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Emotional labour and strain in “front-

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Article in Journal of Managerial Psychology · February 2009

DOI: 10.1108/02683940910928847

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JMP
24,2 Emotional labour and strain in
“front-line” service employees
Does mode of delivery matter?
118
Gail Kinman
Department of Psychology, University of Bedfordshire, Luton, UK
Received September 2007
Revised May 2008
Accepted May 2008
Abstract
Purpose – Research suggests that “front-line” service jobs typically require emotional labour owing
to the high levels of interpersonal interaction inherent in such work. Although emotional labour can be
performed face-to-face (in person) or voice-to-voice (on the telephone), little is known about whether the
type of emotional demands and the relationships with strain outcomes differ according to mode of
delivery. The purpose of this paper is to research these issues.
Design/methodology/approach – Relationships are assessed between three dimensions of
emotional labour (emotional display rules, and the faking and suppression of emotions) and strain
outcomes (psychological distress, work-life conflict and job satisfaction) in a sample of 124-cabin crew
(face-to-face interaction) and 122 telesales agents (voice-to-voice interaction). The emotional labour
dimensions that are significant predictors of strain outcomes for both groups are examined by multiple
regression.
Findings – No significant differences were observed between groups in mean levels of emotional
labour variables. A greater proportion of variance in all types of strain was explained by the emotional
labour components for participants who interact with customers face-to-face but these differences did
not reach statistical significance. The emotional labour dimensions that predicted each strain outcome
varied according to mode of delivery.
Practical implications – Ways by which service sector organisations might counteract the
potentially negative effects of performing emotional labour are discussed.
Originality/value – The study provides some initial evidence that the impact of mode of delivery in
emotion work is worthy of further investigation.
Keywords Individual psychology, Personal health, Social interaction, Call centres,
Customer service management, Face-to-face communications
Paper type Research paper

Journal of Managerial Psychology
Vol. 24 No. 2, 2009
pp. 118-135
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0268-3946
DOI 10.1108/02683940910928847
Introduction
Emotional labour refers to the “effort, planning, and control required to display
organisationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions” (Morris and
Feldman, 1996, p .987). According to Hochschild (1983) who first introduced the
concept, expectations exist regarding the appropriate or inappropriate emotional
display of employees whose jobs involve a considerable degree of contact with the
public. These expectations are translated into “feeling rules” (norms specifying the
type of emotions that should be experienced) and “display rules” (norms concerning the
type of emotions that should be expressed and those that should be suppressed)
(Rafaeli and Sutton, 1989). Although performing emotional labour can have benefits for
employee health (Zapf, 2002), the effort involved in regulating “true” emotions with
those that are organisationally desired can lead to emotional exhaustion and job
dissatisfaction (e.g. Brotheridge and Lee, 1998; Grandey, 2000; Lewig and Dollard,
2003). It is acknowledged that the effects of emotional labour have the potential to “spill Emotional labour
over” into the non-work domain (Wharton and Erickson, 1995), but relationships and strain
between emotional labour and work-life conflict are yet to be systematically
investigated.
Most employees perform some degree of emotional labour (Mann, 1999), but it is
considered to be a fundamental component of customer service work (Brotheridge and
Grandey, 2002). Service sector employees interact with customers in person 119
(face-to-face) and over the telephone (voice-to-voice). Research findings suggest that
compliance with emotional display rules and engagement in emotional regulation
during customer interactions are central to both types of service role (Deery et al., 2002;
Zapf, 2002). Nonetheless, fundamental differences in face-to-face and voice-to-voice
customer interactions mean that the nature and outcomes of emotional labour might
differ.
The aims of this paper are three-fold. The first aim is to examine differences
between levels of emotional labour performed by employees who interact with
customers face-to-face and over the telephone. A sample of cabin crew (face-to-face
interaction) and call centre employees (voice-to-voice interaction) is utilised. Three
dimensions of emotional labour are examined: employees’ perceptions of display rules
and the extent to which they perceive the need to suppress and fake emotions at work.
The effort involved in suppressing and faking emotions can result in strain. The
second aim of this study is to investigate relationships between emotional labour and a
wider range of strain outcomes than has previously been examined (i.e. psychological
distress, job dissatisfaction and work-life conflict). The third aim is to examine whether
the emotional labour dimensions that predict strain, and the proportion of variance
explained, differ according to mode of delivery.

