Crack a smile: the causes and consequences of emotional labour dysregulation in Australian reef tourism

There is a dearth of literature exploring the factors that cause emotional labour dysregulation and their resulting consequences within the reef tourism industry. To address this gap, this study examines the factors linked to emotional labour dysregulation and the social and affective consequences for reef tourism workers arising from emotional labour dysregulation. A total of eight focus groups utilizing a generative scenario technique were undertaken with reef tourism employees (n = 42) in Cairns, a destination in Far North Queensland offering easy access to the Great Barrier Reef using commercial tourism vessels. Analysis via Grounded Theory identified twelve causes and six social and affective consequences of emotional labour dysregulation, illustrating the role of multiple and interrelating factors in emotional labour dysregulation. Consideration is given to opportunities for better management of tourism employee emotional labour and future research directions.