E-ISSN : 2733-4538
Emotional labor is a serious risk factor for psychological problems such as increased burnout and decreased psychological well-being. This research examined the effects of emotional labor on depressive symptoms and the role of emotional clarity as a moderating factor in this relationship. A total of 127 bank tellers from 9 branches in Seoul, Korea completed the following questionnaires: The Korean version of the Emotional Labor Scale (K-ELS), Trait Meta Mood Scale (TMMS), and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). The results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that emotional labor had a significant positive correlation with depressive symptoms, and emotional clarity moderated this relationship even after controlling for gender difference and work position. When emotional clarity was low, a higher degree of emotional labor was associated with greater depressive symptoms. On the other hand, when emotional clarity was high, the effect of emotional labor on depressive symptoms was not significant. Such results suggest that the ability to clearly recognize emotion can potentially buffer the negative effects of emotional labor. Thus, enhancing emotional clarity may be a part of an effective intervention program for depressed emotional laborers.
Adelmann, P. K. (1995). Emotional labor as a potential source of job stress. In S. L. Santer & L. R. Murphy (Eds.), Organizational risk factors for job stress (pp. 371-381). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Aldao, A., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Schweizer, S. (2010). Emotion-regulation strategies across psychopathology: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 217-237.
Ashforth, B. E., & Humphrey, R. H. (1993). Emotional labor in service roles: The influence of identity. Academy of Management Review, 18, 88-115.
Beal, D. J., Trougakos, J. P., Weiss, H. M., & Green, S. G. (2006). Episodic processes in emotional labor: Perceptions of affective delivery and regulation strategies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 1053.
Beblo, T., Fernando, S., Klocke, S., Griepenstroh, J., Aschenbrenner, S., & Driessen, M. (2012). Increased suppression of negative and positive emotions in major depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 141, 474-479.
Broderick, P. C. (2005). Mindfulness and coping with dysphoric mood: Contrasts with rumination and distraction. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 29, 501-510.
Brotheridge, C. M., & Grandey, A. A. (2002). Emotional labor and burnout: Comparing two perspectives of “people work”. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 60, 17-39.
Brown, K. W., & Cordon, S. (2009). Toward a phenomenology of mindfulness: Subjective experience and emotional correlates. In F. Didonna (Ed.), Clinical handbook of mindfulness (pp. 59-81). New York, NY: Springer.
Chang, S. J., Kang, D. M., Kang, H. T., Kim, S. Y., Kim, I. A., Kim, J. I., Tak, J. K. (2013). Developing Korean emotional labor scale and Korean workplace violence scale. Retrieved from https://oshri. kosha.or.kr
Cho, S. E., & Oh, K. J. (2007). Emotional clarity, emotional intensity, emotional awareness and their involvement in stess coping style and depression. Korean Journal of Health Psychology, 12, 797-812.
Cho, S. J., Jeon, H. J., Kim, M. J., Kim, J. K., Kim, U. S., Lyoo, I. K., & Cho, M. J. (2001). Prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms among the adolescents in an urban area in Korea. Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association, 40, 627-639.
Chon, K. K., Choi, S. C., & Yang, B. C. (2001). Integrated adaptation of CES-D in Korea. Korean Journal of Health Psychology, 6, 59-76.
Davis, S. K., & Humphrey, N. (2012). The influence of emotional intelligence (EI) on coping and mental health in adolescence: Divergent roles for trait and ability EI. Journal of Adolescence, 35, 1369-1379.
Ehring, T., Fischer, S., Schnülle, J., Bösterling, A., & Tüschen-Caffier, B. (2008). Characteristics of emotion regulation in recovered depressed versus never depressed individuals. Personality and Individual Differences, 44, 1574-1584.
Ehring, T., Tuschen-Caffier, B., Schnülle, J., Fischer, S., & Gross, J. J. (2010). Emotion regulation and vulnerability to depression: Spontaneous versus instructed use of emotion suppression and reappraisal. Emotion, 10, 563.
Erickson, R. J., & Wharton, A. S. (1997). Inauthenticity and depression:Assessing the consequences of interactive service work. Work and Occupations, 24, 188-213.
Fernandez-Berrocal, P., Alcaide, R., Extremera, N., & Pizarro, D. (2006). The role of emotional intelligence in anxiety and depression among adolescents. Individual Differences Research, 4, 16-27.
Fisher, C. D., & Ashkanasy, N. M. (2000). The emerging role of emotions in work life: An introduction. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 21, 123-129.