Emotional labour
Hochschild’s (1983) original conceptualisation of emotional labour maintains that jobs
involving extensive interpersonal contact with customers or clients necessarily involve
emotional labour. Hochschild considered such jobs to be inherently dehumanising and
distressing, as opportunities for autonomy over emotional expression are constrained.
More recently, however, it is recognised that emotional labour should be
conceptualised as a subjective phenomenon encompassing different dimensions
(Mann, 1999; Morris and Feldman, 1996). Emotional labour is generally considered to
include an external component (employees’ perceptions of organisational emotional
display rules, and the demands made upon them to comply with these rules) and an
internal component (the effort involved in regulating emotions in order to display
emotions that are required by the job role but not genuinely felt, or to suppress
inappropriate emotions that are felt) (Grandey, 2000; Morris and Feldman, 1996). The
presence of emotional display rules may not necessarily have a negative impact on
employees, as there may be congruence between the required emotional display and
the emotions that are actually experienced. Research findings suggest, however, that
wellbeing will be compromised where the level of dissonance between felt emotions
and those that should be displayed or suppressed require employees to engage in
extensive emotional regulation (Ashforth and Humphrey, 1993; Brotheridge and
Grandey, 2002; Lewig and Dollard, 2003; Morris and Feldman, 1996).
JMP In the present study, Mann’s (1999) three-dimensional conceptualisation of
24,2 emotional labour is utilised which incorporates the internal and external elements
discussed above: a) faking emotions that are not felt and b) suppressing emotions that
are felt. Faking and suppression (the internal components) are performed in accordance
with the display rules of the organisation (the external component). Although both
internal elements of the construct have been associated with employee strain, it is
120 suggested that faking emotions might require more effort than suppression (and
therefore pose more of a threat to employee wellbeing), as it involves a dual process of
repressing authentic emotions and expressing those that are organisationally desired
(Montgomery et al., 2005). As well as comparing levels of the three components of
emotional labour performed by the two groups, the present study examines the extent
to which they contribute to strain outcomes.

Emotional labour in the service sector

It has been estimated that some degree of emotional labour is present in approximately
two-thirds of workplace communications (Mann, 1999). Nonetheless, it is a
fundamental component of service work where a high degree of emotional control
may be required to maintain positive relations with customers (Brotheridge and
Grandey, 2002). Although members of other occupational groups, such as physicians
and the police, experience situations that are emotionally taxing, it has been argued
that they possess the authority “to tip the interactional control balance in their favour”
(Tolich, 1993, p. 366). Customer service providers are typically subordinate to their
consumers; their interactions with members of the public tend to be routine and
scripted, constraining opportunities for personal expression (Grandey et al., 2004;
Grandey and Fisk, 2006). A fundamental goal of service work is to make interactions
with customers warm and friendly and prevent emotional “leakage” of boredom or
frustration (Leidner, 1999; Putnam and Mumby, 1993; Schneider and Bowen, 1999;
Zapf et al., 2003). Customer service providers are frequently required to treat customers
politely even when subjected to abuse (Glomb and Tews, 2004).
The manner in which service sector employees manage their emotional states
promotes customer spending and repeat business (Tsai and Huang, 2002). There is
evidence that customers have become more adept in discerning the difference between
“genuine” emotional display in service providers and that which is feigned (Taylor,
1998). The quality of employee-customer interactions, and how to enhance this, is
therefore of considerable concern for management. Emotional display rules may be
communicated through company mission statements, staff handbooks, training and
performance appraisals and more implicitly disseminated through organisational
socialisation processes (Bolton, 2000; Seymour and Sandiford, 2005; Zapf, 2002). Rules
may be enforced through random monitoring of telephone calls, customer service
questionnaires, video surveillance and “mystery customers” (Noon and Blyton, 1997;
Deery et al., 2002; Rafaeli and Sutton, 1989). Employees who are deemed to perform
poorly are often penalised (Tolich, 1993).

Emotional labour: face-to-face and voice-to-voice

Hochschild (1983, p. 147) acknowledged that emotional labour may be performed either
“face-to-face” (in person) or “voice-to-voice” (on the telephone). The nature and impact
of face-to-face emotion work has been examined in service organisations such as retail,
hospitality, theme parks, banking and transport (e.g. Abraham, 1998; Brotheridge and Emotional labour
Grandey, 2002; Heuven and Bakker, 2003; Tolich, 1993; Zapf et al., 2001). Although a and strain
high proportion of service sector employees work in call centres where interactions
with customers are conducted entirely by telephone (Callaghan and Thompson, 2002;
Grandey and Fisk, 2006), until fairly recently few studies had investigated the nature
and outcomes of emotional labour performed over the telephone. Evidence is
accumulating that call centre workers are expected to comply with emotional display 121
rules and frequently engage in emotional regulation during their interactions with
customers (e.g. Deery et al., 2002; Lewig and Dollard, 2003; Zapf et al., 2003).
This study aims to investigate whether the extent and outcomes of emotional labour
performed by service sector employees vary according to whether interactions with
customers are face-to-face (cabin crew) or voice-to-voice (call centre workers). Call
handlers frequently experience hostility and abuse from customers and are expected to
maintain a calm demeanour at all times (Grandey et al., 2004; Korczynski, 2003).
Nonetheless, emotional labour performed face-to-face might be more demanding for
several reasons. First, call centre employees typically experience short-term dyadic
interactions with customers, whereas service work conducted face-to-face typically
requires the required level of customer service to be maintained over a longer period of
time. Rafaeli (1989) has argued that brief service interactions require less emotional
effort by employees, as they tend to follow a “scripted interaction schema”; as the
duration of the customer interaction increases, so does the level of effort required to “go
beyond the social script”.
Second, for individuals interacting with customers face-to-face, greater congruity is
required between different modalities (vocal tone, facial expression and body
language), whereas over the telephone emotions are conveyed to the customer by voice
only. Such employees are able to “smile down the telephone” whilst simultaneously
implementing what Mann (2004, p. 217) has termed “back stage coping strategies” such
as making faces at colleagues. For these reasons, it is anticipated that in the present
study cabin crew will report higher levels of all three components of emotional labour
than call centre employees. It is also anticipated that relationships between emotional
labour and strain will be stronger due to the effort required in regulating emotions.

