Linking Perceived Organizational Support to Emotional Labor

• Published in: Personnel review Vol. 43; no. 6; pp. 845 - 860
• Main Author: MISHRA, SUSHANTA KUMAR
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Farnborough Personnel Review 26.08.2014; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Customer services; Emotional regulation; Emotions; Employee turnover; Employees; Job satisfaction; Organizational behavior; Perceptions; Quality of service; Service industries; Social exchange theory; Studies; Turnover
• ISSN: 0048-3486; 1758-6933
• DOI: 10.1108/PR-09-2012-0160

Purpose Based on two studies on different occupational groups, the present study examines the relationship between perceived organizational support and different forms of emotional labor. Drawing from social identity theory, the present study extends the social exchange theory to provide an alternate explanation to the above relationships. Design/methodology/approach The survey design following questionnaire in English language was physically administered among medical sales employees and subsequently among employees in the hospitality industry. Findings The study found that perceived organizational support is positively related to deep acting and negatively related to surface acting. The study further found that organizational identification mediates the relationship between perceived organizational support and deep acting where as there was no mediation effect of organizational identification on the relationship between perceived organizational support and surface acting. Research limitations/implications The research relies on a cross-sectional design with a single source of data collected from two sources at different time periods. Practical implications With the emergence of service economy there is an increasing emphasis on the performance of emotional labor. The present study suggests that organizations need to focus on organizational practices as employees’ perception of organizational support is related to the way they express their emotions during customer interactions. The finding of the study suggests that on what the organizations should do to motivate employees to perform expected emotional labor. Originality/value The literature is relatively silent on the relationship between perceived organizational support and different forms of emotional labor. The present study adds to the existing body of knowledge by explaining perceived organizational support as an important antecedent of emotional labor. Further, the study contributes by exploring the mediation effect of organizational identification on the relationship between perceived organizational support and different forms of emotional labor.