Relation between emotional labor and organizational citizenship behavior : an investigation among Chinese teaching professionals

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

The Journal of General Psychology

Publication Date

12-9-2015

Volume

142

Issue

4

First Page

253

Last Page

272

Publisher

Taylor & Francis Group

Keywords

emotional labor, OCB, work engagement

Abstract

This study examined the association between emotional labor and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and the mediation of work engagement in this relationship. A total of 264 teachers in Mainland China were recruited for this study. Bivariate correlation showed that both deep acting and the expression of naturally felt emotion were positively related to the two dimensions of OCB, namely, OCB toward the individual (OCBI) and OCB toward the organization (OCBO), whereas surface acting was not related to the OCB dimensions. Work engagement was also positively associated with both OCB dimensions. Regression results showed that work engagement partially mediated the relation between deep acting and OCBO, and that between the expression of naturally felt emotion and OCBI. Work engagement also fully mediated the association between deep acting and OCBI, and that between the expression of naturally felt emotion and OCBO. In light of these findings, strategies that encourage employees to display emotions consistent with their inner experience were discussed.

DOI

10.1080/00221309.2015.1091764

Print ISSN

00221309

E-ISSN

19400888

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2015 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Cheung, F. Y. L., & Lun, V. M.-C. (2015). Relation between emotional labor and organizational citizenship behavior: An investigation among Chinese teaching professionals. The Journal of General Psychology, 142(4), 253-272. doi: 10.1080/00221309.2015.1091764

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