The Slater Story (Problem 5)

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The Slater Story

Emotional Labour

Conceptualise emotion regulation (process of managing expressions and feelings by the two emotional labour strategies of surface and deep acting) as the core of emotional labour

Deep acting

Antecedent focused form of emotion regulation, effects the perception and processing of emotional cues at the onset of an emotion (before they elicit behavioural, experiental or physiological response tendencies). When engaging in deep acting, individuals try to align required and true feelings. To reach this goal they can direct attention toward pleasurable things or thoughts to create this emotion. Consequently, deep acting results in genuine emotional displays of the required outcomes.

Surface acting

Response focused form of emotion regulation that is applied when the emotional reaction has already developed. It does not involve a change in feelings, but refers to the management of emotional expressions. Emotions are adjusted by suppressing, amplifying or faking emotions.

Emotional dissonance is considred in models of emptional labour. Defined as the descrepancy between felt emotions and emotions that are expressed to meet organisational display rules 3 aspects involved;

1- emotions required by display rules

2- expressed emotions

3 - felt emotions

"emotion-rules dissonance conceptualisation"

Emotion rule dissonance is a form of person role conflict from incompatibility between felt emotions and required emotion. Resulting in tension.Different to surface acting in the sense that surface acting is management of emotions and emotion rule dissonance is the emotional state as a result of conflict.

Hulsheger et al (meta analysis)

2 types of acting + genuine true emotion (harmony)

emotion rule dissonance positive relationship with indicators of personal ill being ( emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, lack of accomplishment, strain, psychosomatic complaints) SUPPORTED

- mediated by surface acting

negative relationship with indicators of job related wellbeing (job sat, org attachment) SUPPORTED

Mediated by surface acting SUPPORTED

& performance outcomes (task performance SUPPORTED, emotional performance, cust sat NOT ENOUGH DATA)

Mediated by surface acting NOT SUPPORTED

The relationship between surface acting and deep acting

Ego depletion

Baumeister et al, surface acting requires self control and regulation which deplete mental resources more so than deep acting, which does not require constant monitoring.

Felt Inauthenticity

People desire authentic, self expressive behaviour, though display rules may not allow this. Deep acting, where displayed emotions are genuine there is no discrepancies between felt and displayed emotions.

Authenticity of displayed emotions.

People can differentiate between genuine/ fake emotional displays (i.e smiling facial muscles). Only authentic emotions have the desired effects on other individuals (Airline attendant puts on fake voice and people wince at them). Suggest surface acting negatively related and deep acting positively related to performance outcomes (emotional performance and customer satisfaction)

Enhancement / imparement of social interactions

Cote social interaction model of emotional labour suggests an emotional display is reviewed by the customer who responds to this, in turn effecting employees emotion state.

Effects of acting

Surface acting;

Depletes mental resources, compromises sense of authenticity and causes unpleasant social interactions with customers, prolonged negative outcomes

Hulsheger et al;

Surface acting displays a positive relationship with indicators of personal ill being - SUPPORTED minus personal accomplishment

negative relationship with indicators of job related well being - SUPPORTED

negative relationship with performance outcomes -SOME SUPPORT BUT LACK OF GENERALISABILITY

Deep acting

Hulsheger et al

Deep acting positive relationship with performance outcomes - SOME SUPPORT BUT LACK OF GENERALISABILITY

Hulsheger et al summary

surface acting and emotion rule dissonance show strong positive relationships with exhaustion, depersonalisation, strain and psychosomatic complaints, negative relationships with job sat and org attachment.

emotion rule - well being link may be explained by person-role conflict. Ego depletion inauthenticity, and ongoing experience of negative emotions and impairment of social interactions may be driving this link.

Researching shows deep acting to be better, suggesting emotion labour does not need to be harmful to employees.

Dorman et al

3 related interactions to describe stressful situations at work;

1- social conflicts

2- injustice, unfair treatment, non reciprocal behaviour

3- antisocial behaviour at work

Social Conflicts at work

due to frequency suggested to be just as important as conflict with supervisor

Unjust, unfair and non-reciprocal behaviour

lack of organisational reciprocation leads to burnout, similar effects suggested for customer relations. It is assumed that if cust tries to get the upper-hand, if they express expectations beyond what service provider thinks is acceptable, but still have to do this because of organisational demands, a stressful situation is created.

