Emotion work as a source of employee well- and ill-being: the moderating role of service interaction type

Figures & data

Figure 1. Measurement of service interaction type based on the typology by Mills and Margulies (1980) and scoring examples from the expert ratings.

Figure 2. Examination model.

Table 1. Summary of demographic sample characteristics and variations of measurements per study

No.	Author	Study name	Publication status	Occupations	No. of clusters	N	Mean age	SD age	Gender (% female)	FEWS version	MBI version	MBI response format
1	Banat (2000)	Travel agencies	U	Travel agents	1	94	34.73	11.01	75.5	1	1	7-point frequency
2	Beitler, Scherer, Trumpold, and Zapf (2015)	Convenience	U	Office clerks, flight attendants, customer care employees	3	37	33.16	10.58	75.7	2	2	7-point frequency
3	Benka (2017)	Railway	U	Customer service representatives and train drivers	2	244	37.90	10.63	18.0	2	2	6-point frequency
4	Bolm-Audorff and Zapf (2000)	Representative sample	P	Craftsmen, office clerks, salespersons, nurses, teachers, waiters and waitresses, technical engineers, administrative workers, commercial representatives	8	169	41.80	12.13	47.9	2	1	6-point frequency
5	Bolm-Audorff and Zapf (2005)	Railway	U	Dispatchers and train drivers	2	139	37.53	8.50	0.7	2	1	6-point frequency
6	Bolm-Audorff and Zapf (2012)	Physicians	U	Physicians	1	49	34.18	5.05	40.8	2	1	6-point frequency
7	Bolm-Audorff and Zapf (2012)	Geriatric care	U	Elderly care workers	1	16	36.31	12.02	81.3	2	1	7-point frequency
8	Bolm-Audorff and Zapf (2012)	Nursing care	U	Nurses	1	69	37.67	11.01	82.6	2	1	7-point frequency
9	Dormann, Dormann, Zapf, and Irmer (2004)	School administrations	P	School secretaries	1	157	45.84	9.16	100.0	2	1	7-point frequency
10	Egold (2000)	Shoe sales	U	Shoe sales employees	1	107	35.58	13.10	89.7	1	1	7-point frequency
11	Holz (2000)	Kindergartens	P	Kindergarten teachers, management employees, and maids	3	612	38.81	9.97	93.8	1	1	7-point frequency
12	Holz (2003)	Insurance company	U	Insurance brokers and agents	1	399	37.70	9.92	56.4	2	1	7-point frequency
13	Holz (2003)	Commerce company	U	Cashiers, warehouse keepers, sales assistants	1	81	42.65	11.52	67.9	2	1	7-point frequency
14	Holz (2003)	Youth and social welfare offices	U	Office clerks	1	556	41.62	9.80	66.4	2	1	7-point frequency
15	Holz (2003)	Hospital	U	Physicians, nurses, nursing and medical assistants	3	128	40.52	10.34	85.9	2	1	7-point frequency
16	Holz (2003)	Youth welfare	U	Social and educational workers	1	66	40.40	9.64	50.0	2	1	7-point frequency
17	Holz (2003)	Security company	U	Security guards and safety specialists	1	310	43.55	12.13	16.8	2	1	7-point frequency
18	Holz and Zapf (2003)	Outpatient psychiatry	U	Psychotherapists, nurses, caretakers	3	94	39.08	9.67	71.3	2	1	7-point frequency
19	Isic (1999)	Call centre	P	Call centre employees in banking, insurance, and airline industry	1	250	31.32	7.08	74.8	1	1	7-point frequency
20	Kern and colleagues (2019)	Hospitals	P	Surgeons	7	642	47.10	9.24	34.9	2	2	6-point frequency
21	Listmann (2001)	Call centres	U	Call centre agents	1	101	26.37	7.60	70.3	1	1	7-point frequency
22	Machowski and Zapf (2010)	Bank	U	Bank tellers, office clerks, commercial representatives	6	553	41.52	11.45	52.9	2	2	7-point frequency
23	Schmutte (1999)	Bank	P	Bank tellers	1	122	37.39	9.14	50.0	1	1	7-point frequency
24	Seifert (1999)	Hotels	P	Front desk clerks and waiters or waitresses	1	175	25.80	7.25	68.6	1	1	7-point frequency
25	Trumpold & Zapf (2012)	Airline (Germany)	U	Flight attendants	1	60	40.13	8.73	73.8	2	2	5-point agreement
26	Trumpold & Zapf (2012)	Airline (Switzerland)	U	Flight attendants	1	58	36.66	11.68	65.5	2	2	5-point agreement
27	Vogt (1999)	Handicapped children’s home	P	Educators, social care workers, nurses	1	83	37.88	10.13	79.5	1	1	7-point frequency
28	Von Gilsa and Zapf (2012)	Home loan bank	U	Bank tellers	1	177	45.32	10.07	53.1	2	2	7-point frequency
29	Von Gramatzik (2005)	Charter airline	U	Flight attendants	1	96	33.36	6.23	75.0	1	1	7-point frequency
30	Zapf, Elian, Weber, Keck, and Trumpold (2007)	Service work	U	Flight attendants and hairdressers	2	25	33.56	9.09	76.0	2	1	7-point frequency
31	Zapf, Isic, Bechtoldt, and Blau (2003)	Call centres	P	Inbound/ outbound call centre agents	8	360	31.87	10.45	66.9	2	1	6-point frequency
32	Zapf, Machowski, and Bernhardt (2012)	Bank	U	Bank tellers, commercial representatives, team leaders, and department leaders	4	992	42.79	10.25	55.2	2	2	7-point frequency
33	Zapf and Trumpold (2012)	Automotive supplier	U	Commercial representatives	1	54	45.00	8.74	68.5	2	2	7-point frequency

