To reflect and learn: the emotional labor strategies of victims of workplace ostracism and the role of anger

Purpose Based on the cognitive appraisal theory of stress, this study aims to explore the double-edged sword effect of workplace ostracism on employees' in-role job performance, as well as how competitive or cooperative orientation impacts response to workplace ostracism. Design/methodology/approach We collect data from 669 nurses in three phases from three public hospitals in China and construct a dual path model to analyze the impact of workplace ostracism on employees' in-role job performance. Findings The results of the study indicate that employees with high competitive orientation are more likely to exhibit regulation of emotions after experiencing workplace ostracism, which in turn improves in-role job performance. However, employees with high cooperative orientation are more likely to suffer from emotional dissonance after workplace ostracism. Originality/value Workplace ostracism researchers have noted conflicting findings regarding its specific impact on employees' in-role job performance. This study resolves these inconsistencies by examining the moderating role of cooperative versus competitive orientations, demonstrating how they trigger opposing behavioral outcomes in response to workplace ostracism. By establishing this critical contingency, our research advances a novel theoretical framework for comprehensively understanding the effects of workplace ostracism and the pivotal roles of competitive and cooperative orientations in workplace ostracism.

In this study, we examine how leaders' emotional labour strategies (surface acting and deep acting) deplete leaders' self-control resources to predict abusive supervision, in addition to the moderating role of leader mindfulness. Integrating ego-depletion theory and emotion regulation theory, we hypothesise that deep acting and surface acting predict higher levels of abusive supervision, which is mediated by reduced self-control. Furthermore, we predict that leaders' trait mindfulness moderates the relationship between emotional labour and self-control on abusive supervision. Results from a three-wave study of leader-follower dyads supported mediation hypotheses; both deep and surface acting predicted abusive supervision, which is mediated by reduced self-control. Our moderated mediation hypotheses were supported for deep acting but not surface acting. This research contributes to the literature by demonstrating the depleting nature of emotional labour in leadership and the importance of leader mindfulness as a boundary condition that can make deep acting less harmful for leader behaviour.

While the similarities between emotion regulation (Gross in J Personal Soc Psychol 74:224–237, 1998a) and emotional labor (Hochschild in The managed heart: commercialization of human feeling. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1983) have been theoretically discussed, empirical research on their relation is lacking. We examined the relations between the two constructs as well as their relations with teachers’ discrete emotions in a sample of 189 secondary school teachers. The results showed that reappraisal correlated positively with deep acting, whereas suppression correlated positively with surface acting. The findings further suggest that reappraisal and deep acting are linked to experiencing positive emotions, whereas suppression and surface acting are linked to experiencing negative emotions. However, there also were some differences in how emotion regulation and emotional labor were related to teachers’ discrete emotional experiences. Specifically, reappraisal and deep acting strategies were positively related to enjoyment; in addition, deep acting was negatively related to negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, and frustration. By contrast, suppression and surface acting strategies were positively associated with negative emotions (i.e., suppression with anxiety; surface acting with anxiety, anger, and frustration), and surface acting was negatively associated with the positive emotion enjoyment. Implications for integrating research on teachers’ emotion regulation and emotional labor are discussed.

This study aimed to elaborate on the mechanism by which workplace ostracism influences turnover intention through exploring the sequential mediation effects of emotional labour and nurse-patient relationship. Using a sample of 379 nurses collected from a time-lag survey in a tertiary public hospital in China, we applied structural equation modelling techniques to test our hypothesized model. Our findings revealed that workplace ostracism positively influenced surface acting and deep acting. Workplace ostracism influenced turnover intention through the sequential mediation of surface acting and nurse-patient relationship. The findings of this study imply that nurses should receive education and training in emotional management skills to deal with workplace ostracism. Besides, fostering positive nurse-patient relationships may help reduce nurses’ turnover intention.

