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Abstract
Emotional labour is the process of regulating both inward feelings and outward expressions for the purpose of achieving work goals (Grandey, 2000). Past research shows that the performance of emotional labour to produce positive emotional displays is associated with both positive and negative outcomes for the organisation and the employees who produce the emotional display (Bono & Vey, 2005). However, some employees must engage in negative emotional labour which involves the regulation of feelings and expressions in order to display negative emotions for the purposes of carrying out work duties. This thesis contributes to the wider body of emotional labour research by investigating the antecedents, strategies and consequences of negative emotional labour.
Two studies are reported. Study 1 uses an experimental design and draws upon recent developments on the interpersonal effects of anger to examine whether the expression of negative affect by employees and the intensity with which it is expressed lead to greater compliance to requests made. Results demonstrate that the expression of negative affect, regardless of its intensity, lead to increased compliance with employee requests. Study 2 extends the findings of the first study by examining the antecedents, deep and surface acting strategies, and consequences of expressing negative affect in a field study of debt collectors. Results show that employees engage in negative emotional labour when they perceive the negative emotional display rules of their organisation. In addition, the emotional labour strategy used by employees has an influence on the outcomes of emotional labour. Deep acting results in increased employee performance while surface acting leads to detrimental outcomes such as emotional exhaustion and acts of workplace deviance. Implications for research, practice and future directions are discussed.