress, and mistake tolerance in teacher turnover: insights from Chinese educational settings

Despite increasing recognition of general mattering (GM) and anti-mattering (AM) as crucial psychological constructs in workplace well-being, gaps exist in understanding their mechanisms in educational settings, and longitudinal evidence examining these relationships is also lacking. This two-wave longitudinal study explores how GM and AM influence psychological distress (PD) and turnover intentions (TI) among Chinese teachers, while examining the moderating role of mistake tolerance (MT) on these relationships. Data were collected at two time points: February and March 2024 (Time 1), followed by a second survey after a four-month interval (Time 2), with participants including 812 school teachers in China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with bootstrapping techniques was used to analyze the mediation pathways from GM and AM to TI via PD. Results reveal that PD mediates the relationship between GM, AM, and TI, with higher GM linked to lower PD and TI, whereas AM was associated with increased PD and TI; additionally, MT moderated the GM-PD relationship such that in low-MT settings, lower GM increased PD, but this effect was absent in high-MT settings. This study confirms GM and AM as distinct constructs, with AM emerging as a unique psychological experience rather than merely the absence of GM, and introducing MT as a moderator highlights managerial support’s role in reducing turnover, while its longitudinal design offers insights for improving teacher well-being.