EMOTIONAL LABOUR AND EMOTIONAL BURNOUT: EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF SERVICE SECTOR EMPLOYEES

Abstract. Emotional labour (hereinafter EL) is a form of work that involves managing emotions and emotional expressions during social interaction to achieve professional goals and to fulfil the emotional requirements of a job. EL can bring negative psychological consequences for employees such as burnout and exhaustion. Such negative outcomes are determined mostly by the EL strategy that employees implement. This article seeks to expand understanding of the dispositional and situational determinants of EL, and the role played by dispositional variables in determining the outcomes of EL. Drawing on survey data from 29 employees working in the service sector, we find that among EL strategies surface acting has been consistently shown to have the most detrimental effects on employee well-being. On the other hand, deep acting can be viewed as a healthier way to perform EL, and the expression of genuine emotions can even reduce the negative outcomes of EL. Understanding the antecedents of EL strategies would therefore enable more effective interventions to be developed aimed at reducing burnout by influencing the way in which employees perform EL. Keywords: emotional labour, burnout, antecedents of emotional labour