The Mediating Role of Surface and Deep Acting on the Nexus between Emotional Intelligence and Work-Related Burnout

Abstract

Work-related burnout (WBO) is prevalent in the global economy, culminating in profit loss, productivity declination, and employee absenteeism. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the preceding threats in human resource management within the manufacturing industry. The ongoing discussions on WBO highlight the significance and value of this issue. Additionally, empirical proof regarding the association among emotional intelligence (EQ), emotional labour strategies, and WBO, particularly within the human resource division of the manufacturing industry, is scarce. Thus, the current study aims to identify the relationships and models with emotional contagion theory as a foundation using the PLS-SEM technique. The responses from 311 questionnaires were collected among HR managers in selected ISO 9001 Malaysian manufacturing companies using an online survey. The study found a negative relationship between EQ and emotional labour-deep acting (ELSA) and a positive relationship with emotional labour-surface acting (ELSA). Besides, ELSA is also negatively correlated with WBO, while ELDA has a positive relationship with WBO. The study also proved that emotional labour strategies (deep-acting and surface-acting) operated as an intermediary factor in the connection between EQ and WBO. Past research on WBO has been inconclusive, and there has yet to be a comprehensive exploration of the direct or indirect connections between EQ, ELSA, ELDA, and WBO. Furthermore, previous studies often overlooked the viewpoint of HR managers in WBO investigations. The results of this research contribute to the literature concerning this issue, particularly in the post-COVID-19 context, and help policy developers of human resource management bring in the elements of psychological factors while forming human resource policies and practices.