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Investigating the longitudinal effects of surface acting on managers' functioning through psychological needs
Tiphaine Huyghebaert1, Nicolas Gillet1, Claude Fernet2
1UFR Arts et Sciences Humaines, Department of Psychology, Université François-Rabelais de Tours.
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology
|March 31, 2017
Summary
Managers regulating emotions through surface acting negatively impacts job satisfaction and engagement over time. This occurs by undermining psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, affecting healthcare professionals.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Psychology
- Occupational Health Psychology
Background:
- Managers often engage in surface acting, a form of emotional labor, to regulate displayed emotions.
- Self-determination theory posits that psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) are crucial for well-being and motivation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal relationship between managers' surface acting and their job satisfaction and work engagement.
- To examine the mediating role of psychological need satisfaction and thwarting in this relationship.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal study design with data collected at two time points over three months.
- A sample of 435 French healthcare managers participated in the study.
- Statistical analyses were used to assess the predictive and mediating effects.
Main Results:
- Surface acting negatively predicted job satisfaction and work engagement over time.
- Psychological need satisfaction significantly mediated the negative effects of surface acting.
- Need thwarting did not explain the observed outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Surface acting has detrimental longitudinal effects on managers' job satisfaction and work engagement.
- The satisfaction of psychological needs is a key mechanism through which surface acting impacts managers.
- Findings highlight the importance of fostering need satisfaction to mitigate the adverse effects of emotional labor.
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