The previous chapter presents the result of the data analysis through the research methodology and the theoretical discussion. This chapter is started by summarizing the limitations of the present research study. This is followed by the discussion in view of practical and research implications based on the researching finding and discussion. This chapter is concluded by providing recommendations for future research.
Conclusions
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between emotional labor and counterproductive work behavior, as well as the moderating roles of mindfulness and perceived organizational support on said relationship, specifically in the context of Belize. Based on the research findings and data analysis results, research conclusions for this study are as follows:
Emotional Labor Deep Acting and Counterproductive Work Behavior
Deep acting seems to be the more preferable choice between the two dimensions of emotional labor. While deep acting still has an effect on the employee, this research found that it doesn’t result in the employee choosing to act counterproductively. The reason being that the resulting expression of emotions are seen as more of an authentic expression.
Employees are experiencing a more authentic feeling because deep acting involves putting effort into actually feeling and expressing the required emotions of the organization. The employee is then less likely to seek compensation from the organization because they are able to conserve their resources by being authentic and not altering their entire mood to meet customers’
expectations. Researchers have found that people that choose deep acting over surface acting require a greater amount of psychological resources than those that engage in surface acting (Lu et al., 2019). The discrepancy in emotions is what often times lead to the counterproductive work behavior because the employees experiences an internal conflict of emotions so if the employee feels like they aren’t being their true self then a problem would not arise immediately. Employees are usually encouraged to consciously modify their feelings by conjuring up peaceful thoughts and reminiscing about happier moments in their lives.
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Emotional Labor Surface Acting and Counterproductive Work Behavior
In line with the results of other researchers, this study confirmed the theory that emotional labor surface acting is significantly related to counterproductive work behavior. This theory even proved to be true in a developing country like Belize where its main customer base is reliant on the international tourists. More specifically, the more surface acting that an employee experiences results in a higher level of counterproductive work behavior.
Employees use emotional labor surface acting as a way to manage their emotions when interacting with customers. Surface acting allows the employee to reach the organization’s expectations of their preferred displayed emotions in the workplace. It can be seen that the perceptions of job stress would indeed decrease satisfaction within the workplace and this increases distress that leads to employees seeking a form of compensation for such self-focused emotion management. Self-focused emotion management has been found to have the most harmful impact on the human body. The various demands from the customers, the organization and from a personal perspective is a contributing factor towards the reason an employee finds their resources depleted in the process. Whether the employee chooses to act counterproductively towards the organization, its members or both is a personal decision but either action is detrimental to the success of the organization.
The detrimental effects will affect the economic growth of Belize’s economy. The country’s economy is slowly developing but not as fast as other countries that have a large enough population to sustain the different businesses. Any actions by employees that are seen as harmful to the current reputation of Belize as a tourist destination would set the country back financially.
This statement is supported by the after effects the country is currently experiencing because of the COVID pandemic, due to the closure of the country’s borders the country had to lay off a lot of employees and is currently relying heavily on the second best option which is the agriculture until they can open back the borders for the tourism industry to resume operation.
Mindfulness as a Moderator
Mindfulness consists of four different dimensions: mindfulness attention, mindfulness present focus, mindfulness awareness and mindfulness acceptance. These four dimensions were
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analyzed with both dimensions of emotional labor: surface and deep acting and the moderating effect between emotional labor and counterproductive work behavior.
Mindfulness Attention
Mindfulness attention was able to moderate the relationship between emotional labor surface acting and counterproductive work behavior. Mindfulness attention was able to weaken the relationship that exists between the two variables. However, in relation to emotional labor deep acting it did not weaken the relationship. Utilizing the conservation of resources theory mindfulness attention is needed to weaken the relationship between emotional labor surface acting because surface acting requires a larger level of cognitive and physiological effort from the employee. When the employee depletes their energy and resources they need to replenish or try to retain these resources by being mindful of their surrounding and not get distracted by negative thoughts or actions.
Mindfulness Present Focus
Mindfulness present focus was able to moderate the relationship between emotional labor surface acting and counterproductive work behavior. Mindfulness present focus was able to weaken the relationship that exists between the two variables. However, in relation to emotional labor deep acting it did not weaken the relationship. Utilizing the conservation of resources theory mindfulness present focus was not necessarily needed for the replenishment of resources that were loss during deep acting interactions because the employees experiences less internal tension and this results in positive customer interactions (Grandey, 2003).
Mindfulness Awareness
Mindfulness awareness was able to moderate the relationship between emotional labor surface acting and counterproductive work behavior. Mindfulness awareness was able to weaken the relationship that exists between the two variables. However, in relation to emotional labor deep acting it did not weaken the relationship. Utilizing the conservation of resources theory mindfulness awareness is needed to weaken the relationship between emotional labor surface acting however with deep acting the cognitive change that occurs results in the individual reevaluating their situations and modifying the way they choose to react in order to portray the appropriate emotions required by the organization.
58 Mindfulness Acceptance
Mindfulness acceptance was able to moderate the relationship between emotional labor surface acting and counterproductive work behavior. Mindfulness acceptance was able to weaken the relationship that exists between the two variables. However, in relation to emotional labor deep acting it did not weaken the relationship. Utilizing the conservation of resources theory mindfulness attention is needed to weaken the relationship between emotional labor surface acting.
On the other hand, deep acting decreases the level of cognitive dissonance that is experienced because it pushes employees to feel the emotions they are displaying rather than faking them. This means that the employee has accepted their circumstances and knows how to retain their resources (Brotheridge et al., 2002).
