This article examines the nature of teachers' subjective wellbeing. Drawing upon the survey evidence from a three-year mixed methods study in China, the article explores the dynamic interaction between key aspects of teachers' subjective wellbeing: "altruism" and "self-efficacy" (psychological functioning) and "work satisfaction" and "income satisfaction" (cognitive dimension). The results show that although teachers' judgement of the quality of life in their workplaces reflects the strengths of their altruistic values and their capacity to fulfil these values, such judgement is adversely moderated by their income satisfaction. The research adds new evidence to current debate on the quality retention of teachers.