Understanding the Impact of Perceived Customer Power on Motives and Outcomes of Emotional Labour

Abstract

The article aims to measure the influence of employee perception of customer power on motives of emotional labour and its impact on outcome of emotional labour. Employee perception about customer power was measured on a 5-point Likert scale from high to low, wherein motives of emotional labour were measured under three categories, namely, prevention motive, instrumental motive and pleasure motive. The study analyses the response of 320 service executives from 5 different type of organizations such as airlines, hotels, nursing homes, insurance companies and banks. The study finds that employee perception about customer power significantly impacts the selection of motive of emotional labour, which in turn was significantly related to the consequences of emotional labour, that is, ‘job burnout’ and ‘job satisfaction’. The study also observes that customer reciprocation towards the display of emotional labour moderates the outcome variables significantly. This study identifies the possible outcomes of emotional labour after taking into consideration the perceived customer power and the moderating role of customer reciprocation. The findings have managerial implications at multiple levels. First of all, organizations may utilize the findings of the reported study to define the display rules that may increase job satisfaction and at the same time reduce job burnout. The study may also be used to provide autonomy to the employees in selecting the motives of emotional labour based on their perception of customer power.