Buffers and aggravators in the emotion labor, emotional dissonance, emotional exhaustion sequence in service work

In response to the increasing interest regarding the emotional consequences facing service providers who perform emotion labor as part of their service roles, this study examined the causal sequences of emotion labor, emotional dissonance and emotional exhaustion (the EEE sequence). By integrating Affective Events Theory, the concept of daily hassles and uplifts, and the EEE sequence, a theoretical model was developed to explicate the relationship among the emotional experience, performance and turnover intentions of service providers. In addition, the organizational factors of cultural orientation to emotions and workgroup emotional climate, and the individual factors of provider dissonance tolerance, hassle tolerance and uplift reactivity are introduced and depicted as influencing the EEE sequence. A survey was constructed to assess the variables in the model. Responses were obtained from 265 service providers sampled from five different service industries and analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. Results supported the links proposed in the theoretical model. Specifically, the EEE sequence was mediated by perceived hassles and moderated by provider tolerance for emotional dissonance and hassles. The proposed organizational and individual factors influenced perceived uplifts which, in turn, had consequences for provider service performance. Implications for theory, practice and future research of the encouraging results regarding the proposed model are discussed.