Céleste M. Brotheridge

Development and validation of the Emotional Labour Scale

This paper describes the development and validation of the Emotional Labour Scale (ELS) as tested on samples of 296 and 238 respondents. The ELS is a 15-item self-report questionnaire that measures six facets of emotional display in the workplace, including the frequency, intensity and variety of emotional display, the duration of interaction, and surface and deep acting. Estimates of internal consistency for the subscales ranged from .74 to .91. Confirmatory factor analysis results provided support for the existence of six unidimensional subscales. Evidence was also provided for convergent and discriminant validity.

Bringing humility to leadership: Antecedents and consequences of leader humility

As noted by McGill and Slocum (1998), effective leadership tends to operate as a contingency theory. The romanticized notion of celebrity CEOs that has been lionized in the popular business press has its place in the leadership pantheon, but, like any other approach to leadership, has limitations in its application. In particular, as discussed by Collins (2001a), sustained organizational functioning is more likely to be the result of the celebrity’s antithesis, a person possessing a blend of humility and strong personal will. This article draws from a diversity of sources in order to explore this potential nexus between humility and leadership. It offers a precise conceptualization of the concept of humility, identifies traits that are predictors of humility as well as the specific leadership behaviors that are likely to be the outcomes of high levels of humility.

Resources, coping strategies, and emotional exhaustion: A conservation of resources perspective☆

Abstract This study employed conservation of resources (CORs) theory to propose and test relationships between resources possessed by employees, their coping strategies, and emotional exhaustion. The participants consisted of 600 full-time government employees. An OLS regression showed that, in general and consistent with COR theory, resource levels were positively associated with the use of active coping strategies (i.e., positive orientation, working harder, and seeking advice and assistance) and negatively associated with avoidance. With the exception of task complexity, resources were associated with lower levels of emotional exhaustion. Although a positive orientation was negatively associated with emotional exhaustion, another active coping strategy, namely, working harder, was positively associated with emotional exhaustion. We discuss the several complexities predicted and found, and how COR may be used elaborate the resource → coping strategy → emotional exhaustion model.

When prey turns predatory : Workplace bullying as a predictor of counteraggression/bullying, coping, and well-being

This study examined workplace bullying through a self-report survey of a sample of 180 adults from diverse occupations and industries in Canada. It was predicted that bullying by others would lead to counteraggressive/bullying behaviours and certain coping responses. In turn, coping with bullying was predicted to impact burnout and well-being. Three different forms of bullying were identified: verbal abuse, work being undermined, and belittlement. The results of the structural relations analyses reveal that both verbal abuse and work being undermined were related to reciprocal forms of bullying. In addition, whereas verbal abuse was related to problem solving as a way of coping with bullying, belittlement was related to self-doubt, indirect/passive coping, and ignoring the bully. Self-doubt was, in turn, related to burnout and symptoms of ill-health.

Exploring the predictors and consequences of job insecurity's components

Purpose – This exploratory study aims to examine the usefulness of distinguishing between the cognitive and emotional components of job insecurity.Design/methodology/approach – This cross‐sectional survey study was undertaken in a sample of 600 civil servants. A series of regressions are employed to test proposed hypotheses.Findings – Results support the treatment of the components of job insecurity as separate variables. The cognitive and emotional components differed in their associations with predictors and consequences. Locus of control and employment dependence moderated several relationships. For example, employment dependence moderated the relationship between job insecurity and job loss strain.Research limitations/implications – The study design was cross‐sectional and, thus, cause‐effect relationships cannot be discerned. Also, since it was undertaken in the public sector, it needs to be cross‐validated in the private sector so that the generalizability of its results can be established. The stud...

A Comparison of Alternative Models of Coping: Identifying Relationships Among Coworker Support, Workload, and Emotional Exhaustion in the Workplace

Over the past 20 years, hundreds of studies have examined the construct of coping and its role in the stressor-strain relationship. Although coping is commonly viewed as a buffer in the stressor-strain relationship, multiple alternative models—buffering and direct effects—have been proposed. This study reviews alternative models of coping and then discusses the nature of the empirical support for these models. As a means of efficiently testing the relative soundness of these models, 3 work-related variables that represent a subset of all possible coping mechanisms, stressors, and strains (coworker support, workload, and emotional exhaustion, respectively) are employed. The results suggest that coping resources tend to serve as direct deterrents of strain and, thus, are general health maintenance mechanisms independent of preexisting levels of stressors.

The emotions of managing: an introduction to the special issue

Purpose – This introduction aims to highlight the special contributions made by the articles in this issue in understanding how emotions are implicated in the process of managing.Design/methodology/approach – Presents a model as a means of framing the discussion of the articles included in this issue.Findings – Argues that emotions and emotional skills are essential for everyday managerial work and that the traditional stereotype of the exclusively rational manager has been replaced by one in which managers are expected to create and nourish positive relationships by effectively managing their own emotions and those of their employees.Practical implications – Managers need to be aware of the impact that their expressed emotions have on their work units emotional climate, their employees emotions, their effectiveness as well as that of their employees, and the organizations overall success.Originality/value – The paper offers insight into the emotions of managing.

Restless and confused

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of the emotions experienced by targets of bullying in the workplace.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 180 employees in Canada took part in a cross‐sectional self‐report survey study.Findings – The study found that, for men, in the presence ofu2009belittlement and work being undermined, verbal abuse was negatively associated with confusion, suggesting an active coping strategy. In contrast, for women, in the presence ofu2009belittlement and work being undermined, verbal abuse was positively associated with confusion, suggesting a passive coping strategy.Research limitations/implications – Although this studys cross‐sectional methodology provided a static snapshot of the emotions of bullying, it may be informative to capture emotions as they arise in response to specific episodes and forms of bullying as well as in response to repeated acts of bullying.Practical implications – Workers should be offered resources for understanding and coping const...

Words from the heart speak to the heart: A study of deep acting, faking, and hiding among child care workers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand, from the child care workers perspective, how work experience, display rules, and affectivity are related to emotional labor. It also examines the utility of separating surface acting into its two components: the hiding and faking of emotions.Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on a cross‐sectional self‐report survey of 198 child care workers in Western Canada.Findings – Deep acting occurred more frequently among younger workers, whereas experienced workers hid their feelings more frequently than did their less‐experienced counterparts. The requirement to express positive emotions was associated with deep acting and faking emotions, whereas the requirement to suppress negative emotions was associated with hiding feelings.Research limitations/implications – Results support the treatment of surface actings components as distinct given their differential association with the other variables. Future research should validate the emotional lab...

Sex and position status differences in workplace aggression

Purpose – This study aims to examine sex and position status differences in the experience of workplace aggression. Based on the imbalance of power thesis, the aim is to posit that: women would report targeting other women; men would report targeting either sex; supervisors would report targeting a peer or subordinate; victims would report that a supervisor more often uses indirect forms of aggression; a peer more often uses direct forms of aggression; and; after controlling for position status, men would report using direct forms of aggression more often than women who, in turn, would report using indirect forms of bullying more often than men.Design/methodology/approach – A sample of 180 Canadian supervisory and non‐supervisory workers from several industries completed a questionnaire that included measures of aggressive acts.Findings – Most men reported being targeted by another man, and most women reported being targeted by another woman. Similarly, most men reported that they targeted another man, an...