BackgroundThis scoping review’s aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of ecological momentary assessment (EMA)- based research on emotional labor (EL) as emotion regulation (ER). This includes an examination of the theoretical foundation this research builds on, how the hypothesized relationships are investigated using EMA methods as well as the studies’ findings themselves. We built on the work of Grandey and Melloy (J Occup Health Psychol 22:407–22, 2004), who broadly distinguished between the two regulatory strategies of deep acting (DA) and surface acting (SA), embedded in a hierarchical model of emotional labor, as a guiding theory for structuring this review.MethodsTo be included, studies had to use EMA to measure SA or DA, with no restrictions regarding population and date of publication. The electronic databases CINAHL, PsycArticles, PsycINFO, PSYNDEX, Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science were searched. Studies were included if they met the above criteria and were written in English or German. Out of 237 publications, 12 were chosen for this review.ResultsAll studies were based on emotional labor theories, with Arlie Hochschild’s theory being the most popular, followed by Alicia Grandey's emotional labor theory and its modifications (Grandey AA. Emotion Regulation in the Workplace: A New Way to Conceptualize Emotional Labor; Grandey AA. When “the show must go on”: Surface acting and deep acting as determinants of emotional exhaustion and peer-rated service delivery. 2003). The methodological quality of the studies varied greatly. The results of the studies indicate that SA is influenced by negative events, trait SA, service innovation and certain emotions, while DA is influenced by positive events and emotional intelligence. Emotional labor benefits the organization, e.g., by improving customer conflict handling, but also causes harm by increasing employee withdrawal behavior. For the employee, emotional labor results in more harm than benefits.Conclusions The research area is still in its early stages and the findings are mostly consistent, but the small number of studies needs to be replicated to increase the reliability of the results. The lack of evidence for ertain hypotheses highlights the presence of unresolved relationships that require further exploration. We are only at the beginning of investigating emotional labor using ecological momentary assessment, and conducting more high-quality studies will significantly enhance our comprehension of emotional labor.

BackgroundThere is increasing evidence that psychological constructs, such as emotional intelligence and emotional labor, play an important role in various organizational outcomes in service sector. Recently, in the “emotionally charged” healthcare field, emotional intelligence and emotional labor have both emerged as research tools, rather than just as theoretical concepts, influencing various organizational parameters including job satisfaction. The present study aimed at investigating the relationships, direct and/or indirect, between emotional intelligence, the surface acting component of emotional labor, and job satisfaction in medical staff working in tertiary healthcare.MethodsData were collected from 130 physicians in Greece, who completed a series of self-report questionnaires including: a) the Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, which assessed the four dimensions of emotional intelligence, i.e. Self-Emotion Appraisal, Others’ Emotion Appraisal, Use of Emotion, and Regulation of Emotion, b) the General Index of Job Satisfaction, and c) the Dutch Questionnaire on Emotional Labor (surface acting component).ResultsEmotional intelligence (Use of Emotion dimension) was significantly and positively correlated with job satisfaction (r=.42, p<.001), whereas a significant negative correlation between surface acting and job satisfaction was observed (r=−.39, p<.001). Furthermore, Self-Emotion Appraisal was negatively correlated with surface acting (r=−.20, p<.01). Self-Emotion Appraisal was found to influence job satisfaction both directly and indirectly through surface acting, while this indirect effect was moderated by gender. Apart from its mediating role, surface acting was also a moderator of the emotional intelligence-job satisfaction relationship. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that surface acting could predict job satisfaction over and above emotional intelligence dimensions.ConclusionsThe results of the present study may contribute to the better understanding of emotion-related parameters that affect the work process with a view to increasing the quality of service in the health sector.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to bridge the gap between occupational psychology and family psychology by exploring whether and how social connections in the workplace can lead to changes in family relations.BackgroundAmid intensified competition, workplace ostracism has become prevalent. However, its negative impacts on children, a vulnerable group within the family, have been largely neglected.MethodA cross‐sectional survey was conducted on a sample of 673 working parents from multiple companies, along with their children. This enabled us to examine the impacts of workplace ostracism on the parent–child relationship based on both parents' and children's data, with a specific focus on the mediating role of emotional exhaustion.ResultsThe consistent findings obtained from parents' and children's relationship ratings revealed that parents' reported workplace ostracism predicted parent–child conflict positively and parent–child closeness negatively. Parents' emotional exhaustion only partially mediated the relationship between workplace ostracism and parent–child conflict, whereas its mediation effect between workplace ostracism and parent–child closeness was found to be insignificant.ConclusionThe spillover effect of workplace ostracism can exacerbate conflicts and reduce closeness between parents and their children. Emotional exhaustion acts as the underlying mechanism linking workplace ostracism to conflict but not to closeness.ImplicationsPrograms designed to foster better intraorganizational relationships and promote individual emotion regulation skills may ultimately benefit family harmony.

