Customer response to employee emotional labor: the structural relationship between emotional labor, job satisfaction, and customer satisfaction

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Won-Moo Hur ◽  
Tae-Won Moon ◽  
Yeon Sung Jung

Purpose – This study aims to extend emotional labor theories to the customer outcomes by examining a theoretical model of how emotional labor performed by the service worker affects customer satisfaction in a mediated way. Design/methodology/approach – Structural equation modeling analyses partially support for our hypotheses from 282 dyadic survey data [i.e. service interactions customers (seniors) and service employees (caregivers)] from a home caregiver firm in South Korea. Findings – The results of our study found that employee’s emotional regulation strategies of deep acting and surface acting differentially affect customer satisfaction, and that employee’s job satisfaction mediates the relationship between employee’s emotional regulation strategies and customer satisfaction. More specifically, the relationship between surface acting and customer satisfaction is fully mediated by employee’s job satisfaction, whereas the relationship between deep acting and customer satisfaction is partially mediated by employee’s job satisfaction. Originality/value – Our study is the first to provide an empirical test of how employee job satisfaction mediates the relationship between employee emotional labor and customer satisfaction in service interactions. This research sheds light on the crucial role of employee job satisfaction that can be an important consideration to boost service quality and customer satisfaction by facilitating employee emotional labor.

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 605-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Won-Moo Hur ◽  
Su-Jin Han ◽  
Jeong-Ju Yoo ◽  
Tae Won Moon

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to attempt to investigate how emotional labor strategies (i.e. surface acting and deep acting) affect job performance through job satisfaction. Another important objective of this study was to see whether perceived organizational support (POS) moderates the relationship between emotional labor strategies and job-related outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction and job performance). Design/methodology/approach – Structural equation modeling analysis provided support for the hypotheses from a sample of 309 South Korean department store sales employees. Findings – The results revealed that surface acting had a negative effect, whereas deep acting had a positive effect on job satisfaction. In addition, the relationship between emotional labor strategies (i.e. surface acting and deep acting) and job performance was significantly mediated by job satisfaction. Finally, POS significantly moderated the relationship between surface acting and job satisfaction, as well as the relationship between deep acting and job performance. Originality/value – The findings of this study contributed to the literature by identifying the relationship between surface and deep acting on organizational outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction and job performance), especially in a collectivist society (i.e. South Korea). In addition, this study also confirmed the important role of POS based on the norm of reciprocity between an organization and its members.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
I-An Wang ◽  
Szu-Yin Lin ◽  
Yeong-Shyang Chen ◽  
Shou-Tsung Wu

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to empirically test and explore the influences of abusive supervision on subordinates' job satisfaction and mental health. Specifically, the authors focus on the mediation effects of emotional labor and compare the discrepancies between surface acting and deep acting.Design/methodology/approachTime-lagged data were obtained from 239 employees in the hospitality industry in Taiwan. The hypothesized model was tested using structural equation modeling with Mplus 7.4.FindingsResults showed that abusive supervision is not only negatively related to employees' job satisfaction and mental health but also positively associated with employee surface acting and negatively associated with deep acting. For mediating effects, surface acting mediates the relationships between abusive supervision and employee job satisfaction, while deep acting mediates the relationship between abusive supervision and mental health.Practical implicationsAbusive supervision is detrimental; it should be reduced in the workplace. Also, frontline employees can be provided with training programs to improve their deep acting strategies, which lead to better job satisfaction and mental health.Originality/valueThis research is among the first to examine the link between abusive supervision and both employee job satisfaction and mental health in the hospitality industry and extends the authors’ knowledge by demonstrating the mediating effects of surface acting and deep acting.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-31
Author(s):  
Mikyoung Lee ◽  
Keum-Seong Jang

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between emotional labor, emotions, and job satisfaction among nurses, and explore the mediating role of emotions in the relationship between emotional labor and job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional study was designed with 168 nurses in Korea. Structural equation modeling and path analysis were performed to analyze data. Findings Surface acting correlated positively with anxiety and frustration. Deep acting correlated positively with enjoyment and pride but correlated negatively with anxiety, anger and frustration. Enjoyment and pride correlated positively with job satisfaction; anger correlated negatively with job satisfaction. Deep acting correlated positively with job satisfaction, while surface acting did not show a significant relationship. Enjoyment, pride and anger mediated the relationship between deep acting and job satisfaction. Research limitations/implications This research expands empirical findings on nurses’ emotional experiences, by considering their discrete emotions rather than general affect. It is the first study to empirically examine the relationships between emotional labor, discrete emotions and job satisfaction, as well as the mediating role of emotions in the relationship between emotional labor and job satisfaction in the nursing field. The mediating role of emotions suggests that not only nurses and nurse managers but also hospital administrators should take nurses’ emotions into account to increase nurses’ well-being and their job satisfaction. Finally, differential influences of surface acting and deep acting on nurses’ emotional experiences and job satisfaction highlight the need for practical interventions to promote the use of deep acting among nurses. Originality/value This study confirms the mediating role of emotions in the relationship between emotional labor and job satisfaction in the nursing field. It encourages future research to pay greater attention to nurses’ emotions themselves along with emotional labor. Findings add an interdisciplinary aspect to research on nursing by assimilating psychological perspectives of emotion and emotion management research to this field.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-16
Author(s):  
Yuyan Zhang ◽  
Alexandra Luong

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.