Emotional labour and strain

This study examines relationships between aspects of emotional labour and several
strain outcomes: psychological distress, work-life conflict, and job satisfaction. These
are discussed in turn below.
Psychological distress. Research findings indicate that the inhibition of “true”
emotions, especially anger, can result in psychological distress (e.g. Brondolo et al.,
1999; Mauss and Gross, 2004; Panagopoulou et al., 2002; Pennebaker, 2002; Zapf et al.,
1999). To date, however, the majority of studies examine relationships between
emotional labour and job-related emotional exhaustion (a key component of burnout)
(e.g. Brotheridge and Lee, 1998; Deery et al., 2002; Erickson and Ritter, 2001; Heuven
and Bakker, 2003; Zammuner and Galli, 2005; Zapf et al., 2001). As emotional
exhaustion is synonymous with the depletion of emotional resources (Maslach and
Jackson, 1984), its relevance as an outcome of emotional labour is clear. Nonetheless, it
captures affect that is confined to the work domain, whereas emotional demands
experienced as part of the job role may have an impact on employee wellbeing that is
JMP more global and enduring. The present study therefore examines the association
24,2 between emotional labour and psychological distress assessed free of context.
Work-life conflict. It has been acknowledged that the effort involved in emotional
regulation might have the potential to “spill over” into other life domains, leading to
perceived conflict between work and home roles (Wharton and Erickson, 1995).
Work-life conflict is a form of inter-role conflict where “role pressures associated with
122 membership in one organisation (e.g. work) are in conflict with pressures stemming
from membership in other groups (e.g. family)” (Kahn et al., 1964, p. 20). “Strain-based”
work-life conflict can manifest itself as sleeping difficulties, exhaustion, irritability, or
social withdrawal and has the potential to impair family life and leisure activities (see
Kinman and Jones, 2001).
Despite the clear relevance of emotional labour to the work-home interface where
the effort involved in faking and suppressing true emotions might lead to strain being
imported into the non-work environment, little is yet known about its associations with
work/life conflict. The only study that can be located found emotional faking (but not
emotional suppression) to be related to perceptions of “work-family interference” in a
sample of male doctors in Greece (Montgomery et al., 2005). More research is clearly
required that examines relationships between aspects of emotional labour and the
work-home interface in other occupational and cultural settings.
Job satisfaction. Research that has investigated associations between emotional
labour and job satisfaction has yielded mixed findings. Some studies conclude that
employees who perform more emotional labour typically report lower levels of
satisfaction (e.g. Abraham, 1998; Pugliesi, 1999; Ybema and Smulders, 2001; Zapf et al.,
1999), whereas others see it as a source of satisfaction (Adelmann, 1995; Ashforth and
Humphrey, 1993; Morris and Feldman, 1996; Tolich, 1993; Wharton, 1993). Compliance
with organisational display rules could make interactions with customers more
structured and predictable, and help employees to distance themselves psychologically
from emotionally demanding situations. Moreover, the requirement to be friendly with
customers might reduce the monotony of repetitive work (Tolich, 1993). Nonetheless,
based on the view that emotional labour requires emotional regulation and suppresses
personal expression at work, it is anticipated that a negative relationship with job
satisfaction will be found in the present study.
The majority of studies that have examined the impact of emotional labour on job
satisfaction have utilised single item measures of satisfaction (e.g. Lewig and Dollard,
2003; Wharton, 1993). Job satisfaction is believed to include affective and cognitive
components that cannot easily be captured by global evaluations (Eagly and Chaiken,
1993). The present study examines relationships between emotional labour and two
types of job satisfaction: intrinsic and extrinsic. As emotional labour can lead to
general feelings of alienation from the job role (Ashforth and Humphrey, 1993),
relationships between both intrinsic and extrinsic forms of job satisfaction might be
expected. Nonetheless, based on Fisher’s (2000) argument that affective experiences at
work makes a greater contribution to the affective element of job satisfaction than the
cognitive component, it might be expected that emotional labour would have stronger
relationships with intrinsic job satisfaction (i.e. the job itself) than with evaluations of
more extrinsic forms of satisfaction. This proposition is examined in this study.
Aims of this study Emotional labour
This study utilises a measure of emotional labour that comprises three dimensions and strain
(faking, suppression and display rules) to investigate several issues in “front line”
service sector employees. First, it is recognised that emotional labour can be performed
either “face-to-face” or “voice-to-voice” but little is known about whether the nature and
extent of emotional labour required differs according to mode of delivery. Levels of the
three components of emotional labour reported by cabin crew (face-to-face) will be 123
compared with those reported by telesales agents (voice-to-voice). Second,
relationships will be explored between the three components of emotional labour
and a wider range of strain outcomes than has previously been operationalised (i.e.
psychological distress, work-life conflict and intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction).
Also assessed will be whether the dimensions of emotional labour that predict each
strain outcome differ and whether the extent of strain accounted for differ according to
mode of delivery.