Emotional labor, or regulating emotions as part of one's work role, is needed for performance yet may come with far-reaching costs to employee health and performance. Based on ego depletion theorizing, we propose that on days employees perform more surface acting (i.e., faking positive and hiding negative emotional expressions), they will consume more alcohol later-due to reduced self-control (i.e., depletion). In 2 studies, public-facing employees completed multiple assessments per day for 2 weeks. Study 1 showed that surface acting had no direct or indirect effect on alcohol use via depletion, nor via negative mood as an alternative measure of depletion. Study 2 demonstrated that surface acting directly increased subsequent drinking only for those with high emotional demands, but not through depletion. Across both studies, daily deep acting (i.e., modifying emotions to feel positive) consistently predicted less alcohol consumption, but this did not occur through depletion. Study 2 provided evidence for an alternative, motivational shift explanation-a reduced motive to detach from work after regulating by deep acting-rather than self-control capacity. These findings contribute to debate on ego depletion theory by providing insightful field evidence, while demonstrating when emotional labor is likely to help or harm employees' health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Reports an error in "From cheery to "cheers"? Regulating emotions at work and alcohol consumption after work" by Gordon M. Sayre, Alicia A. Grandey and Nai-Wen Chi (Journal of Applied Psychology, 2020[Jun], Vol 105[6], 597-618). In the article, Figure 2 contains two errors. First, the survey timing labels are inaccurate and should read "Evening, Day t" -> "Evening, Day t" ->"Morning, Day t+1". Instead, the survey timing labels from Figure 1 were accidentally duplicated for Figure 2, such that they read "Afternoon, Day t"->"Evening, Day t"->"Afternoon, Day t+1". Second, the coefficient for Motive to Detach→Alcohol consumption should have two asterisks (p<.01), but instead has only one (p<.05). (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2019-57614-001.) Emotional labor, or regulating emotions as part of one's work role, is needed for performance yet may come with far-reaching costs to employee health and performance. Based on ego depletion theorizing, we propose that on days employees perform more surface acting (i.e., faking positive and hiding negative emotional expressions), they will consume more alcohol later-due to reduced self-control (i.e., depletion). In 2 studies, public-facing employees completed multiple assessments per day for 2 weeks. Study 1 showed that surface acting had no direct or indirect effect on alcohol use via depletion, nor via negative mood as an alternative measure of depletion. Study 2 demonstrated that surface acting directly increased subsequent drinking only for those with high emotional demands, but not through depletion. Across both studies, daily deep acting (i.e., modifying emotions to feel positive) consistently predicted less alcohol consumption, but this did not occur through depletion. Study 2 provided evidence for an alternative, motivational shift explanation-a reduced motive to detach from work after regulating by deep acting-rather than self-control capacity. These findings contribute to debate on ego depletion theory by providing insightful field evidence, while demonstrating when emotional labor is likely to help or harm employees' health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Hochschild's study revealed that employees in customer service roles often engage in Emotional Labour (EL) which eventually leads to burnout. EL refers to the involved in managing own emotions to display those required by the role. Despite the emphasis placed upon effort instruments development was focused on the EL strategies (i.e. changing your own feelings to achieve the required display) and (i.e. changing only the outward display). Assessing the impact of EL with this approach is limited, as mixed evidence was found for deep and surface acting. The common assumption is that although both strategies involve surface acting is the actual predictor of burnout. Findings from qualitative studies where participants reported no and no stress associated to EL challenge this assumption, and support the assessment of effort independently from the EL strategies. Martinez et al. developed an indirect measure of by interference with other tasks based on the Ego Depletion Theory. The scale had low reliability (.45) and did not take into account the role of direct effort. Based on Lazarus stress theory we argue that in addition to indirect effort, individual's experience of stress is largely determined by how threatening (effortful) they perceive the emotional requirements of the role.

To endow virtual agents with more believable affective behavior, it is important to provide them not only the capability to generate and regulate their own emotions, but also the ability to reason about the emotion regulation processes of the agents around them. As a step in this direction, this paper introduces a computational model for a Theory of Emotion Regulation (ToER), which combines the notions of Theory of Mind (ToM) and emotion regulation. This model has been implemented and tested using the modeling language LEADSTO, and found to show the expected behaviour. In addition, a virtual environment application has been developed, which is inhabited by agents that are equipped with the model for ToER. A first evaluation indicates that the model indeed enables the virtual agents to show more realistic affective behavior. A preliminary version of this article appeared in: Proceedings of the Eighth IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Intelligent Agent Technology, IAT'08.

This research investigates whether experiencing workplace ostracism is positively related to employees' perceptions of organizational dehumanization, and examines one underlying mechanism of this relationship (i.e., thwarted need to belong), as well as its consequences for both employees and organizations. First, a cross-sectional study (N = 256) highlighted that workplace ostracism positively relates to organizational dehumanization which, in turn, is related to employees' well-being (i.e., increased depression), attitudes (i.e., decreased job satisfaction) and behaviors toward the organization (i.e., increased turnover intentions, decreased loyalty behaviors toward the organization). Second, an experimental study manipulating workplace ostracism using vignettes (N = 199) showed that workplace ostracism has a positive impact on organizational dehumanization, which subsequently relates to employees' decreased job satisfaction, increased turnover intentions, and decreased loyalty behaviors. Finally, a third cross-sectional study (N = 423) revealed that employees' thwarted need to belong mediates the relationship between workplace ostracism and organizational dehumanization, which is ultimately associated with employees' increased depression, decreased job satisfaction, increased turnover intentions, and decreased loyalty behaviors. Theoretical contributions, directions for future research and practical implications are discussed.

