Psychological Capital, Emotional Labor and Exhaustion: Examining Mediating and Moderating Models

Abstract

This study examines the total moderation role that psychological capital plays in the integrative emotional labor model in which positive display rule perceptions predict emotional exhaustion both directly and indirectly via emotional labor strategies, i.e., deep acting and surface acting. The results reveal that psychological capital moderates the direct and indirect relationships between positive display rule perceptions and emotional exhaustion. Psychological capital also moderates the relationship between deep acting, but not surface acting, and emotional exhaustion. These findings suggest that psychological capital generally plays a positive role in the emotion regulation process. It is also noted that although psychological capital can reduce employees’ emotional exhaustion, employees with high psychological capital who practice surface acting may suffer increased emotional exhaustion. Suggestions are offered accordingly for organizations that wish to enhance their employees’ psychological capital and to reduce the negative effects of emotional labor.