The role of chronological age and work experience on emotional labor The mediating effect of emotional intelligence

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate how chronological age and work experience affect emotional labor strategies (i.e. deep acting and surface acting) through emotional intelligence (EI). Design/methodology/approach - Structural equation modeling analysis provided support for the hypotheses based on a sample of 256 flight attendants working for four South Korean airlines. Findings - The results showed that chronological age has a positive effect on both surface and deep acting. The study also found that work experience has a negative influence on surface acting, whereas it has a non-significant effect on deep acting. In addition, the investigation suggests that EI mediates the relationship between work experience and deep acting. Originality/value - The current study will add to the growing body of research on emotional labor by examining the effect of chronological age and work experience on emotional labor strategies through EI.