2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 933-938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuan Jiang ◽  
Zhou Jiang ◽  
Dong Soo Park

We examined the relationship between emotional labor strategy (ELS) and job satisfaction (JS), and the moderating effects of job characteristics on this relationship, based on data collected from 291 supermarket employees. Results showed that the 2 types of ELS, surface acting and deep acting, were negatively and positively related to JS, respectively. In general, job characteristics were found to moderate the relationship between ELS and JS.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu-Chuan Jennifer Yeh ◽  
Shih-Hua Sarah Chen ◽  
Kuo-Shu Yuan ◽  
Willy Chou ◽  
Thomas T. H. Wan

The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of emotional labor on job performance and satisfaction, as well as to examine the mediating effect of sleep problems and the moderating effects of personality traits. A time-lagged study was conducted on 864 health professionals. Scales for emotional labor, sleep, personality traits, and job satisfaction were used and job performance data was obtained from records maintained by human resources. Structural equation modeling was performed to investigate the relations. Sleep problems only partially mediated the relationship between surface acting and job satisfaction but completely mediated the relationship between surface acting and job performance. Several personality traits were shown to moderate the relationship between surface acting and sleep problems. The effects were stronger for people with low agreeableness and high neuroticism. The relationship between high levels of deep acting and low levels of sleep problems was more pronounced in individuals with low extraversion. Supervisors should be conscious of emotional labor in the work context and provide necessary deep acting training to facilitate emotional regulation.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan-Ling Chen ◽  
Ting Yi Chu

PurposeDrawing on the perspectives of emotional labor, self-concept and impression management, this study presents two major findings: (1) employees' excessive reliance on impression management can bother supervisors, and (2) the effectiveness of impression management depends on how the management affects targets' attribution of characteristics to actors.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a cross-sectional design and a sample of 259 employees to investigate the antecedents of abusive supervision and, in this regard, the potential mediating effects of impression management. Through Mplus analysis, the authors specifically show that deep acting and surface acting affect impression management and that impression management activates abusive supervision.FindingsEmotional labor is critical in triggering abusive supervision through impression management. The study specifically shows that impression management mediates two types of relationships: (1) the relationship between deep acting and abusive supervision, and (2) the relationship between surface acting and abusive supervision. The findings contribute to the abusive supervision literature by clarifying how impression management functions.Originality/valueThis study, by addressing how emotional labor is a potential antecedent of abusive supervision, reveals that impression management can be a mixed blessing, insofar as emotional labor can contribute to abusive supervision.


2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 614-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Wei Wu

Purpose Much research has emphasized the importance of service employees as boundary spanners that interact with customers by co-production. Service employees frequently engage in emotional labor in response to co-production requirements. The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework that explores the links between co-production, emotional labor, employee satisfaction, value co-creation, co-production intensity, and their effects on customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach This study involved collecting and analyzing 322 questionnaires from the dyads of service employees and customers of the financial service industry in Taiwan. The hypothesized relationships in the model were tested by using a structural equation model. Findings The results of this study indicate that co-production influences deep acting, surface acting, value co-creation, and co-production intensity. Deep acting and surface acting have different effects on employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction. Meanwhile, employee satisfaction and value co-creation increase customer satisfaction, whereas co-production intensity decreases customer satisfaction. Originality/value The findings provide interesting theoretical insights and valuable managerial implications regarding the positive and negative aspects of co-production and encourage service employees to perform deep acting while minimizing surface acting.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojun Zhan ◽  
Wenhao Luo ◽  
Hanyu Ding ◽  
Yanghao Zhu ◽  
Yirong Guo

PurposePrior studies have mainly attributed customer incivility to dispositional characteristics, whereas little attention has been paid to exploring service employees' role in triggering or reducing customer incivility. The purpose of the present study is to propose and test a model in which service employees' emotional labor strategies affect customer incivility via influencing customers' self-esteem threat, as well as examine the moderating role of customer's perception of service climate.Design/methodology/approachBased on a matched sample consisting of 317 employee-customer dyads in China, multiple regression analysis and indirect effect tests were employed to test our model.FindingsThe study shows that employee surface acting is positively related to customer incivility, whereas deep acting is negatively associated with customer incivility. Moreover, customer self-esteem threat mediates the relationship between both types of emotional labor and customer incivility. Customer perception of service climate moderates the relationship between deep acting and customer self-esteem threat.Originality/valueThe current research broadens the antecedents of customer incivility from the employee perspective and sheds more light on the role of customer self-esteem in the interactions between employees and customers. It also demonstrates a complementary relationship between service climate and individual employees' emotional labor strategies, thereby expanding the existing understanding of the management of employees' emotional labor.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 1046-1064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zizhen Geng ◽  
Chao Liu ◽  
Xinmei Liu ◽  
Jie Feng

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to empirically test and extend knowledge of the effects of emotional labor of frontline service employee. Design/methodology/approach – The authors examined the effects of emotional labor (surface acting and deep acting) on frontline employee creativity, as well as the mediating effects of different kinds of job stress (hindrance stress and challenge stress) on the relationship between emotional labor and creativity. The research hypotheses were tested using data collected from 416 service employee–supervisor dyads in 82 Chinese local restaurants. Findings – Results show that surface acting is negatively related to and deep acting is positively related to frontline employee creativity; surface acting is positively related to hindrance stress, while deep acting is positively related to challenge stress; and hindrance stress mediates the relationship between surface acting and creativity. Originality/value – This study extends the consequences of emotional labor to frontline employee creativity from a cognitive perspective. It also advances knowledge about the effects of emotional labor on stress by classifying different kinds of job stress caused by different cognitive appraisals of surfacing acting and deep acting, and revealing the role of hindrance stress as psychological mechanism through which surface acting affects creativity.


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