Emotional Labour and its Outcomes Among Nurses at a Tertiary Hospital – A Proposed Model

Pooja A; Bhoomadevi A

doi:10.52756/ijerr.2023.v35spl.008

Pooja A Sri Ramachandra Faculty of Management Sciences, SRIHER (DU), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3160-3074
Bhoomadevi A Associate Professor, Amity Institute of Public Health & Hospital Administration, Amity University, Noida, U.P., India https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4027-7568

DOI: https://doi.org/10.52756/ijerr.2023.v35spl.008

Keywords: Emotional labour, Healthcare, Job Performance, Nursing, Satisfaction

Abstract

Emotional labour is a crucial aspect of nursing, involving the management of emotions to meet organizational and societal expectations. Limited research exists on understanding emotional labour and the outcomes of emotional labour among nurses, which can range from positive outcomes like job satisfaction and patient satisfaction to negative outcomes like emotional exhaustion and job exhaustion. This study aims to assess emotional labour and its outcomes among nurses. It contributes to a better understanding of its impact and informs interventions to enhance nurses' well-being and job performance. To assess the emotional labour performance among nurses, to assess the emotional conflict among nurses, to determine the positive and negative outcomes of the emotional labour performance among nurses and to propose a model for emotional labour performance in healthcare a descriptive study was conducted among a sample population of approximately 270 nurses from Sri Ramachandra Hospital G-Block (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India). Subjects were recruited from the nursing department, and after obtaining their consent, they were given a questionnaire to collect demographic data and evaluate emotional labour and its outcomes. Additionally, direct observations using the Observed Emotion Rating Scale were conducted. The study utilized systematic random sampling. The sample size was determined to be 270 nurses, with a final response rate of 87%. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, which yielded satisfactory results. The primary data collected was analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS software with appropriate statistical tools. The findings are emotional labour performance; deep acting was more prominent than surface acting among nurses. Emotional harmony was found to be higher than emotional dissonance and emotional excess in emotional labour conflicts. Positive outcomes of emotional labour were more prevalent than negative outcomes. Deep Acting and surface acting significantly affected positive and negative outcomes. This study highlights the significance of emotional labour in nursing and its impact on nurses' well-being and job performance. By prioritizing nurses' emotional well-being and implementing interventions to mitigate the negative outcomes of emotional labour, healthcare organizations can create a supportive work environment that enhances both nurse satisfaction and patient care.

References

Adelmann, P. K. (1995). Emotional labor as a potential source of job stress. In S. L. Sauter & L. R. Murphy (Eds.), Organizational risk factors for job stress. American Psychological Association. pp. 371–381. https://doi.org/10.1037/10173-023

Ashforth, B. E., & Humphrey, R. H. (1993). Emotional labor in service roles: The influence of identity. Academy of Management Review, 18(1), 88-115. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1993.3997508

Badolamenti, S., Sili, A., Caruso, R., & Fida, F. R. (2017). What do we know about emotional labour in nursing? A narrative review. Br. J. Nurs., 26(1), 48-55. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2017.26.1.48.

Berk, R. A., Berg, J., Mortimer, R., Walton-Moss, B., & Yeo, T. P. (2005). Measuring the effectiveness of faculty mentoring relationships. Academic Medicine, 80(1), 66-71. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-200501000-00020

Brotheridge, C. M., & Lee, R. T. (2002). Testing a conservation of resources model of the dynamics of emotional labor. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 7(1), 57. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.7.1.57

Brotheridge, C. M., & Grandey, A. A. (2002). Emotional labor and burnout: Comparing two perspectives of “people work”. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 60(1), 17-39. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317903769647229

Değirmenci Öz S, Karadas A, Baykal U. (2023). Emotional labour behavior of nursing students: A qualitative study. Nurse Educ Pract., 66, 103503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2022.103503.

Delgado, C., Upton, D., Ranse, K., Furness, T., & Foster, K. (2017). Nurses' resilience and the emotional labour of nursing work: An integrative review of empirical literature. Int. J. Nurs. Stud., 70, 71-88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2017.02.008.

Fernández-Basanta, S., Lois-Sandá, L., & Movilla-Fernández, M.J. (2023). The link between task-focused care and care beyond technique: A meta-ethnography about the emotional labour in nursing care. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 32, 3130–3143. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.16407

Gelsema, T. I., van der Doef, M., Maes, S., Akerboom, S., & Verhoeven, C. (2005). Job Stress in the Nursing Profession: The Influence of Organizational and Environmental Conditions and Job Characteristics. International Journal of Stress Management, 12(3), 222. https://doi.org/10.1037/1072-5245.12.3.222

Grandey, A. A. (2000). Emotional regulation in the workplace: A new way to conceptualize emotional labor. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5(1), 95. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.5.1.95

Grandey, A. A., Dickter, D. N., & Sin, H. P. (2004). The customer is not always right: Customer aggression and emotion regulation of service employees. Journal of Organizational Behavior: The International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and Organizational Psychology and Behavior, 25(3), 397-418. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.243

Grandey, A. A., Fisk, G. M., & Steiner, D. D. (2005). Must" service with a smile" be stressful? The moderating role of personal control for American and French employees. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(5), 893. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.90.5.893

Gray B. The emotional labour of nursing, (2009). Defining and managing emotions in nursing work. Nurse Educ Today, 29(2), 168-75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2008.08.003.