Intense emotions such as frustration, anger, and dissatisfaction often drive employees to speak up. Yet the very emotions that spur employees to express voice may compromise their ability to do so constructively, preventing managers from reacting favorably. I propose that to speak up frequently and constructively, employees need knowledge about effective strategies for managing emotions. Building on theories of emotion regulation, I develop a theoretical model that explains the role of managing emotions in the incidence and outcomes of voice. In a field study at a health care company, emotion regulation knowledge (1) predicted more frequent voice, (2) mediated by the emotional labor strategies of deep acting and surface acting, and (3) enhanced the contributions of voice to performance evaluations. These results did not generalize to helping behaviors, demonstrating that emotion regulation uniquely affects challenging but not affiliative interpersonal citizenship behaviors. This research introduces emotion regulation as a novel influence on voice and its consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundCollege counselors often endure significant work stress, which directly impacts their emotional labor. Although previous studies have described the association between work stress and emotional labor, the critical role of psychological resilience has been overlooked. The goal of this research is to explore the correlation between work stress and emotional labor among college counselors, and further tests the moderating effect of psychological resilience in this relationship. It aims to furnish empirical evidence for higher education institutions to manage stress effectively among this population, promote deeper expressions of emotional labor, minimize superficial displays. Additionally, it provides practical basis for career happiness management at both the institutional level and for individual counselors.MethodsA cluster sampling method was employed, and through online means, 351 full-time counselors were selected as research subjects. Data were collected using the Work Stress Questionnaire, the Psychological Resilience Questionnaire, and the Two-Dimensional Emotional Labour Questionnaire. Normality tests and common method bias tests were conducted using the K-S test and Harman’s single-factor method, respectively. Descriptive statistics were performed using mean z-tests, paired t-tests, and partial correlations. The moderating effect was tested using hierarchical regression analysis and simple slope analysis. The significance level for the analysis was α = 0.05 (two-sided).ResultsThe mean scores (M ± SD ) for work stress, psychological resilience, deep acting, and surface acting were (2.881 ± 0.699), (3.398 ± 0.800), (3.723 ± 0.837), and (3.234 ± 1.014), respectively. Deep acting was significantly higher than surface acting (t = 5.159, p < 0.001). Work stress was significantly negatively correlated with psychological resilience and deep acting (r = − 0.417, r = − 0.816, both p < 0.01), and positively correlated with surface acting (r = 0.812, p < 0.01). Psychological resilience was significantly positively correlated with deep acting (r = 0.679, p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with surface acting (r = − 0.562, p < 0.01). Psychological resilience did not have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between work stress and deep acting (β=−0.053, p > 0.05). However, it had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between work stress and surface acting (β=-0.167, p < 0.001), explaining 2.9% of the variance in surface acting (∆R²= 0.027).ConclusionCollege counselors experience high levels of work stress, with deep acting in emotional labor being higher than surface acting. The relationship between work stress and emotional labor among university counselors reveals a significant positive correlation with surface acting, while exhibiting a significant negative correlation with deep acting. Psychological resilience weakens the positive association between work stress and surface acting. It is recommended to reduce work stress and improve psychological resilience levels to enhance deep acting, reduce surface acting, and improve work efficiency among college counselors.

To understand the role of patients' attributions under the attribution theory framework (locus, controllability, stability) in nurses' performance of surface or deep acting, as they unfold in interactions with different patients. Regulation of emotions at work, or emotional labour, has been conceptualized in terms of two main strategies: surface acting and deep acting. Most prior research tested for between-subject variation in the search for the factors evoking these strategies in nurses, assuming them to be trait-like characteristics. Only scant research has examined how nurses modify their emotional labour strategies in different patient-nurse encounters. A nested cross-sectional design (patients within nurses). Data were collected during 2011-2012 through validated questionnaires from the nursing staff (N=41) of two paediatric hospital wards and their randomly selected patients (N=239). Questionnaires were administered to nurses multiple times after encounters with different patients. Analyses were conducted using mixed effects models. In accordance with attribution theory, different combinations of locus, controllability and stability attributions were related to the choice of surface or deep acting. Nurses' perceptions of patients' controllability were associated positively with surface acting and negatively with deep acting. Interaction terms of stability and locus and of controllability and stability, were distinctively associated with deep and surface acting. Findings innovatively introduce the attribution process as an explanatory perspective to nurses' emotional labour and highlight its situational nature, providing a potential tool for emotional labour strategy prediction. Raising nurses' awareness of how they perceive patients may increase control of the strategies employed.