A motivational approach to emotional labor: Examining the link between goal orientation and emotional labor strategies

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Mahsa Esmaeilikia ◽  
Markus Groth
Keyword(s):  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Goal Orientations ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Surface Acting ◽  
Deep Acting ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Goal Orientation Theory

AbstractDrawing on goal orientation theory, in this study, we examine how an individual's motivational approach relates to the use of two common emotional labor strategies: surface acting and deep acting. In addition, we examine the role of self-efficacy as a mediating mechanism through which different goal orientations are related to different emotional labor strategies. To test our hypotheses, 262 U.S. full-time working adults from a variety of service occupations were surveyed. Consistent with the predictions of goal orientation theory, our results show that learning-oriented service employees tend to use deep acting, while performance-oriented service employees use both emotional labor strategies. Our findings also show that emotional labor self-efficacy plays a mediating role in the relationship between motivational approach and emotional labor strategy use.

scholarly journals Switching Expression or Emotion: Emotional Labor Strategy on Negative Word of Mouth Mediated by Customer Satisfaction

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-172
Author(s):  
Resekiani Mas Bakar ◽  
Riska Amaliah ◽  
Nurul Hidayati
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Positive Emotion ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Negative Word ◽  
Surface Acting ◽  
Deep Acting ◽  
Service Employees

This experimental study aimed to examine the effect of emotional labor strategy towards the negative WOM mediated by customer satisfaction. Research of emotional labor context has widely examined its impacts on service employees. The limitations in several studies proved that the opportunity in the indirect effect of emotional labor strategy on negative word of mouth (WOM) is still available. Sixty-two participants were involved in this study and divided into two groups (deep acting versus surface acting) by using videos. PROCESS model moderation proved that emotional labor strategy indirectly affects the negative WOM, mediated by customer satisfaction. This study showed that deep acting strategy can enhance customer satisfaction, therefore the negative WOM can be diminished. In contrast, surface acting strategy affects the decrease of customer satisfaction and thus it can raise the intention of the negative WOM. Emotion modification would be more effective through the deep acting strategy in transmitting the positive emotion for the customer, than modification the expression. The satisfaction felt by the customer will decrease the intention to spread negative information about the service provider to other customers.

Older and Less Deviant? The Paths Through Emotional Labor and Organizational Cynicism

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yisheng Peng ◽  
Jie Ma ◽  
Wenqin Zhang ◽  
Steve Jex
Keyword(s):  
Age Differences ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Workplace Deviance ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Surface Acting ◽  
Deep Acting ◽  
Diverse Workforce ◽  
Organizational Cynicism ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Employee Age

Abstract Previous research suggests that workplace deviance, one of the most pressing problems for today’s organizations, tends to decline as employees age. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying the age-deviance relationship. Using aggregated 5-day daily diary data in a sample of 158 Chinese full-time employees, the present study examined age differences in the use of emotional labor strategies (i.e., surface acting and deep acting) and how these age differences relate to employee workplace deviance via organizational cynicism. Results found that age was negatively related to the use of both surface acting and deep acting. Emotional labor strategies (i.e., surface acting and deep acting) and organizational cynicism serially mediated the relationship between employee age and workplace deviance. The current research deepens our understanding of the process by which employee age relates to workplace deviance. This study also has implications for the management of an increasingly age-diverse workforce and can guide future interventions aiming at reducing workplace deviance, an issue of increasing concern to both organizations and society in general.

Perceived customer participation and work engagement: the path through emotional labor

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 1009-1024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaewon Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Customer Participation ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Frontline Employees ◽  
Perceived Fit ◽  
Surface Acting ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Deep Acting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how service employee’s perceived customer participation influences beneficial deep acting behaviors among service personnel while dampening the development of the less-beneficial surface acting, which subsequently affects service employees’ work engagement. Specifically, the current research explores how the personal factors of customer orientation (CO) and employee-customer fit interact with the customer participation to ultimately develop either surface – or deep-acting behaviors. Design/methodology/approach Data for the study were collected from a cross-sectional sample of retail bank and insurance companies in South Korea. Questionnaires were distributed to 750 frontline employees of several banks and insurance companies. Of these, 518 questionnaires were used for further analysis. Findings The results indicate that perceived customer participation exhibits the predicted negative influence on surface acting as well as the positive effect on deep acting. Using the hierarchical moderated regression approach, the interaction effect of customer participation and CO on the service employees’ surface acting was found. Finally, the positive moderating effect of employee’s perceived fit with customers in the relationship between perceived customer participation and employees’ deep acting was supported. Research limitations/implications First, the specific service sectors chosen for this study are retail banking and insurance. Furthermore, the study was conducted among the frontline employees of banks and insurance companies in South Korea. Second, the study used single-source data, which are prone to common method variance. While the survey instrument was structured carefully with this in mind and the results suggested that method bias may not have been an issue in this study, this problem can best be avoided by collecting data from multiple sources. Third, this study is limited by its cross-sectional approach. The cross-sectional nature of the present study does not allow causal inferences. Practical implications This study provides a practical implication for managers to understand the importance of customer participation for relieving the negative effects of employee emotional labor. From a practitioner standpoint, examining the relationship between customer participation and emotional labor is of great importance given the benefits and costs associated with managing customer participation. Thus, managers should magnify the positive effect of perceived customer participation on emotional labor by increasing frontline employees’ understanding of customer participation. Second, the finding that CO plays a more critical role in the reduction of surface acting has important managerial implications. The recruitment and selection of frontline employees should incorporate an assessment of the level of CO. The results of this study strongly suggest that service organizations can greatly benefit from hiring individuals with a higher CO for frontline positions because CO signals a better job-person fit. Originality/value The present study is the first to link employees’ perceived customer participation with their attempts at emotional labor at work and to study how those attempts lead to work engagement. This research also shows that understanding how service employees’ CO moderates the effects of customer participation on beneficial deep acting and on destructive surface acting is important in that emotional labor is a potential driver of customers’ emotional states and subsequent assessments of service interaction. A third contribution of this study is the use of a new concept, which will be called person-customer fit (PCF), to reflect employees’ perceived fit with customers. Although many researchers have investigated the relationship between customers and frontline employees, the research has primarily focussed on the employees’ perceived fit with their organization and members of the organization and overlooked the importance of PCF.

