HOW EMOTIONAL LABOR INFLUENCES WORKER PRIDE, JOB SATISFACTION, AND BURNOUT An Examination of Consumer Complaint Workers

Emotional labor-that is, work that requires public employees to be emotionally engaged with citizens-is an emerging issue on the performance front. By examining a state agency whose primary goal is to resolve consumer complaints, this paper analyzes the conditions under which emotional labor influences three work outcomes that affect performance: job satisfaction, pride in work, and burnout. Results indicate that the performance of emotional labor is self-motivating and contributes to pride in work and to job satisfaction, just as it does in more emotionally intense jobs such as emergency services and law enforcement. We conclude that managing affect is central to program success whenever workers must interact with citizens, regardless of the emotional intensity of the work.