Anthony J. Montgomery, Efharis Panagopolou and Alexos Benos
The emotionally taxing nature of health‐care work has been increasingly recognized. In parallel, the field of work and family has been searching for more specific antecedents of…
Abstract
Purpose
The emotionally taxing nature of health‐care work has been increasingly recognized. In parallel, the field of work and family has been searching for more specific antecedents of both work interference with family (WFI) and family interference with work (FWI). The current study aims to examine the relationship between surface acting and hiding negative emotions with WFI and FWI among Greek health‐care professionals.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is a cross‐sectional study of 180 Greek doctors and 84 nurses using self‐report measures.
Findings
Results indicated that, for doctors, surface acting at work was positively related to WFI and, for nurses, surface acting at home was positively related to FWI.
Research limitations/implications
The respondents were sampled on a convenience basis and the non‐random procedure may have introduced unmeasured selection effects. The present study is cross‐sectional and thus the postulated relationships cannot be interpreted causally.
Practical implications
Emotional management training and opportunities for emotional decompression for Greek health‐care professionals should be explored. In terms of medical education, the need to train students to understand and cope with emotional demands is an important first step. This research highlights the need for communication‐skills training courses facilitating emotional awareness and emotional management.
Originality/value
These findings position emotional labour as an important antecedent of both WFI and FWI.
Details
Keywords
Anthony J. Montgomery, Efharis Panagopolou, Martijn de Wildt and Ellis Meenks
The purpose of the current study is to examine the relationship between emotional display rules/job focused labor, work‐family interference (WFI) and burnout among a sample of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the current study is to examine the relationship between emotional display rules/job focused labor, work‐family interference (WFI) and burnout among a sample of workers in a Dutch governmental organization.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is a cross‐sectional study of 174 workers from a Dutch governmental organization.
Findings
Emotional display rules and job‐focused labor were related to burnout and psychosomatic complaints. More specifically, the need to hide negative emotions and engage in surface acting was related to negative outcomes. In addition, WFI partially mediated the relationship between the hiding of negative emotion/surface acting and burnout/psychosomatic complaints.
Research limitations/implications
The present study is cross‐sectional and thus the postulated relationships cannot be interpreted causally.
Practical implications
In terms of training and/or interventions, there is a need for the worksite to provide structured opportunities for employees to decompress from the emotional demanding aspects of their jobs.
Originality/value
Emotional labor has been rarely examined as an antecedent of WFI. In addition, while emotional labor has been studied with individuals in the service sector, it has been rarely examined among individuals whose jobs are highly ceremonial in nature.