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NOTE: This document is provided for historical purposes only.
The authors ask you:
Emotional labor and burnout have been the focus and concern of industrial-organizational psychologists for years. Although the positive correlation between emotional labor and burnout has been documented beyond doubt, research is still warranted in the area of moderators that influence this positive correlation. Most employees or workers are also parents with responsibilities towards their family, especially their children. Research has shown that work-family interplay has tremendous impact on a worker’s physical and psychological health. Considering the inevitable influence on work-family interface on a worker, this proposed research has attempted a preliminary study into the role of this interface in the established relationship between emotional labor and burnout. The current research has significant contribution in today’s work life by providing a deep, albeit initial, understanding into why organizations should give more attention to the family life of their workers to avoid overall burnout. Often times, organizations try to provide their employees with external rewards to motivate them and/or to avoid burnout. These extrinsic rewards alone are not sufficient as is argued in this study.
Displaying certain emotions is required in many occupations (Best, Downey, & Jones, 1997). For example, it is expected that nurses be kind and caring, lawyers be emotionless, flight hostess be friendly and charming and so on. All these occupations expect certain emotional expression (or, in some cases, emotional suppression) for effective workplace interaction. Grandey (2000) defines this process of managing the experience as well the expression of feelings in order to meet one’s work role demands as emotional labor. One of the ways emotional labor can occur is through ‘emotional deviance,’ where one’s inner emotions and outward expression of it are not in line with what their organizations’ expect at work (Mann, 2004). Rafaeli and Worline (2001) note that both emotional labor and emotional deviance can reduce employee dedication to work and actual performance. Worse yet, as Brotheridge and Grandey (2000) and Pugleisi (1999) note, emotional labor has been documented to result in burnout.
Burnout is characterized by emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and lack of professional accomplishment (Maslach & Leiter, 1997). Emotional exhaustion is the feeling of depletion of one’s emotional resources and energy (Shaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Cynicism refers to the detached feeling towards one’s colleagues and clients (Shaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Finally, lack of professional efficacy is the feeling that one is not performing adequately in one’s work (Shaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Regular emotional labor in one’s work can lead to the employee reaching a stage where he or she feels no genuine emotions (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998). Overall, emotional exhaustion is mostly related to emotional labor. Long-term emotional labor can result in an employee developing detached feeling towards their clients and colleagues and, eventually, feeling low level of professional efficacy or accomplishment (Grandey, 2000).
There is shortage of studies looking at the possible moderators between emotional labor and burnout. Research has not yet studied what moderating role does work-family conflict has in the relationship between emotional labor and burnout. Work-family conflict, a type of inter-role conflict, occurs when there is incompatibility between the demands and responsibilities of an individual’s family and work roles. Work-family conflict, which is bi-directional, can be time-based, behaviour-based or strain-based -(Greenhaus & Beutell, 1987).
Edwards and Rothbard (2000) argue that although work and family domains are
conceptually distinct, they are inter-linked. Therefore, moods, values, and
behaviour in one domain can easily spillover to the other domain. Based on role
theory, Edwards and Rothbard (2000) have argued that job expectations
and one’s involvement in them are two of the antecedents of work-family
conflict. Hobfall’s (1989) Conservation of Resources theory has suggested
that individuals have resources, which are those conditions or energies or objects
valued by them. These resources are threatened or diminished when individuals
try to juggle between their work and family roles.
The basis of the current research is that increased workload may decrease resources (time, energy, appropriate behaviour) available for fulfilling one’s family responsibilities. This can also cause or increase the existing emotional exhaustion that may be present from performing emotional labor duties at work. The resulting inter-role conflict can worsen one’s feelings of lack of professional accomplishment (Burke & Greenglass, 2001). In other words, work-family conflict can moderate the existing direct association between emotional labor and burnout. Strain-based work-family conflict tends to be strongly responsible for this moderator relationship. This has not been explored yet.
The current study addressed the gap in the literature on the relationship between emotional labor and burnout by studying how work-family conflict influences this relationship. Identifying moderators is the first step in the process of framing interventions to reduce their impact in causing burnout. The study tested the following hypotheses:
H1: Emotional labor will result in higher emotional exhaustion and cynicism, and feeling of low
Professional accomplishmentH2: This relationship will be moderated by work-family conflict.
H3: Strain-based work-family conflict will be the strongest moderator
Data were collected from classified employees (N=1100) of a large mid-western
university. Emotional labor was measured using the scale developed by Brotheridge
and Lee (1998), burnout using Maslach Burnout Inventory (1984), and work-family
conflict using (Carlson, Kacmar, & Williams, 2000). Reliable Demographic
information was also collected for research purposes.
The response rate was 25% (17% males, 83% females). Participant’s age varied between 21 and 68 years (mean = 46, SD = 10.79).
As hypothesized, emotional labor was found to be resulting in high emotional
exhaustion and cynicism. It also caused employees to feel lack of professional
accomplishment. Thus, emotional labor was found to be resulting in burnout.
The research also found that work-family conflict was a strong moderator in
the direct relationship between emotional labor and burnout. Further, as proposed,
strain-based work-family conflict appeared to be a strong work-family conflict
moderator.
This preliminary research shows that resolving the effect of emotional labor on burnout involves more thought and planning than currently is given. One has to also consider the possible moderators of the relationship between emotional labor and burnout. This helps to understand the dynamics of the direct relationship between emotional labor and burnout more in-depth. A multi-faceted understanding of this relationship is needed if we are to evolve successful interventions to try to alleviate burnout. In other words, if we understand the effect of different types of work-family conflict on the relation between emotional labor and burnout, we can aim to considerably reduce their negative effects.
Future research should take this study into more advanced levels. For example,
we have to study the different aspects or levels of emotional labor (surface
and deep acting) and burnout, and the possible moderating role of work-family
conflict between them. Such detailed studies will help us to gain valuable information
on this complex negative relationship that, unfortunately, seems to gaining
more prevalence in organizations.
Brotheridge, C. M., & Grandey, A. A. (2000). Emotional labor and burnout: comparing two perspectives of ‘people-work.’ Journal of Vocational Behavior, 60, 17-39
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Burke, R. G., & Greenglass, E. R. (2001). Hospital restructuring, work-family conflict, and psychological burnout among nursing staff. Psychology and Health, 16, 583-594.
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Maslach, C. & Jackson, S.E. (1984). Burnout in organizational settings. In: Oskamp, S., (Ed). Applied Social Psychology, 5, Sage, Beverly Hills, CA, pp. 133-153.
Pugleisi, K. (1999). The consequences of emotional labor in a complex organization. Motivation and Emotion, 23, 125-154.
Rafaeli, A. & Sutton, R.I. (1989). The expression of emotion in organizational life. In Cummings, L.L. and Staw, B.M. (Eds), Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol. II, JAI Press, Greenwich, CT, pp.1-42.
Shaufeli, W. & Enzmann, D. (1998). The burnout companion to study and
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The findings and conclusions in this poster are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Citations to Web sites external to NIOSH do not constitute NIOSH endorsement of the sponsoring organizations or their programs or products. Furthermore, NIOSH is not responsible for the content of these Web sites.