scholarly journals Emotional Labor Strategies And Service Performance: The Mediating Role Of Employee Creativity

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 1583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Liu ◽  
Xinmei Liu ◽  
Zizhen Geng
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Service Industry ◽  
Service Performance ◽  
Role Performance ◽  
Surface Acting ◽  
Employee Creativity ◽  
Deep Acting ◽  
Frontline Employee ◽  
Mediating Role

This paper theoretically and empirically investigates the effects of different emotional labor strategies on frontline employee creativity in the context of service industry, and it also studies the mediating role of frontline employee creativity in the relationships between frontline employees emotional labor strategies and the two aspects of customer service performance. Based on the data of 424 employeesupervisor dyads in China, the empirical results indicate that surface acting decreases employee creativity and extra role performance, while deep acting increases employee creativity, role-prescribed performance and extra role performance; employee creativity mediates both the negative influence of surface acting on extra role performance and the positive influences of deep acting on role-prescribed and extra role performances. The results have some theoretical and practical implications on service creativity and emotion management in service industry.

From emotional labor to customer loyalty in hospitality

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (9) ◽  
pp. 3742-3760
Author(s):  
Chung-Jen Wang
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Perceived Organizational Support ◽  
Abusive Supervision ◽  
Surface Acting ◽  
Deep Acting ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this study was based on the job demands -resources model (Bakker et al., 2004) and conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989) by using three levels of variables, namely, company (i.e., perceived organizational support), department (i.e., abusive supervision), and employee (i.e., deep acting, surface acting, and self-efficacy) levels, to investigate its interactions with contextual influences on service quality and its linkage with customer loyalty. Design/methodology/approach A three-level hierarchical linear model was examined in research settings by using a dyadic data set of 1,082 service employees and customers in international tourist hotels. Findings Findings revealed that deep acting relates positively to service quality, surface acting relates negatively to service quality, and service quality relates positively to customer loyalty. For the three-level interactions, the positive relationship between deep acting and service quality was strengthened by perceived organizational support (POS) and self-efficacy but weakened by abusive supervision. By contrast, the negative relationship between surface acting and service quality was mitigated by POS and self-efficacy but exacerbated by abusive supervision. Originality/value Given the importance of emotional labor research in the hospitality industry, the current study contributes to the areas of service quality and customer loyalty and suggests future directions for hospitality research.

Emotional labor of customer service employees in China

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-16
Author(s):  
Yuyan Zhang ◽  
Alexandra Luong
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Surface Acting ◽  
Chinese Sample ◽  
Deep Acting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees

Purpose The current study aims to examine the antecedents and outcomes of emotional labor strategies (i.e. surface acting and deep acting) among service employees in China. The study proposed employees’ perceived closeness with customers and customers’ socioeconomic status will predict deep acting and surface acting, respectively. It further examined the mediating role of emotional labor between perceived customer attributes and employee well-being (i.e. burnout and job satisfaction). Design/methodology/approach One hundred and one employees at a jewelry store in China completed a survey regarding their perceptions of customers, use of emotional labor and well-being (e.g. job satisfaction and burnout). Correlational and regression analyses were conducted to examine the predictors and outcomes of different emotional labor strategies. Findings Perceived closeness with the customer group predicted employees’ use of deep acting, whereas perceived customer socioeconomic status did not predict the use of surface acting. Deep acting was negatively related with burnout, whereas surface acting did not predict burnout. Deep acting mediated the relationship between perceived closeness with customers and burnout. Practical implications To maintain employee well-being, organizations can promote a service climate to enhance employees’ perceived relationship with customers. Originality/value The study specifies the interpersonal context in which employees use different emotional labor strategies; the perceived closeness with customers predicts less burnout via the use of more deep acting. This study also supplements the existing research on emotional labor based on a Chinese sample; deep acting predicts employee well-being.