Flynn, M., & Rudolph, K. D. (2010). The contribution of deficits in emotional clarity to stress responses and depression. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 31, 291-297.
Flynn, M., & Rudolph, K. D. (2014). A prospective examination of emotional clarity, stress responses, and depressive symptoms during early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 34, 923-939.
Garner, P. W., & Spears, F. M. (2000). Emotion regulation in low‐income preschoolers. Social Development, 9, 246-264.
Goldberg, L. S., & Grandey, A. A. (2007). Display rules versus display autonomy: Emotion regulation, emotional exhaustion, and task performance in a call center simulation. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 12, 301-318.
Goldman, S. L., Kraemer, D. T., & Salovey, P. (1996). Beliefs about mood moderate the relationship of stress to illness and symptom reporting. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 41, 115-128.
Grandey, A. A. (2000). Emotional regulation in the workplace: A new way to conceptualize emotional labor. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5, 95-110.
Gratz, K. L., & Roemer, L. (2004). Multidimensional assessment of emotion regulation and dysregulation: Development, factor structure, and initial validation of the difficulties in emotion regulation scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 26, 41-54.
Greenberg, L. S. (2002). Integrating an emotion-focused approach to treatment into psychotherapy integration. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 12, 154-189.
Grossman, P., & van Dam, N. T. (2011). Mindfulness, by any other name...: Trials and tribulations of sati in western psychology and science. Contemporary Buddhism, 12, 219-239.
Hochschild, A. R. (1983). The managed heart: Commercialization of human feelings. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Holman, D., Chissick, C., & Totterdell, P. (2002). The effects of performance monitoring on emotional labor and well-being in call centers. Motivation and Emotion, 26, 57-81.
Hong, J. H., & Shim, E. J. (2013). Emotional clarity and adolescent's mental health: The mediating role of emotion regulation deficits. Korean Journal of Psychology: General, 32, 195-212.
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, 310-325.
Hülsheger, U. R., & Schewe, A. F. (2011). On the costs and benefits of emotional labor: A meta-analysis of three decades of research. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 16, 361-389.
Institute for Occupational and Environmental Health. (2013). Survey on emotional labors’ health in private·public service industry. Retrieved from http://safedu.org
Jeung, D. Y. (2014). Effects of emotional labor, educational training and psychosocial characteristics on job involvement in dental hygienists (Unpublished master’s thesis). Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
Joormann, J., & Gotlib, I. H. (2010). Emotion regulation in depression:Relation to cognitive inhibition. Cognition and Emotion, 24, 281-298.
Kang, S. H., & Chung, T. W. (2014). A study on the effect of emotion control of an organization on emotional worker’s individual well-being. Journal of Career Educational Research, 27, 39-63.
Kennedy, L. A., Cohen, T. R., Panter, A. T., Devellis, B. M., Yamanis, T. J., Jordan, J. M., & Devellis, R. F. (2010). Buffering against the emotional impact of pain: Mood clarity reduces depressive symptoms in older adults. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 29, 975-987.
Kim, C. M., & Choi, C. K. (2012). Exploratory research regarding EAP implementation for the enhancement of firm's healthiness. Journal of Sustainability Research, 3, 91-104.
Kim, I., Noh, S., & Muntaner, C. (2013). Emotional demands and the risks of depression among homecare workers in the USA. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 86, 635-644.
Kim, J. H. (2001). Systematic mindfulness for stress management: Focusing of Mindfulness of the Emotion. Korean Journal of Health Psychology, 6, 23-58.
Kim, M. A., & Kwon, K. I. (2008). A study on the emotional clarity and the cognitive emotion regulation of resilient adolescents. Korean Journal of Youth Counseling, 16, 15-32.
Kim, R. A., & Lee, B. K. (2009). A preliminary study for developing an employee assistance program based on the mindfulness-based stress reduction. Korean Journal of Stress Research, 17, 175-184.
Kim, S. J., & Hong, C. H. (2014). The banker to engage in emotional labor's stresses and burnout. Korean Journal of Stress Research, 22, 97-107.
Kim, S. Y., Chang, S. J., Kim, H. R., & Roh, J. H. (2002). A study on the relationship between emotional labor and depressive symptoms among Korean industrial service employees. Korean Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 14, 227-235.
Kopp, C. B. (1989). Regulation of distress and negative emotions: A developmental view. Developmental psychology, 25, 343-354.
Lee, S. J., & Hyun, M. H. (2008). The influence of emotional awareness and cognitive emotion regulation to mental health. Korean Journal of Health Psychology, 13, 887-905.
