Efectos cognitivos crónicos

As shown in Figure 1, situational 'variables' are the ones which describe the nature of the interaction with the customers, where the 'situation acts as a cue from which emotions may result' (p. 102). In the service sector, the most significant variables are interaction with the customers and the organisational requirements for emotions which shows the chronic need to engage in emotion regulation (Grandey 2000). Grandey (2000) also identified a second group of situational cues, positive or negative emotional events, or 'acute' events that have an instant influence on an individual's emotions. Therefore, the situational influences are the ones specifically related to customer service and are of particular importance as they increase the likelihood that an employee may need to modify feelings or fake emotions during customer interactions (Diefendorff, Croyle and Gosserand 2005, Grandey 2000).

Initially, the customer interaction characteristics/ expectations such as frequency and duration of service interactions, the intensity and variety of emotions, routineness of task and the display rules, were presented as dimensions of EL by Morris and Feldman (1996). However, many authors have agreed that these represent important job characteristic influences of EL (Brotheridge and Lee 2003, Grandey 2000, Schaubroeck and Jones 2000). Frequency and duration of service interactions and intensity and variety of emotions which need to be

38

expressed during the service interactions have received much attention as influences of EL (Shani et al. 2014). The framework developed by Morris and Feldman (1996) has been the source of extensive research on the relationship between the customer contact variables and the EL strategies. Grandey (2000) in particular argues that the frequency and the duration are the situational influences that increase the likelihood of engaging in both surface acting and deep acting.

2.6.1.1 Frequency of interactions

The frequency of interactions refers to how often the employees are in contact with the customers (Diefendorff, Croyle and Gosserand 2005). Job roles are different depending on the frequency of customer interactions (Hochschild 1983). For example, a receptionist at a small firm might greet customers several times an hour, whereas a cashier at a supermarket might meet tens of customers an hour (Grandey 2000). Increased frequency entails a greater level of EL and workload as it involves more planning and anticipation (Morris and Feldman 1996). Thus, more frequent EL displays lead to emotional alienation, exhaustion and burnout, and lower job satisfaction (Gursoy, Boylu and Avci 2011).

The frequency influences the EL strategies that the employees engage in, but the findings are mixed. For example, Brotheridge and Grandey (2002) found that frequency of interactions positively influences surface acting and deep acting, but that there is a stronger relationship with surface acting which shows that as the frequency of customer interaction increases, the employees find it easier to fake their emotions. In line with this, Kruml and Geddes (2000) and Van Dijk and Kirk (2008) also showed that an employee would fake his/her emotions when more frequent display of emotions are present. On the other hand, Diefendorff, Croyle and Gosserand (2005) and Kim (2008) found that frequency does not influence surface acting, but only deep acting. At the same time, counter to their initial expectations Diefendorff, Croyle and Gosserand's (2005) findings showed, that frequency influences the expression of naturally felt emotions.

39 2.6.1.2 Duration of interactions

The duration of interactions refers to the amount of time which the employees spend with the customers (Morris and Feldman 1996). For example, a sales clerk in a convenience store would interact with their clients for about five minutes, whereas a salesperson in a clothing store might spend several hours with a customer (Grandey 2000). Also, an adventure tour leader interacts 24/7 with the clients and must develop a very close relationship with them which is different and more challenging than a restaurant chef who would only communicate with the customers perhaps once a week (Torland 2013). Thus, longer interactions with customers involve more effort and therefore more EL, mainly because they become less scripted and require more attention from the employees (Morris and Feldman 1996). Longer interactions lead to deep acting as it is harder for individuals to fake their emotions and are also a source of burnout for the employees (Diefendorff, Croyle and Gosserand 2005, Kim 2008). On the other hand, shorter and more frequent displays will influence more surface acting (Morris and Feldman 1996).