Method
Participants
A total of 300 cabin crew and 300 telesales agents employed by a UK-based short-haul
budget airline were provided with questionnaire packs. Overall, 246 questionnaires
were returned (124 cabin crew and 122 telesales agents) representing a response rate of
41 percent. A total of 80 percent of cabin crew respondents were female, with a mean
age of 27 years (SD ¼ 5.1); 69 percent of telesales agents were female, with a mean age
of 29.8 years (SD ¼ 10.6). Data obtained from the HR department of the organisation
confirmed that the age and gender profile of respondents generally corresponded with
the wider population of employees within the organisation (i.e. mean age ¼ 28.4 years
and 76 percent female).
Participants working as cabin crew had worked for their present employer for an
average of 17 months (SD ¼ 12.0) and the airline industry for an average of 30 months
(SD ¼ 31.05). Telesales agents had worked for the airline for an average of 19 months
(SD ¼ 14.8) and the industry for an average of 32 months (SD ¼ 30.6).

Measures
Emotional labour. This was measured by an amended version of the Emotional Labour
Inventory developed by Mann (1999). This assesses three components of emotional
labour:
(1) expectations/rules for emotional display: e.g. “I feel that there are rules or
protocol about how I speak or act when dealing with customers” (three items:
Cronbach’s alpha ¼ 0.74);
(2) emotional suppression: e.g. “When dealing with customers, I feel that I
sometimes suppress or try to hide negative emotions” (six items: Cronbach’s
alpha ¼ 0.78); and
(3) emotional faking: e.g. “When dealing with customers I sometimes feel a bit ‘fake’
as if I am not really being ‘me’” (seven items: Cronbach’s alpha ¼ 0.77).
Respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they agreed with each
statement on an eight-point scale ranging from 1 ¼ “strongly disagree” to
8 ¼ “strongly agree.” Mean scores across items were computed for each scale, with
JMP a high score denoting a more emotional display rules, more faking and more emotional
24,2 suppression.
Job satisfaction. This was measured by the 15-item scale developed by Warr et al.
(1979). This is designed to provide separate indices of intrinsic and extrinsic job
satisfaction. The intrinsic satisfaction sub-scale comprises seven items assessing
features integral to the job (e.g. recognition for good work, responsibility and skill
124 utilisation) whereas the extrinsic satisfaction sub-scale consists of eight items covering
features external to the work itself (e.g. pay and opportunities for promotion).
Respondents are required to indicate on a seven-point response scale the extent to
which they are satisfied or dissatisfied with each feature of their jobs. Mean scores
across items were computed, with high scores representing more intrinsic and extrinsic
job satisfaction. The Cronbach’s alpha for the intrinsic satisfaction sub-scale was 0.85,
whereas for extrinsic satisfaction it was 0.78).
Psychological distress. The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12;
Goldberg and Williams, 1988) measured levels of psychological distress. This
measure is widely used in occupational settings as a measure of general distress and is
considered to possess a high degree of discriminant validity for this purpose (e.g. Cook
et al., 1996). Responses are made on a four-point semantically anchored scale. An
example of an item is “Have you recently felt capable of making decisions about
things?” with responses ranging from “More so than usual” to “Much less capable”. For
the purpose of this study, the Likert method of scoring was adopted where each item
has a range of 0 to 3. Mean scores were computed across items with higher scores
denoting higher levels of psychological distress. The alpha coefficient was 0.82.
Work-home conflict. This was measured by five items adapted from Carlson et al.
(2000). This scale assessed levels of strain-based conflict between the work setting and
the non-work domain. Questions examined the extent to which individuals worry
about work problems after the working day, are fatigued, and have difficulty
unwinding after work. Mean scores were computed across items with higher scores
representing more work-life conflict. The Cronbach’s alpha for the scale was 0.84.

Results
Analysis of the data indicated that, on average, call centre employees were older than
cabin crew (call centre M ¼ 29.9 [SD ¼ 10.57]; cabin crew M ¼ 27.05 [SD ¼ 5.05] p ,
0.01). A higher proportion of participants working in the call centre was male, but the
difference was marginally significant only (x ¼ 4.24, p ¼ 0.03). There was no
significant difference between groups in length of time in their present job or working
for the airline industry.
Table I provides details of mean scores for cabin crew and telesales agents for the
three dimensions of emotional labour and the four strain outcomes. Statistical
comparisons between the two occupational groups are also provided. No significant
differences between groups were observed in any of the emotional labour dimensions.
For both groups, mean levels of emotional faking were significantly higher than for
emotional suppression ( p , 0.001). Mean levels of intrinsic and extrinsic job
satisfaction reported by cabin crew exceeded those of telesales agents (both p ,
0.001), but cabin crew reported significantly more work-life conflict ( p , 0.01). No
significant differences between groups in levels of psychological distress were
observed.
 Emotional labour
Telesales
Cabin crew Agents and strain
(n ¼ 124) (n ¼ 122)
M M Comparisons

