Managing your heart A diary study on the antecedents and consequences of Emotional Labor among health care professionals.

Abstract

Health care professionals must perform emotional labor in their contact with patients by regulating their emotions in two ways, surface acting or deep acting, to meet the required appropriate expression of emotions at work (Grandey, 2000). The present diary study investigated the relationship between the antecedents positive mood, negative mood and patient interpersonal injustice and the emotional labor strategies surface acting and deep acting. It furthermore examined the relationship between surface acting and deep acting and the consequences burnout and work engagement. Finally, the mediating role of surface acting and deep acting was examined. Data were collected using a general questionnaire, filled in before a working week, and two daily questionnaires filled in for five working days. 58 Dutch health care professionals participated in the research for at least two to five days. Multilevel analysis showed that patient interpersonal injustice experienced on a day is positively related to employees daily emotional labor strategy (surface acting or deep acting) and positively related to daily burnout. Moreover, the study showed that the emotional labor strategy daily surface acting contributes to daily work engagement in a negative way. Finally, surface acting explains the relationship between patient interpersonal injustice and work engagement, such that patient interpersonal injustice lowered work engagement via more surface acting. Results are discussed with regard to the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory as the primary theoretical framework (Hobfoll, 1989).