Graduation Year
2004
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.A.
Degree Granting Department
Psychology
Major Professor
Paul Spector, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Kristen Salomon, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Ellis Gesten, Ph.D.
Keywords
emotional dissonance, customer service, emotions at work, occupational health, service employee outcomes
Abstract
The present study examines the process of emotional labor as performed by customer service employees. This research investigates some of the consequences of performing emotional labor such as emotional exhaustion, affective well-being, and job satisfaction, and attempts to determine which individual and organizational variables play moderating roles in these relationships. One hundred and seventy-six participants from 10 customer service organizations, ranging from retail stores to call centers, completed a 126-item survey. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to test the proposed hypotheses. Results indicate that gender, emotional intelligence, and autonomy are key moderator variables in the relationship between emotional labor and emotional exhaustion, affective well-being, and job satisfaction. Females are more likely to experience negative consequences when engaging in surface acting. Individuals high in emotional intelligence experienced positive outcomes as emotional labor increased, and the converse is true for those low in emotional intelligence. Autonomy serves to alleviate negative outcomes primarily at the higher levels of emotional labor.
Scholar Commons Citation
Johnson, Hazel-Anne M., "The Story Behind Service With A Smile: The Effects of Emotional Labor on Job Satisfaction, Emotional Exhaustion, and Affective Well-Being" (2004). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/1097