Emotional rules/expectations
Mean score (SD) 6.20 (1.42) 5.84 (1.60) F (1,244) ¼ 3.42 125
Emotional suppression
Mean score (SD) 4.88 (1.17) 4.86 (1.83) F (1,244) ¼ 0.02
Emotional faking
Mean score (SD) 5.31 (1.26) 5.41 (1.57) F (1,244) ¼ 0.31
GHQ-12
Mean score (SD) 0.86 (0.37) 0.83 (0.33) F (1,239) ¼ 0.10
Extrinsic job satisfaction
Mean score (SD) 4.91 (0.83) 4.43 (0.62) F (1,239) ¼ 16.33 * *
Intrinsic job satisfaction Table I.
Mean score (SD) 4.68 (0.93) 3.98 (1.05) F (1,239) ¼ 31.41 * * Means and standard
Work-life conflict deviations for the study
Mean score (SD) 2.73 (1.04) 2.33 (1.00) F (1,244) ¼ 9.46 * variables with
comparisons between
Note: *p , 0.01; * * p , 0.001 groups

Table II shows the bivariate correlations between the emotional labour dimensions and
the outcome variables. For cabin crew, expectations/rules for emotional display was
positively associated with work-life conflict (r[124] ¼ 0.37, p , 0.001) and negatively
related to intrinsic job satisfaction (r[124] ¼ 2 0.27, p , 0.01). For telesales agents,
however, extrinsic job satisfaction was the only outcome variable significantly related
to expectations/rules for emotional display, but this negative relationship was not
robust (r[122] ¼ 2 0.22, p , 0.05). Cabin crew and telesales agents who reported more
emotional suppression also tended to perceived higher levels of psychological distress
(r[124] ¼ 0.36, p , 0.001 and r[122] ¼ 0.28, p , 0.01) and work-life conflict
(r[124] ¼ 0.42, p , 0.001 and r[122] ¼ 0.32, p , 0.01). Furthermore, emotional
suppression was negatively associated with extrinsic job satisfaction for both
groups (r[124] ¼ 2 0.32, p , 0.001 and r[122] ¼ 2 0.25, p , 0.01), but a negative
relationship with intrinsic satisfaction was observed for cabin crew only
(r[124] ¼ 2 0.41, p , 0.001). Emotional faking was positively correlated with
work-life conflict for both groups (r[124] ¼ 0.39, p , 0.001 and r[122] ¼ 0.21,
p , 0.01), but significant negative relationships were observed between faking and
intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction for cabin crew only (r[124] ¼ 2 0.35, p , 0.001
and r[124] ¼ 2 0.36, p , 0.001).
In order to examine the dimensions of emotional labour that predicted strain for
cabin crew and telesales agents, each outcome variable was regressed onto the three
components of emotional labour in eight separate regression analyses. Age and gender
were entered as covariates in step 1 of each regression equation. As previous research
has found that emotional labour expressed over a longer term is more detrimental to
well-being (e.g. Grandey, 2000), length of time working for the airline industry was
entered in step 2 as a covariate in order to control for potential effects. The three
emotional labour components were entered in step 3. Details are provided in Table III.
 24,2
JMP

126

Table II.