Antisocial behaviour at work

Either psychological, physical, direct, indirect, psychological aggression, can be intended or non-intended

Emotional labour and emotional dissonance

Morris & Feldmand emotional labour "the effort, planning and control needed to express organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions"

Key aspect of emotional labour with regard to negative helath outcomes (burnout in particular) is emotional dissonance. Emotional dissonance depends on 3 variables;

1- existance of display rules prescribing a certain emotional expression

2- frequency and duration of interactions with customers in which display rules must be applied

3- absolute and relative frequencey of negative social interactions

Causes psychological harm due to over taxing effort needed to show display emotions, causing psychological strain. Resource depletion - Conservation of Resources Theory

Implications of Dorman et al.

4 constructs to assess stressors in employee- customer interactions (difference between what cust expects and providors expectation of what to give)

1- disproportionate cust expectations

2- cust verbal aggression

3- disliked cust

4- ambiguous cust expectation (role ambiguity and uncertain goals)

Good person fit may reduce the neccesity of acting, however all employees find their true feelings do not always conform to their roles (qualitative)

Why Act?

Display rules

awareness of emotional expectations held by organisation, predict the likeliness of acting. Supervisory action usually reinforces these roles. Either deep or surface acting can conform to this.

Employees who feel positive at work, less need to act, less dissonance.

Emotional exhaustion

- state of depletion and fatigue that is considered the main component of kjob burnout, acting may create an emotional exhaustion for 2 key reasons;

1- experience of tension from emotional dissonance

2- draining of resources whilst acting (COR)

Grandey

awareness of display rules + deep acting SUPPORTED

+ w/ surface acting NS

J sat - w/ deep acting S

J sat - w/ surface acting S

deep acting + emotional exhaustion NS

surface acting + emotional exhaustion S

Deep acting + w/ ratings of affective delivery S

surface acting - rating of affective delivery S

Deep acting + ratings of breaking character NS

surface acting - ratings of breaking character NS

Acting mediates relationship of J sat and affective delivery S

Emotional exhaustion mediates relationship of acting with affective delivery and breaking character NA

Process of emotional labour

Brotheridge emotional labour lead to burnout mediated by

1- rewarding social relationships

2- Felt authenticity

Emotional labour burnout model

Demands ----- Emotional effort ----- Resources ----- Self- image ------ Burnout

display rules deep and surface rewards & social authenticity emotional strain

acting relationships detachment, low

accomplishment

Emotional labour triggered by role demands, though no interaction suggested as to how. Workers decide to engage in either surface or deep acting, in line with other research, surface acting greater effort.

Imbalance of emotional effort and rewardding relationships, increased strain, and may reduce this by less effort in future relationships.

Findings;

In line with Conservation of Resource workers invest resources to help cope with service encounters (i.e acting) in order to recieve reward for investment (reciprication). Burnout influenced by deep or surface acting and outcome +/- rewards in relation to expected.

If - return = loss of resourceand suffer emotional exhaustion, in future try to conserve resources. If + increase energy and resources.

Emotion regulation and strain Cote

Social nteraction model incorportating social dynamics of emotion in explaining emotion regulation and its impact on strain ... this us a fedback loop

2 directions of emotion regulation (not including acting)

1- emotion amplification

2- emotion supression

4 intrapersonal aspects of emotion regulation and strain relationship

1- emotional dissonance

2- facial feedback

3- personal control

4- effort

Find explanations

surface acting leads to strain because;

- depletion of resources

- surfice acting alters facial and body expression but leaves original centiment in tact

- tension because of discrepency

- because of this harms self authenticity

- thus others may feel you're inauthentic and causes social tension

Cote social interaction model can contribute to COR, deep acting allows for spent resources to be recovered to a greater extent than engagement in surface acting

SIM public displays of emotion communicate information during interpersonal encounter send and recieve emotion in feedback loop

extraversion = less strain

job autonomy buffer emotional regulation and exhaustion

neuroticism = more strain

Coping

recover from lost resources activities non related to work

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