Emotional labour, job satisfaction and organizational commitment amongst clinical nurses: A questionnaire survey

Abstract

Background According to Hochschild's (1983. The Managed Heart. Berkeley: University of California Press) classification of emotional labour, nursing staff express high emotional labour. This paper investigates how nursing staff influence job satisfaction and organizational commitment when they perform emotional labour. Objectives This paper examines the relationship between emotional labour, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment from the perspective of nursing staff. Design A questionnaire survey was carried out to explore these interrelationships. Setting Teaching hospital in Taiwan. Participants Questionnaires were distributed to 500 nursing staff; 295 valid questionnaires were collected and analysed—a 59% response rate. Methods The questionnaires contained items on emotional labour, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment as well as some basic socio-demographics. In addition, descriptive statistics, correlation and linear structure relation (LISREL) were computed. Results Emotional display rule (EDR) was significantly and negatively related to job satisfaction. Surface acting (SA) was not significantly related to job satisfaction but demonstrated a significantly negative relationship with organizational commitment. Deep acting (DA) significantly and positively correlated with job satisfaction but demonstrated no significance with organizational commitment. The variety of emotions required (VER) was not significantly related to job satisfaction; frequency and duration of interaction (FDI) and negatively related to job satisfaction; and job satisfaction significantly and positively correlated with organizational commitment. Conclusions We found that some dimensions of emotional labour significantly relate to job satisfaction. Job satisfaction positively affects organizational commitment and has an intervening effect on DA and organizational commitment.