of variables for cabin

Pearson inter-correlations

crew and telesales agents

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1. Emotional rules 0.00

2. Emotional suppression 0.54 * * * 0.00
0.67 * * *
3. Emotional faking 0.53 * * * 0.66 * * * 0.00
0.82 * * * 0.66 * * *
4. Intrinsic satisfaction 20.27 * * 2 0.41 * * * 2 0.35 * * * 0.00
0.05 2 0.15 0.12
5. Extrinsic satisfaction 20.13 2 0.32 * * * 2 0.36 * * * 0.70 * * * 0.00
2 0.22 * 2 0.25 * * 2 0.16 0.72 * * *
6. GHQ 2 12 0.17 0.36 * * * 0.17 20.54 * * * 2 0.53 * * * 0.00
0.03 0.28 * * 0.12 2 0.10 2 0.17
7. Work 2 life conflict 0.37 * * * 0.42 * * * 0.39 * * * 20.43 * * * 2 0.41 * * * 0.49 * * * 0.00
0.07 0.32 * * * 0.21 * * 0.01 0.01 0.47 * * *
Notes: * p , 0.05; * *p , 0.01; * * *p , 0.001; coefficients for telesales agents are shown in italics
 Emotional labour
Cabin crew Telesales agents
R2 beta R2 beta and strain
Extrinsic job satisfaction
Age 2 0.03 2 0.05
Gender 0.02 2 0.12 0.01 2 0.09
Occupational tenure 0.06 * * 2 0.25 * * 0.04 * 2 0.22 * 127
Rules/expectations 2 0.14 2 0.22 *
Emotional suppression 2 0.36 * * 2 0.14
Emotional faking 0.16 * * * * 2 0.22 * 0.07 * 0.06
Total R 2 0.24 0.12
Intrinsic job satisfaction
Age 2 0.14 0.20 *
Gender 0.00 2 0.03 0.05 * 0.09
Occupational tenure 0.01 2 0.08 0.05 * 2 0.22 *
Rules/expectations 2 0.27 * * 0.12
Emotional suppression 2 0.36 * * * 2 0.32 * *
Emotional faking 0.17 * * * 2 0.12 0.12 * * 0.28 *
Total R 2 0.19 0.22
Psychological distress
Age 0.01 2 0.09
Gender 0.02 2 0.10 0.01 2 0.08
Occupational tenure 0.05 * 0.21 * 0.01 2 0.09
Rules/expectations 0.17 0.03
Emotional suppression 0.38 * * * 0.44 * * *
Emotional faking 0.15 * * * 2 0.11 0.12 * * * 0.15
Total R 2 0.22 0.14
Work-life conflict
Age 2 0.18 0.11
Gender 0.03 0.07 0.01 2 0.09
Occupational tenure 0.01 2 0.10 0.02 2 0.14
Rules/expectations 0.37 * * * 0.07 Table III.
Emotional suppression 0.30 * * 0.49 * * * Multiple regression
Emotional faking 0.22 * * * 0.15 0.16 * * * 0.31 * analyses predicting strain
Total R 2 0.26 0.19 outcomes from the three
dimensions of emotional
Notes: * p , 0.005; * *p , 0.01; * * *p , 0.00; Age/gender entered in step 1, occupational tenure labour (standardised beta
entered in step 2, emotional labour variables entered in step 3 of each regression values)

Extrinsic job satisfaction: For cabin crew, a total of 24 percent of variance in extrinsic job
satisfaction was explained by the model. The contribution of occupational tenure was
significant accounting for 6 percent of variance. The three components of emotional
labour together accounted for 16 percent of the variance in extrinsic job satisfaction,
with only emotional suppression and emotional faking made significant contributions.
For telesales agents, the model accounted for 12 percent of variance in extrinsic job
satisfaction. Occupational tenure made a significant contribution (4 percent). The three
emotional labour components accounted for 7 percent of the variance with only
rules/expectations for emotion management emerging as a significant predictor.
Intrinsic job satisfaction: For cabin crew, the model accounted for 19 percent of the
variance in intrinsic job satisfaction. The emotional labour dimensions explained a
JMP total of 17 percent of the variance, but the contribution made by emotional faking was
24,2 non-significant. For telesales agents, a total of 22 percent of variance in intrinsic job
satisfaction was accounted for. Age and occupational tenure made significant
contributions together explaining a total of 10 percent of variance. The emotional
labour variables together explained 12 percent of variance in intrinsic job satisfaction
with only emotional suppression and faking making significant contributions.
128 Psychological distress: For cabin crew, the model explained a total of 22 percent of
variance in psychological distress. Occupational tenure explained 5 percent of
variance. The emotional labour variables accounted for 15 percent of variance in
psychological distress, with only emotional suppression emerging as a significant
predictor. For telesales agents, a total of 14 percent of variance in psychological
distress was explained by the model. Demographic differences did not emerge as
significant predictors, but the emotional labour variables accounted for 16 percent of
variance in this outcome. An examination of the betas indicated that emotional
suppression was the only significant predictor.
Work-life conflict: For cabin crew, the model accounted for 26 percent of the variance
in work-life conflict. The three emotional labour dimensions together explained 22
percent of the variance in work-life conflict with rules/expectations and emotional
suppression emerging as significant predictors. A total of 19 percent of variance was
accounted for in telesales agents where 16 percent of the variance in work-life conflict
was explained by emotional suppression and faking.
In order to examine whether the proportion of variance in each strain outcome
differed between cabin crew and telesales agents, z scores were calculated and
compared to the unit general population using the formula 2.8.5 from Cohen and Cohen
(1983, p. 54). The differences were found to be non-significant for all strain outcomes.

