The Relationship Between Emotional Resources and Emotional Labor: An Exploratory Study

2008/09/24 by Yongmei Liu, L. Melita Prati, Pamela L. Perrewé +1 · 165 citations
Business, Management and Accounting · Health Professions · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Burnout #Clinical psychology #Emotional Labor in Professions #Emotional exhaustion #Emotional intelligence #Emotional labor #Employment and Welfare Studies #Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior #Job satisfaction #Mood #Negative affectivity #Negative mood #Personality #Positive affectivity #Psychology #Social psychology

paper · doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2008.00398.x

published in Journal of Applied Social Psychology 38(10), 2410-2439 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2008/09/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25

Abstract

The study examines the effects of a subtype of personal resources (i.e., emotional resources) on emotional labor strategies. We examined 2 variables, emotional intelligence and negative affectivity, as proxies for emotional resources. Largely consistent with predictions, results indicated that individuals with a high level of emotional resources (indicated by high emotional intelligence) are more likely than others to deep act, and individuals with comparatively low emotional resources (indicated by high negative affectivity) are more likely than others to surface act. The differential effects of surface acting and deep acting on strain and job satisfaction were examined. Depressed mood was found to mediate the relationship between surface acting and job satisfaction.

Citations

• On the Microfoundations of Macrosociology
• Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress.

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