Lee, S. J., & Lee, H. K. (1997). The research on the validation of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale: The domain exploration of the emotional intelligence. Korean Journal of Social and Personality Psychology, 11, 95-116.
Lewig, K. A., & Dollard, M. F. (2003). Emotional dissonance, emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction in call centre workers. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 12, 366-392.
Lewinsohn, P. M., Seeley, J. R., Roberts, R. E., & Allen, N. B. (1997). Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) as a screening instrument for depression among community-residing older adults. Psychology and Aging, 12, 277-287.
Martin, R. C., & Dahlen, E. R. (2005). Cognitive emotion regulation in the prediction of depression, anxiety, stress, and anger. Personality and Individual Differences, 39, 1249-1260.
Martínez-Iñigo, D., Totterdell, P., Alcover, C. M., & Holman, D. (2007). Emotional labour and emotional exhaustion: Interpersonal and intrapersonal mechanisms. Work & Stress, 21, 30-47.
Morris, J. A., & Feldman, D. C. (1996). The dimensions, antecedents, and consequences of emotional labor. Academy of Management Review, 21, 986-1010.
Palmieri, M. (1989, September). Banks with a big heart. Bankers Monthly, 106, 82. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/220445223?accountid=15179.
Park, E. A., Son, H. I., & Lee, C. S. (2014). Research trends in emotional labor in the hospitality industry. Korean Journal of Tourism Research, 29, 291-307.
Petrides, K. V., & Furnham, A. (2003). Trait emotional intelligence: Behavioural validation in two studies of emotion recognition and reactivity to mood induction. European Journal of Personality, 17, 39-57.
Pugliesi, K. (1999). The consequences of emotional labor: Effects on work stress, job satisfaction, and well-being. Motivation and Emotion, 23, 125-154.
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385-401.
Russell, J. A. (2003). Core affect and the psychological construction of emotion. Psychological Review, 110, 145-172.
Salovey, P., Mayer, J. D., Goldman, S. L., Turvey, C., & Palfai, T. F. (1995). Emotional attention, clarity, and repair: Exploring emotional intelligence using the Trait Meta-Mood Scale. In J. W. Pennebaker (Ed.), Emotion, disclosure, and health (pp. 125–154). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Salovey, P., Stroud, L. R., Woolery, A., & Epel, E. S. (2002). Perceived emotional intelligence, stress reactivity, and symptom reports:Further explorations using the Trait Meta-Mood Scale. Psychological Health, 17, 611-627.
Seery, B. L., & Corrigall, E. A. (2009). Emotional labor: Links to work attitudes and emotional exhaustion. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 24, 797-813.
Shapiro, S. L., Brown, K. W., & Biegel, G. (2007). Teaching self-care to caregivers: The effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on the mental health of therapists in training. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 1, 105-115.
Shin, A. Y., Kim, J. H., & Kim, M. H. (2010). Effectiveness of emotion-mindfulness on emotional clarity, regulation of emotion, stress and well-being of female college students. Korean Journal of Health Psychology, 15, 635-652.
Slaski, M., & Cartwright, S. (2003). Emotional intelligence training and its implications for stress, health and performance. Stress and Health, 19, 233-239.
Song, J. Y. (2016). A study on the emotional labor and mental health of home shopping telemarketers: By Korean emotional labor assessment tool and Grandey model (Unpublished master's thesis). Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
Stange, J. P., Alloy, L. B., Flynn, M., & Abramson, L. Y. (2013). Negative inferential style, emotional clarity, and life stress: Integrating vulnerabilities to depression in adolescence. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 42, 508-518.
Statistics Korea. (2015). Service industry key statistic: The number of service industry businesses and workers [national business survey]. Retrieved from http://www.kostat.go.kr
Swinkels, A., & Giuliano, T. A. (1995). The measurement and conceptualization of mood awareness: Attention directed toward one’s mood states. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 934-949.
Thompson, R. A., & Calkins, S. D. (1996). The double-edged sword: Emotional regulation for children at risk. Development and Psychopathology, 8, 163-182.
Totterdell, P., & Holman, D. (2003). Emotion regulation in customer service roles: Testing a model of emotional labor. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 8, 55-73.
Vine, V., & Aldao, A. (2014). Impaired emotional clarity and psychopathology:A transdiagnostic deficit with symptom-specific pathways through emotion regulation. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 33, 319-342.
Webb, T. L., Miles, E., & Sheeran, P. (2012). Dealing with feeling: A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation. Psychological Bulletin, 138, 775-808.