Commitment to emotional display rules as a moderator between emotional labor and sense of accomplishment. A study of fitness instructors in Korea

Taehee Kim, Jaehyuk Cha and Kyungro Chang

College of Sport Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Korea

Citation

Kim, T., Cha, J., Chang, K. (2019). Commitment to emotional display rules as a moderator between emotional labor and sense of accomplishment. A study of fitness instructors in Korea. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 50(3), 220-238. doi:10.7352/IJSP.2019.50.220

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between emotional labor and sense of accomplishment, and the potential role of commitment to emotional display rules in moderating the proposed relationship. A total of 293 instructors in 15 fitness centers participated in this study. The results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that surface acting was not related to sense of accomplishment, whereas deep acting was positively related to sense of accomplishment. The results also indicated that commitment to emotional display rules moderated the relationships of surface acting with sense of accomplishment, and deep acting with sense of accomplishment, such that commitment to display rules strengthens the association of surface and deep acting with sense of accomplishment.

Keywords: Emotional labor, Emotional display rule commitment, Fitness instructor, Sense of accomplishment