Emotional Labor and Organizational Commitment Among South Korean Public Service Employees

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 1191-1200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun jung Lee
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Commitment ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Surface Acting ◽  
Deep Acting ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
South Korean

I examined the relationship between emotional labor and organizational commitment with 208 South Korean public service employees and used structural equation modeling to analyze the data. The results indicated that deep acting was positively associated with the 3 components of organizational commitment, namely, identification, affiliation, and exchange, and the identification commitment component in particular. However, no significant relationship was found between surface acting and the 3 components of organizational commitment. Thus, South Korean public service employees with a strong sense of organizational identity and who feel valued by their organization may generate positive emotions and engage in deep acting, leading to a high level of organizational commitment.

Labors of love: service employees on customer participation

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 585-607
Author(s):  
Laee Choi ◽  
Charles A. Lawry
Keyword(s):  
Job Stress ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Customer Participation ◽  
Surface Acting ◽  
Deep Acting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Impact

PurposeVery few studies have considered how customer participation (CP) influences service employees' well-being. CP may lead employees to engage in emotional labor strategies (surface/deep acting), which can elevate their job stress. Whereas surface acting involves falsifying emotions, deep acting involves empathizing with others. Therefore, the current article examines how these emotional labor strategies arise from CP and create job stress.Design/methodology/approachStudy 1 is an online survey of service employees' wellbeing during CP (n = 509). Study 2 compares service employees' responses within hedonic and utilitarian service settings through a scenario-based experiment (n = 440). PROCESS was used to analyze the data in both studies.FindingsFirst, study 1 supports that perceived CP increases job stress. Secondly, surface acting mediates the link between CP and job stress, but deep acting does not. Thereafter, Study 2 shows that the link between CP and job stress decreases as employee-customer identification (ECI) increases only during surface acting. Additionally, the impact of surface acting on job stress during CP is greater for hedonic services than utilitarian services, but there is no significant difference for deep acting.Originality/valueThis article contributes an original perspective by comparing models of service employees' responses to CP and job stress in hedonic versus utilitarian settings. Moreover, the intervening effects of ECI and emotional labor strategies on job stress, as demonstrated through these employee-facing models, offer added value to the CRM and co-creation literature.

scholarly journals How Does Emotional Labor Impact Employees’ Perceptions of Well-Being? Examining the Mediating Role of Emotional Disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6798 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao ◽  
Gao ◽  
Chen ◽  
Mu
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotional Disorder ◽  
Surface Acting ◽  
Deep Acting ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Bank Employees

Since bank employees are prone to high psychological pressure, it is key to explore the influencing mechanism of their emotional labor so as to relieve their pressure, as well as improve organizational performance and service quality. This study aimed to investigate the effects of emotional labor on bank employees’ well-being and to determine the mediating role of emotional disorder in this relationship. Employees responded to a survey regarding their use of emotional labor as well as perceptions of their well-being and emotional disorder. The results showed that employees’ use of emotional labor was related to their perceptions of well-being and confirmed the mediating role of emotional disorder in this relationship. The results indicated that surface acting has a significant negative impact on employee well-being, while deep acting has a significant positive impact. Moreover, emotional disorder played a role in mediating emotional labor and employee well-being, and emotional disorder was positively correlated with surface acting and negatively correlated with deep acting. The results revealed that developing deep-acting skills is important for increasing front-line bank staff’s well-being in China, who are accustomed to repressing their emotions, and emotional disorder might occur more often than has been previously believed, which worsens their well-being.

Employees' Emotional Labor and Emotional Exhaustion: Trust and Gender as Moderators

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 733-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenlan Wang ◽  
Shenghua Huang ◽  
Hongbiao Yin ◽  
Zheng Ke
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Exhaustion ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Surface Acting ◽  
Deep Acting ◽  
Service Employees ◽  
Trust Relationships ◽  
Men Managers ◽  
And Gender

In order to obtain a comprehensive insight into the nature of service employees' emotional labor, we examined the effect of gender and employees' trust in colleagues on the relationship between their emotional labor and emotional exhaustion. We focused on two emotional labor strategies: surface acting and deep acting. Participants comprised 679 Chinese service employees. The results showed that trust in colleagues strengthened the negative relationship between employees' deep acting and emotional exhaustion but also exacerbated the positive relationship between employees' surface acting and emotional exhaustion. The exacerbating effect of trust was especially strong for female surface actors. The findings suggest that women have a propensity for risk aversion and are more sensitive to the establishment of trust relationships than are men. Managers should consider surface acting as part of the makeup of the psychological well-being of employees.

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