Emotional labor is an area of the wide field of emotions that has been studied by several disciplines. However, it has not been sufficiently approached from an educational perspective, especially that of EFL teachers. In order to contribute to this research area, this study explores a small number of EFL secondary school teachers' emotional experiences in the workplace. The purpose is to understand the factors and main aspects of how EFL teachers experience emotional labor, and to raise awareness of the negative impact that emotional labor may have on a teacher's personal and professional life. For this qualitative case study, data were collected using a semi-structured interview. Given the nature of the data, aspects of grounded theory were used to analyze the information. Findings led to a deeper understanding of some of the factors that influence EFL teachers emotionally, including issues regarding emotional labor, burnout in the working context, coping strategies, and the extent to which the emotions teachers experience impact their practice.