Discussion
This study examined levels of emotional labour performed by “front-line” service
sector employees and relationships between different components of emotional labour
and several strain outcomes. In accordance with previous research findings, evidence
has been provided that employees commonly engage in emotional regulation during
interactions with customers in order to comply with the display rules of their jobs
(Brotheridge and Grandey, 2002; Deery et al., 2002). The findings suggest that the
degree of emotional labour undertaken by service sector employees may have negative
implications for their wellbeing that extend beyond the work context. The different
patterns found in the components of emotional labour that predicted strain also
suggest that the consequences of emotional labour may, to some extent, be related to
the mode of delivery.
A primary aim of this study was to examine whether customer service employees
who interact with customers face-to-face perceived more organisational rules and
expectations for emotional display than those whose interactions were over the
telephone, and whether they were more likely to suppress and fake emotions during
customer interactions. Contrary to expectations, however, no significant differences
were found between cabin crew and telesales agent in any dimension of emotional
labour.
In accordance with research indicating that customer service employees are
frequently subject to emotional display rules (Deery et al., 2002), mean levels of
agreement with items that assessed the perception of such rules were generally high Emotional labour
(exceeding six on an eight-point scale). That no significant differences were observed and strain
between cabin crew and telesales agents in the perception of these display rules might
be explained by the fact that both groups worked for the same organisation. Previous
work in the field suggests that emotional display rules are communicated explicitly
and implicitly to employees through a wide range of media (Bolton, 2000; Zapf, 2002). It
is likely, therefore, that the expected standards for emotion management are deeply 129
embedded in the culture of this particular organisation and widely disseminated to all
front-line employees, regardless of function.
Several reasons were proposed for why the faking and suppression of emotions
might be more frequent (and potentially more damaging) amongst service sector
employees who engage in face-to-face communication with customers. Both emotional
faking and suppression require emotional regulation which, in turn, involves effort
(Mann, 1999). It was predicted that face-to-face interactions might require more
emotional effort, as greater congruity is required between display modalities.
Moreover, faking interest, concern or enthusiasm and suppressing boredom,
impatience and anger may be more difficult to sustain during face-to-face
communications where the employee has fewer opportunities for respite, or to vent
emotion “back-stage” (Mann, 2004; Rafaeli, 1989). Nonetheless, no differences between
groups were revealed in overall levels of emotional faking and suppression reported by
participants. For both groups of employees, mean levels of faking were significantly
higher than emotional suppression, suggesting that faking “appropriate” emotions that
one does not feel during customer interactions might be more commonly experienced in
service sector work than suppressing “inappropriate” emotions one does feel). No
evidence was found, however, to support the proposal by Montgomery et al. (2005) that
emotional faking is more potentially damaging than suppression. The fact that
emotional suppression made a stronger contribution to the variance of most strain
outcomes included in this study suggests that the opposite might be the case.
The significant relationships found between the emotional labour variables and
strain outcomes suggest that it might have negative implications for service sector
employees irrespective of mode of delivery. Although the emotional labour dimensions
tended to account for a larger proportion of variance in strain outcomes for cabin crew
than telesales agents, these differences were not found to be significant. No evidence
has been found to suggest that emotional labour performed face-to-face is potentially
more damaging than that performed over the telephone. Nonetheless, evidence has
been provided that emotional labour executed by service sector employees is not a
homogenous experience. Many differences between groups were observed in the
dimensions of emotional labour dimensions that predicted individual strain outcomes.
For employees who interact with customers face-to-face, the perception of rules and
expectations or emotional display was a key predictor of intrinsic job satisfaction and
work-life conflict. For telesales agents, however, with the exception of extrinsic job
satisfaction, organisational display rules did not emerge as an important predictor of
strain. The importance of differentiating between affective and cognitive components
of job satisfaction has therefore been confirmed. Emotional suppression was the
primary predictor of variance in intrinsic job satisfaction for cabin crew and telesales
agents. Strong relationships were also found between emotional labour dimensions
and extrinsic satisfaction. Call centre employees might be more inclined to perceive
JMP emotional display rules as an inevitable part of the job; accordingly, such rules might
24,2 have a stronger influence on cognitively-based judgements of terms and conditions of
employment (i.e. extrinsic job satisfaction) than more affect-driven appraisals of the job
(i.e. intrinsic job satisfaction). Due to the protracted nature of their interactions,
employees who perform emotional labour face-to-face (such as cabin crew) might
expect greater opportunities for self-expression when dealing with customers. Under
130 such conditions, where organisational display rules are perceived as prescriptive,
perceptions of autonomy over emotion management might be reduced, thus impairing
affective judgements of satisfaction with the job itself.
Evidence has also been provided here that the psychological impact of emotional
labour may not be merely confined to job-related emotional exhaustion (Brotheridge and
Grandey, 2002; Zapf et al., 2001). Irrespective of mode of delivery, service sector employees
who experienced greater dissonance between felt and expressed emotions during
customer interactions reported higher levels of psychological distress. For both
occupational groups, however, emotional suppression was the sole predictor of this
outcome. This supports and extends previous research suggesting that the inhibition of
“true” feelings can have a negative impact on psychological wellbeing (Pennebaker, 2002).
Strong relationships were observed between components of emotional labour and
perceptions of strain-based work/life conflict for both groups of employees. For cabin
crew, organisational display rules and emotional suppression together accounted for a
substantial proportion of the variance in work/life conflict (22 per cent). For telesales
agents, however, the primary predictor of work/life conflict was emotional
suppression. These findings contract those reported by Montgomery et al. (2005),
who found that emotional faking (but not emotional suppression) predicted
work-family interference amongst a sample of medical doctors. These conflicting
findings emphasise the importance of conducting systematic investigations with
different occupational groups into how different aspects of emotional labour might
manifest themselves in the non-working domain as personal and family-related strain.
The mechanisms that underlie such associations should also be examined, together
with the recovery processes utilised by employees to compensate for depleted
emotional resources.