Note. N = 7,075. References for all samples are depicted in the Appendix. U = unpublished data; P = (partially) published data. FEWS version: 1 = Zapf et al. (1999); 2 = Zapf et al. (2003). MBI version: 1 = Büssing and Perrar (1992); 2 = Büssing and Glaser (1998). Data of the samples were collected between 1999 and 2019.

Table 2. Means, standard deviations, internal consistencies, and intercorrelations among study variables

		M	SD	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1	Positive emotion requirements	3.44	0.98	(.86)	.26***	.39***	.12***	.12***
2	Negative emotion requirements	2.22	0.98	.08	(.86)	.35***	.19***	–.03
3	Emotion-rule dissonance	2.94	1.00	.70***	–.07	(.87)	.34***	–.09***
4	Emotional exhaustion	0.00	1.00	.06	.48***	–.03	—	–.24***
5	Personal accomplishment	0.00	0.99	.10	–.11	.07	–.22	—
6	Interaction complexity	2.78	0.97	.26**	.41***	–.19*	.32*	.05	—
7	Interaction customization	2.79	0.73	.23**	.45***	–.23*	.27*	–.06	.80***	—
8	Non-substitutability	2.18	0.95	.12	.52***	–.35***	.39***	.03	.84***	.85***	—
9	Identification with customers	2.87	0.74	.41***	.46***	.14	.34**	–.03	.62***	.75***	.71***

Note. Above the diagonal correlations at the individual-level are displayed. Below the diagonal correlations at the occupation-level are displayed. N_within = 7075; N_between = 72. Omega coefficients in parentheses.

* p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001 (two-tailed).

Table 3. Results of MSEM models predicting emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment

		Emotional exhaustion		Personal accomplishment
No.	Parameter	Estimate	SE	Estimate	SE	χ^2	df	χ^2/df	p	RMSEA	SRMRw	SRMRb	CFI
Individual-level
1	Positive emotion requirements	.15***	.02	.12***	.03	95.13	31	3.07	.000	.017	.022	.075	.981
2	Negative emotion requirements	.22***	.03	–.03	.02	103.97	31	3.35	.000	.018	.018	.101	.985
3	Emotion-rule dissonance	.36***	.02	–.10***	.02	112.86	20	5.64	.000	.026	.016	.088	.986
Occupation-level
1	Positive emotion requirements	.02	.03	.05	.06
2	Negative emotion requirements	.09**	.03	–.14*	.08
3	Emotion-rule dissonance	–.01	.03	.04	.06
	Positive emotion requirements x
4	interaction complexity			.00	.06	141.12	36	3.92	.000	.020	.022	.082	.972
5	interaction customization			–.03	.15	155.10	36	4.31	.000	.022	.022	.088	.970
6	non-substitutability			–.11	.10	155.98	36	4.33	.000	.022	.022	.093	.970
7	identification with customers			–.06	.13	115.27	36	3.20	.000	.018	.022	.074	.979
	Negative emotion requirements x
8	interaction complexity			.27***	.06	113.16	36	3.14	.000	.017	.018	.103	.985
9	interaction customization			.36***	.12	115.76	36	3.22	.000	.018	.018	.101	.979
10	non-substitutability			.26***	.07	117.21	36	3.26	.000	.018	.018	.104	.984
11	identification with customers			.45***	.13	114.40	36	3.18	.000	.018	.018	.105	.984
	Emotion-rule dissonance x
12	interaction complexity			–.16	.12	132.37	24	5.52	.000	.025	.016	.094	.985
13	interaction customization			–.45***	.10	135.13	24	5.63	.000	.026	.016	.093	.984
14	non-substitutability			–.28***	.08	129.99	24	5.42	.000	.025	.016	.097	.985
15	identification with customers			.29*	.14	133.08	24	5.55	.000	.025	.016	.092	.985