2.6.1.3 Intensity of emotions which need to be expressed

Emotional intensity 'refers to how strongly or with what magnitude an emotion is experienced or expressed' (Morris and Feldman 1996, p.990). Morris and Feldman (1996) argue that it is important to look at the differences in the emotions that various employees need to display to understand the variances in the effort used such as debt collectors who need to emphasise urgency and sales clerks who need to say thank you and smile. At the same time, the intensity is closely linked with the duration of service encounters. Short displays of telemarketers are more likely to be scripted, require less effort and the clients do not expect such intensity. Whereas longer ones are more likely to be unscripted, the display of emotions is more intense, and the customers expect this intensity (Morris and Feldman 1996). Happiness and anger, for example, are more intense emotions than job satisfaction, and therefore they require more effort (Morris and Feldman 1996). Thus, as Brotheridge and Grandey (2002) argue, the more intense the display, the lower the likelihood of engaging in surface acting and more likely to engage in deep acting.

40

2.6.1.4 Variety of emotions which need to be expressed

Variety is another aspect which is classed as an influence of EL (Grandey, 2000). Whilst some service employees are required to express particular emotions, such as supermarket cashiers who need to show friendliness, others must show a larger variety of emotions (Zapf 2002). For example, kindergarten teachers will be cheerful when dealing with a child who is crying. When a child is hurt the teacher might portray sympathy, and the next moment she might share happiness or pride when another child who achieves something, but also will act serious when trying to separate a fight between two kids (Zapf 2002). Similarly, Morris and Feldman (1996) also as an example talk about professors who have to show positive emotions to create enthusiasm, negative emotions to back discipline and neutrality to show professionalism and fairness. Thus, roles which involve a high variety of emotions experience a greater level of EL (Morris and Feldman, 1996).

2.6.1.5 Task routineness

Routineness was identified as an influence by Morris and Feldman (1996), and it refers to the extent to which customer interactions are repetitive, and it is associated with the frequency of customer interactions. Fast food workers are an example of a routine service role where customer service is quick and uniform. Jobs which require frequent and scripted interactions involve task routineness (Morris and Feldman, 1996). Hochschild (1983) argues that employees who must work fast are more likely to engage in surface acting with the customers because they experience emotional dissonance. In contrast, Zapf (2002) found routineness to be a significant predictor of deep acting and argued that having less routine leads to more attempts to experience the required emotions.

2.6.1.6 Negative customer interactions

As Grandey (2000) states, the more an employee encounters negative events in the workplace, the more EL is required. Negative emotions and events are more likely to lead to emotion regulation than positive emotions or situations. Also, a higher frequency of negative events will increase the likelihood to engage in emotion regulation (Grandey 2000). Service employees are the ones who deal

41

with demanding and challenging customers on a regular basis so would need to perform EL to meet customer expectations and the display rules of their organisations (Kim 2008).

The way in which emotional events have been studied concerning EL was by looking at the interaction with rude customers as these were more likely to lead to a discrepancy between the felt emotions and the display rules (Grandey, Rupp and Brice 2015). Customer mistreatment can elicit emotional dissonance and consequently the need to change the moods and the attitudes of employees to be consistent with the organisational display rules (Grandey and Gabriel 2015). Thus, service employees in particular show more emotional labour when faced with unfair and disrespectful customer treatment as they often feel angered, distressed or hurt (Rupp and Spencer 2006). Verbal abuse in particular, such as an employee being yelled at by a customer, sworn at, threatened or treated in a rude manner, is very common in a service delivery role (Grandey, Kern and Frone 2007).

According to Grandey, Dickter and Sin's (2004) research on call centre employees, individuals who interact with aggressive customers and feel threatened by them are more likely to engage in surface acting or emotional deviance, whereas the ones who feel less threatened in the same situation use more deep acting. Surface acting occurs as the employees experience high levels of stress which they hide either by faking the positive emotions, or by venting their anger at the customers. Consequently, individuals who engage in surface acting when receiving negative treatment from clients experience increased levels of emotional exhaustion and burnout (Zhan, Wang and Shi 2015). Most researchers argue that mistreatment from customers is related to surface acting (Grandey, Kern and Frone 2007, Hochschild 1983).