Implications and recommendations

Service work now accounts for more than 70 percent of employment in most advanced
economies (Frenkel et al., 1999). The findings of this study support and extend previous
research indicating that emotion labour is central to the role of front-line customer
service employees, and that its performance is related to a variety of strain outcomes.
In order to enhance employee wellbeing and job satisfaction, it is necessary for
organisations to recognise these risks and design and implement interventions to help
employees manage their emotions more effectively.
Although the opportunities available for enhancing autonomy in some highly
mechanised types of service work may be limited, Mann (2004) has suggested that
increasing control over the emotional labour process might result in the employee
taking a higher degree of responsibility for monitoring his or her own performance.
Furthermore, recent research conducted by Grandey and Fisk (2006) concluded that
service workers’ perceptions of fairness relating to the display rules of their
organisation are key moderators of the relationship between the performance of
emotional labour and strain. This implies that employees should be instrumental in the Emotional labour
generation of organisational display policies that might be perceived as more equitable, and strain
and also involved in exploring options for enhancing personal control over this aspect
of their work. Such actions might minimise perceptions of emotional dissonance during
communications with customers and, accordingly, reduce the risk of strain.
Mann (2004) and Deery et al. (2002) have highlighted several strategies by which the
negative effects of performing emotional labour might be counteracted. oweHoSome of 131
these, such as “down-time” schedules and work rotation schemes, may not be practical
in front-line service sector workers whose primary function is interacting with the
public. Techniques encompassing stress management interventions, debriefing, peer
support programmes and encouraging “healthy catharsis” with colleagues without
fear of reprisals or sanctions might prove more beneficial in the “front-line” context.
The findings of this study suggest, however, that service sector employees are not a
homogenous group. As a consequence, different types of training and interventions are
likely to be required. Further research should evaluate a range of interventions in
heterogenous groups of service employees whose interactions with customers vary
according to mode of delivery, duration and type of emotional display required.

Limitations and future research

Several limitations in this study should be considered. First, as it is cross-sectional in
nature the postulated relationships cannot be interpreted causally. It is possible that
psychological distress, work/life conflict and job dissatisfaction might lead to greater
dissonance between emotions that are experienced and those that are required as part
of the job role, rather than vice versa. Longitudinal studies and/or quasi-experimental
research designs are required in order to validate the causality of the observed
relationships. Second, the data obtained in this study was derived from self-report
questionnaires. There is a fundamental difficulty in measuring the features of the
psychosocial work environment and strain outcomes examined in the present study
independently of a person’s perception of them, but the risk of common method
variance inflating relationships between some of the variables utilised is
acknowledged as is the risk of mono-method bias. Third, the sample of service
sector employees utilised in this study was obtained from a single UK-based low
budget airline. The findings may not be representative of the wider population, as
employees’ experiences might differ from those working for more traditional
organisations that aim to provide enhanced customer care.
This study provides some initial evidence that the impact of mode of delivery in
emotion work is worthy of further investigation. Future research might adopt an
experimental design to examine differences between emotion work performed
face-to-face and over the telephone. Furthermore, the phenomenon should be
investigated in occupational groups where employees deliver a service via the two
different modalities (e.g. counselling, health-care advice). In the present study, it is
acknowledged that the two groups did not perform identical tasks. The higher levels of
extrinsic job satisfaction and work-life conflict reported by cabin crew highlights the
differences inherent in their job roles. Future research would benefit from examining
differences between two samples that perform identical job roles and differ only in
mode of customer contact. It is acknowledged, however, that such occupational groups
JMP may be difficult to find. The emotional labour performed by employees who interact
24,2 with customers solely by email would also be worthy of future study.
Finally, the study obtained assessments of emotional labour through retrospective,
aggregated reports. Whilst such data can provide insight into general associations
between aspects of emotional labour and strain outcomes, it cannot make inferences
about the type of workplace situations requiring emotional labour or the different
132 events encountered by employees during different modes of delivery. Affective events
theory posits that people’s perceptions of, and attitudes toward, their working
conditions are formed by their emotional reactions to specific work events rather than
by general judgements about job characteristics (Weiss and Cropanzano, 1996). Event
contingent diaries and experiential sampling methodology (ESM) has the potential to
capture the immediacy and richness of discrete emotional interactions at work, and
how they might relate to wellbeing (Grandey et al., 2002; Totterdell and Holman, 2003).
Future research might utilise this methodology to further assess the nature and impact
of emotional demands experienced by service sector employees who interact with
customers face-to-face and voice-to-voice.

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About the author

Gail Kinman is Reader in Occupational Health Psychology in the Department of Psychology at
the University of Bedfordshire, UK. She is a Chartered Psychologist who researches aspects of
job stress, work-life balance and emotional demands in the workplace. She works predominantly
with public sector organisations including universities, hospitals, social services, schools and
police authorities. Gail Kinman can be contacted at: gail.kinman@beds.ac.uk

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