Perceived Organizational Support as a Moderator
Perceived Organizational Support was able to moderate the relationship between emotional labor surface acting and counterproductive work behavior. However, for emotional labor deep acting, according to the regression analyses, there was not any moderating effect on the relationship between emotional labor deep acting and counterproductive work behavior. However, perceived organizational support did not weaken the relationship between emotional labor deep acting and counterproductive work behavior. Utilizing the conservation of resources theory, perceived organizational support makes the employee feel a sense of togetherness when faced with unfavorable work scenarios with difficult customers. However, with deep acting, the employee transforms themselves into new characters and connect on an emotional level with the role they must play in order to keep the customer satisfied. This feeling of an authentic performance saves the employee from losing any resources throughout the ‘show’ (Hodge, 2000).
Research Limitations
As with all studies, this study had its own limitations, which must be stated when doing result interpretations. First, the data that was collected was done through a self-reported questionnaire. Therefore, this may result in common method variance (CMV) and can cause a shift in the data. One approach that was implemented was to utilize measures with reverse scored questions to avoid random responses from the sample.
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The second limitation that was encountered was that this research was a cross-sectional study and the data was collected during the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the collection of data. The frontline employees that would have been able to complete the survey were busier than ever dealing with the global needs of customers. This slowed down the collection process for the researcher.
The third limitation was that the measurement used for counterproductive work behavior was sensitive in relations to the type of information that respondents were willing to release.
Study Implications Research Implication of the Study
The most valuable contribution of this study is to body of research on the relationship of emotional labor, counterproductive work behavior, mindfulness and perceived organizational support. More importantly, it adds to the very limited research on the work environment in Belize.
Belize is a developing country that relies on its service industry and so the findings also add to the diversity of cultural and economic context examined in the frontline employees’ research.
Furthermore, this study can serve as a starting-point for similar, more in-depth research on the emotions and mental health of the frontline labor force in Belize and other countries with similar characteristics.
Practical Implication of the Study for the Individual Level
Practical implications of this study are centered around the proper management of employees’ emotions within the workplace. Belizean organizations, within the private and public sectors, should be held accountable for the work environment that is created for their employees.
These organizations should use the two resources from this research paper and implement the necessary training sessions and transformational planning in place to support employees that are faced with high job demands.
Organizations should also heed the warning that this pandemic provided them with. Most organizations did not have a proper emergency preparedness plan in place for their employees and this left them susceptible to the psycho-emotional damages that followed. After this situation, organizations should meet with their frontline employees and create a SWOT (strengths,
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weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis that allows the employees to vent their opinion to the organization. By redesigning the communication process for the employees it allows them with the necessary incentive and morale booster to function within stressful environments.
Through these measures, the level of satisfaction of these workers are expected to increase and their peace of minds are expected to be enhanced. With proper management of emotional labor, organizations can create a more positive organizational culture that seeks to adhere to the employees’ complaints and dilemmas to further facilitate the adjustments needed for the past paced transformation of the socioeconomic and emotional environments of the world of work.
Practical Implication of the Study for the Organizational Level
The results of this study provided a practical solution for the potential organizational changes that need to be enforced. It not only gives them a strategy to strengthen the conservation of emotional resources but also an opportunity to improve the relationship that exists between the organization and its employees in Belize. Considering that surface acting had more of an effect on counterproductive work behavior, it is important to acknowledge that employees are not machines that are capable of holding in their emotions. Mindfulness trainings on emotion management can help employees deal with job demands more efficiently. The utilization of this training to its full capability in the context of emotional release will encourage the employee to think differently when faced with difficult situations. Through perceived organizational support, the employees will be able to create a more open relationship with employers that is more conducive to a free flow of information regarding work experiences. The supervisors or high level of employees will see a rise in performance from employees in relation to not only productivity but also innovativeness, collaboration, mentoring, motivation and participation from employees.
As part of an organization’s recruitment strategy, upper management needs to reevaluate their criteria when recruiting and selecting employees. Organizations can also reexamine their human resource retention strategies. Finding new talent is crucial but how an organization is able to maintain their current talent speaks volumes about them. Management needs to become knowledgeable of how their potential employees handle high demand work environments and whether that employee is open to receiving training for mindfulness. Although this comes with additional cost for the organization, the long-term benefits in comparison with counterproductive
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behavior related costs will prove to be beneficial. Employees may no longer be able to experience development in an environment that does not support them or does not even bother finding options to support their mental health. So, an additional method that can be implemented is to utilize mentoring programs, the employees that have been in these positions for a longer time can discuss their personal coping strategies with new employees.
Highly supported employees feel a sense of belonging within the organization and simultaneously assist Belize by coming up with implementable strategies to improve its economic status.
Recommendations and Future Research Suggestions
The data used in this study was collected in Belize only and during the pandemic period.
Future studies may replicate the findings of this study with data collected post-pandemic period to enable comparisons of the moderating effects of mindfulness and perceived organizational support.
The purpose of replication is to further analyze the effects of emotional labor during normal working situations. Frontline workers during this time were the ones that were primarily affected by this pandemic and were under a lot of pressure not only from a physical stand point but also mentally and emotionally.
Furthermore, adjust the counterproductive work behavior measurement to seem less sensitive when conducting the research. Using less intimidating or sensitive terms would allow respondents to feel more comfortable with admitting to defiant behavior conducted within the work environment.
Lastly, it is noteworthy that despite these above mentioned limitations, the counterproductive work behavior checklist is a valid and reliable measure, which is able to provide the basis for cross country comparisons and a proper starting point for research in developing countries interested in the same area of research.
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