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Spillover Effects of Emotional Labor in Customer Service Encounters toward Coworker Harming: A Resource Depletion Perspective

Deng, H.; Walter, F.; Lam, C.K.; Zhao, H.H.

Spillover Effects of Emotional Labor in Customer Service Encounters toward Coworker Harming: A Resource Depletion Perspective Thumbnail


Authors

F. Walter

C.K. Lam

H.H. Zhao



Abstract

This research examines how the implications of emotional labor can transfer from customer encounters to coworker interactions using temporally lagged data from a sample of frontline service employees. The results show that surface acting in customer service encounters is positively, and deep acting is negatively, related to ego depletion. Employees’ ego depletion, in turn, is positively associated with their interpersonally harmful behavior toward coworkers. Hence, ego depletion appears as a mediating variable that translates the implications of distinct emotional labor strategies into coworker harming. Moreover, emotion regulation self-efficacy moderates the role of surface acting. The positive indirect relationship between surface acting and coworker harming, via ego depletion, is buffered among employees with higher emotion regulation self-efficacy. These findings shed new light on the complex and far-reaching consequences of emotional labor. We demonstrate the relevance of emotional labor to third parties not directly involved in customer service encounters and highlight important mediators and boundary conditions of these indirect relations.

Citation

Deng, H., Walter, F., Lam, C., & Zhao, H. (2017). Spillover Effects of Emotional Labor in Customer Service Encounters toward Coworker Harming: A Resource Depletion Perspective. Personnel Psychology, 70(2), 469-502. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12156

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 25, 2016
Online Publication Date Apr 5, 2016
Publication Date Apr 19, 2017
Deposit Date Oct 10, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Personnel Psychology
Print ISSN 0031-5826
Electronic ISSN 1744-6570
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 70
Issue 2
Pages 469-502
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12156
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1347127

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Accepted Journal Article (589 Kb)
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Copyright Statement
This is the accepted version of the following article: Deng, H., Walter, F., Lam, C. K. & Zhao, H. H. (2017). Spillover Effects of Emotional Labor in Customer Service Encounters toward Coworker Harming: A Resource Depletion Perspective. Personnel Psychology 70(2): 469-502 which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12156. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.




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