Henderson, A. (2001). Emotional labour and nursing: An under‐appreciated aspect of caring work. Nursing Inquiry, 8(2), 130-138. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1800.2001.00092.x

Hochschild, A. (1983). Comment on Kemper's" Social Constructionist and Positivist Approaches to the Sociology of Emotions". American Journal of Sociology, 89(2), 432-434. https://doi.org/10.1086/227896

Hochschild, A. R. (2019). The managed heart: Commercialization of human feeling. University of California Press.

Hong, J., & Kim, O. (2019). Development and validation of an emotional labour scale for nurses. Journal of Nursing Management, 27(3), 509-516. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12678

Hülsheger, U. R., Alberts, H. J., Feinholdt, A., & Lang, J. W. (2013). Benefits of mindfulness at work: the role of mindfulness in emotion regulation, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(2), 310. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031313

Jordan, M. C., Kiffin-Petersen, S., & Soutar, G. (2006). Measuring Emotional Labour: A Construct Validation and Cross-Validation Study (Doctoral dissertation, School of Management, University of Western Australia, Australia).

Ju, S. J., & Oh, D. (2016). Relationships between nurses’ resilience, emotional labour, turnover intention, job involvement, organizational commitment and burnout. Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 9(46), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.17485/ijst/2016/v9i46/103403

Kim, S. H., & Ham, Y. (2015). A meta-analysis of the variables related to the emotional labour of nurses. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration, 21(3), 263-276. https://doi.org/10.11111/jkana.2015.21.3.263.

Kumar, N., & Jin, Y. (2022). Impact of nurses' emotional labour on job stress and emotional exhaustion amid COVID-19: The role of instrumental support and coaching leadership as moderators. J. Nurs. Manag., 30(7), 2620-2632. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13818. Epub 2022 Oct 11.

Lawton, M. P., Van Haitsma, K., & Klapper, J. A. (1999). Observed Emotion Rating Scale [Internet]. Retrieved 2009-09-09. Available from: www abrahamcenterorg/pri/scaleshtm.

Li, J. H., Gao, P., Shen, X. Y., & Liu, X. (2014). A process model of emotional labor of nursing: case study of two Chinese public hospitals. International Journal of Public Administration, 37(10), 695-707. https://doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2014.907310.

Mahato, M., & Kumar, P. (2012). Emotional Labour–An Empirical Analysis of the Correlations of Its Variables. European Journal of Business and Management, 163-169.

Mann, S. (2005). A health‐care model of emotional labour: An evaluation of the literature and development of a model. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 19(4/5), 304-317. https://doi.org/10.1108/14777260510615369.

Meacham, H., Tham, T. L., Holland, P., Bartram, T., & Halvorsen, B. (2023). The role of high-involvement work practices, supervisor support and employee resilience in supporting the emotional labour of front-line nurses. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 34(4), 745-767. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2022.2133968.

Morri, J. A., & Feldman, D. C. (1996). The dimensions, antecedents, and consequences of emotional labor. Academy of Management Review, 21(4), 986-1010. https://doi.org/10.2307/259161.

Smith, T. D., Hughes, K., DeJoy, D. M., & Dyal, M. A. (2018). Assessment of relationships between work stress, work-family conflict, burnout and firefighter safety behavior outcomes. Safety Science, 103, 287-292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2017.12.005.

Schaubroeck, J., & Jones, J. R. (2000). Antecedents of workplace emotional labor dimensions and moderators of their effects on physical symptoms. Journal of Organizational Behavior: The International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and Organizational Psychology and Behavior, 21(2), 163-183. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379(200003)21:23.3.CO;2-C.

Yu, J. F, Ding, Y. M, Jia, R. Y, Liang, D. D., Wu, Z., Lu, G.., Chen, C. R. (2022). Professional identity and emotional labour affect the relationship between perceived organizational justice and job performance among Chinese hospital nurses. J. Nurs. Manag., 30(5), 1252-1262. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13608.

Zapf, D., Seifert, C., Schmutte, B., Mertini, H., & Holz, M. (2001). Emotion work and job stressors and their effects on burnout. Psychology & Health, 16(5), 527-545. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870440108405525.

Zapf, D., Vogt, C., Seifert, C., Mertini, H., & Isic, A. (1999). Emotion work as a source of stress: The concept and development of an instrument. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 8(3), 371-400. https://doi.org/10.1080/135943299398230.