Note. No. = Number of the analysed model. Models 1–3 excluded occupation-level predictors, models 4–15 included an occupation-level predictor and an interaction effect. All models contained both emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment as outcome variables. SRMR_w for the individual-level, SRMR_b for the occupation-level. Unstandardized coefficients are displayed.

* p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001 (one-tailed).

Figure 3. Illustration of simple slopes for negative emotion requirements and customer interaction characteristics with values +/ – 1 SD and +/ – 2 SD. ^a This coefficient is greater than 1.96 times its standard error. It would therefore be significant in a two-tailed test. However, we do not declare this coefficient as significant because the slope is contrary to our hypothesis, which was tested with a one-tailed test.

* p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001 (one-tailed).

Figure 4. Illustration of simple slopes for emotion-rule dissonance and customer interaction characteristics with values +/ – 1 SD and +/ – 2 SD.

* p < .05. ** p < .01. *** p < .001 (one-tailed).

Table

No.	Reference
1	Banat, J. (2000). Der Einfluss von interaktionsbezogenen Arbeitsmerkmalen und Kundenorientierung auf Burnout in indirekt personenbezogenen Dienstleistungstätigkeiten [The impact of interaction-related work characteristics and customer orientation on burnout in indirect person-related service jobs] (Unpublished diploma thesis). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
2	Beitler, L. A., Scherer, S., Trumpold, K., & Zapf, D. (2015). Emotionen in der Dienstleistungsarbeit [Emotions in service work] (Technical Report). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
3	Benka, J. (2017). Emotion-rule Dissonanz als Challenge Stressor – Eine Befragung von Kundenbetreuern im Nahverkehr und Triebfahrzeugführern [Emotion-rule dissonance as a challenge stressor – A survey of customer service representatives and train drivers] (Unpublished master thesis). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
4	Bolm-Audorff, U. & Zapf, D. (2000). Psychische Arbeitsbelastungen und Gesundheit deutscher Arbeitnehmerinnen und Arbeitnehmer. [Job stressors and health of German employees] (Unpublished research report). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main. Parts of the data published in Zapf, D., Isic, A., Bechtoldt, M., & Blau, P. (2003). What is typical for call center jobs? Job characteristics, and service interactions in different call centers. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 12(4), 311–340. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320344000183
5	Bolm-Audorff, U., & Zapf, D. (2005). Psychische Arbeitsbelastungen und Gesundheit bei Bahnarbeitern. [Job stressors and health of railway employees] (Technical report). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
6	Bolm-Audorff, U. & Zapf, D. (2012). Psychische Arbeitsbelastungen und Gesundheit von Ärzten [Job stressors and health of physicians] (Technical Report). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
7–8	Bolm-Audorff, U. & Zapf, D. (2012). Psychische Arbeitsbelastungen und Gesundheit von Alten- und Krankenpflegern [Job stressors and health of elderly care workers and nurses] (Technical Report). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
9	Dormann, T., Dormann, C., Zapf, D., & Irmer, C. (2004). Belastungen im Schulsekretariat. Aufgaben und Probleme an einer pädagogischen Schnittstelle [Stressors at school secretariats. Work tasks and problems at an educational interface]. Die Schule, 96, 345-358.
10	Egold, N. (2000). Zur Messung von Kundenorientierung bei Dienstleistern und der Zufriedenheit von Kunden - Validierung eines Instrumentes zur Erfassung der persönlichen Kundenorientierung von Dienstleistern [Measuring customer orientation of service providers and customer satisfaction - Validation of an instrument] (Unpublished diploma thesis). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
11	Holz, M. (2000). Emotionsarbeit in Kindergartenstätten [Emotion work in kindergartens] (Unpublished diploma thesis). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main. Data published in: 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 And in: Zapf, D., & Holz, M. (2006). On the positive and negative effects of emotion work in organizations. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 15(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320500412199
12–17	Holz, M. (2003). Soziale Stressoren in Organisationen [Social stressors in organizations] (Unpublished dissertation). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
18	Holz, M & Zapf, D. (2006). Emotionsarbeit in der ambulanten Psychiatrie [Emotion work in an outpatient psychiatry] (Technical report). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
