Emotional Labor and Job Well-Being in Hospitality Employees

Emotional labour refers to the regulation and display of emotions by service employees to meet organisational expectations. In the hospitality sector, staff often engage in surface acting—modifying external expressions without altering internal feelings—or deep acting, in which genuine emotions are evoked to align with workplace norms. This constant management of affect can profoundly influence job well-being, manifesting in burnout, reduced job satisfaction and increased turnover intentions. High levels of emotional dissonance, where authentic feelings conflict with displayed emotions, have been linked to psychological distress, counterproductive work behaviours and a decline in service quality.

Research highlights that adequate organisational support, clear service climates and effective coping strategies can mitigate the negative consequences of emotional labour. Training in emotional intelligence, the provision of job resources and a supportive supervisory climate strengthen employees’ resilience and foster genuine service delivery. Globally, hospitality firms confront high turnover rates and costs associated with recruiting and training. By recognising the interplay between emotional labour and well-being, managers can implement targeted interventions—such as peer support networks, flexible scheduling and financial well-being programmes—to enhance staff retention, customer satisfaction and sustainable performance.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Emotional Labor and Job Well-Being in Hospitality Employees publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in emotional labor and job well-being in hospitality employees across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Emotional labour: The process by which employees manage their emotions to fulfil organisational display rules.

Surface acting: A strategy in which individuals modify their outward emotional expressions without changing internal feelings.

Deep acting: A technique that involves evoking genuine emotions to sincerely align with required organisational displays.

Job burnout: A state of physical and emotional exhaustion resulting from prolonged job stress and emotional dissonance.

Counterproductive work behaviours: Actions by employees that harm organisational effectiveness, such as distancing or reduced performance.

Psychological distress: A negative state of emotional suffering characterised by symptoms of depression and anxiety linked to workplace stressors.

References

1. Role Stress and Turnover Intention of Front-Line Hotel Employees: The Roles of Burnout and Service Climate. Frontiers in Psychology (2020).
2. Coping with Stress: How Hotel Employees Fight to Work. Sustainability (2021).
3. The Effects of Job Stress on Burnout and Turnover Intention: The Moderating Effects of Job Security and Financial Dependency. Behavioral Sciences (2024).
4. Hotel Employees’ Burnout and Intention to Quit: The Role of Psychological Distress and Financial Well-Being in a Moderation Mediation Model. Behavioral Sciences (2023).
5. Burnout and counterproductive workplace behaviours among frontline hospitality employees: the effect of perceived contract precarity. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (2022).