19	Isic, A. (1999). Psychische Anforderungen in Dienstleistungsberufen am Beispiel Call Center [Stressors and resources of call-center jobs] (Unpublished diploma thesis). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main. Parts of the data published in: Isic, A., Dormann, C., & Zapf, D (1999). Belastungen und Ressourcen bei Call-Center-Arbeitsplätzen [Stressors and resources at the workplace of call-center agents]. Zeitschrift für Arbeitswissenschaft, 53(3), 202-208. Parts of the data published in: 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 And parts of the data published in: Zapf, D., & Holz, M. (2006). On the positive and negative effects of emotion work in organizations. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 15(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320500412199
20	Parts of the data published in: Kern, M., Buia, A., Tonus, C., Weigel, T. F., Dittmar, R., Hanisch, E., & Zapf, D. (2019). Psychological stressors, resources, and well-being of surgeons in Germany: A cross-sectional study. Der Chirurg, 90(7), 576-584. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00104-018-0780-5
21	Listmann, S. (2001). Mitarbeiterstudie in Call Centern im Hinblick auf die derzeitige Arbeitsplatzgestaltung und Arbeitssituation [Survey-feedback study in call centers with regard to workplace design and work situation] (Unpublished diploma thesis). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
22	Machowski, S. & Zapf, D. (2010). Gefährdungsbeurteilung: Mitarbeiter-Befragung zu psychischen Belastungen und Ressourcen am Arbeitsplatz. [Risk analysis: Employee survey of job stressors and resources at work] (Unpublished research report). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
23	Schmutte, B. (1999). Emotionsarbeit und ihre Konsequenzen bei Bankarbeitern [Emotion work and its consequences for bank employees] (Unpublished diploma thesis). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main. Data published in: 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 And in: Zapf, D., & Holz, M. (2006). On the positive and negative effects of emotion work in organizations. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 15(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320500412199
24	Seifert, C. (1999). Die Bedeutsamkeit der emotionalen Arbeit als Stressfaktor im Servicebereich und ihre Interaktion mit Entscheidungsspielräumen. [The significance of emotion work as stress factor in the service sector and its interaction with job control] (Unpublished diploma thesis). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main. Data published in: 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 And in: Zapf, D., & Holz, M. (2006). On the positive and negative effects of emotion work in organizations. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 15(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320500412199
25–26	Trumpold, K. & Zapf, D. (2012). Emotional labor in organizations. (Unpublished research report). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
27	Vogt, C. (1999). Emotionale Anforderungen am Arbeitsplatz [Emotional labor requirements] (Unpublished diploma thesis). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main. Data published in: 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
28	Von Gilsa & Zapf, D. (2012). Gefährdungsbeurteilung: Mitarbeiter-Befragung zu psychischen Belastungen und Ressourcen am Arbeitsplatz. [Risk analysis: Employee survey of job stressors and resources at work] (Unpublished research report). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
29	Von Gramatzik, J. (2005). Stressbewältigung im Kundenkontakt [Stress management in customer interactions] (Unpublished diploma thesis). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
30	Zapf, D., Elian, C., Weber, A., Keck, A., & Trumpold, K. (2007). Emotionsarbeit in Dienstleistungsberufen – Tagebuchstudie [Emotion work in service jobs – A diary study] (Unpublished research report). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
31	Zapf, D., Isic, A., Bechtoldt, M., & Blau, P. (2003). What is typical for call center jobs? Job characteristics and service interactions in different call centers. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 12(4), 311–340. https://doi.org/10.1080/13594320344000183
32	Zapf, D., Machowski, S., & Bernhardt, L. (2012). Gefährdungsbeurteilung: Mitarbeiter-Befragung zu psychischen Belastungen und Ressourcen am Arbeitsplatz. [Risk analysis: Employee survey of job stressors and resources at work] (Unpublished research report). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.
33	Zapf, D., & Trumpold, K. (2012). Ergebnisbericht der Analyse arbeitsplatzbezogener Ressourcen und Belastungen bei einem deutschen Automobilzulieferer [Results report of the analysis of job resources and job stressors at a German automotive supplier] (Unpublished research report). Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main.

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