Emotional labor in healthcare: the role of work perceptions and personality traits

Using the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model as the theoretical framework, this study investigates how the perception of the work environment predicts the emotional labor strategies, and the moderating effect of personality traits on this relationship. Data were collected through the Portuguese Nurses Council, yielding 180 valid questionnaires. The perceptions of the work environment were measured through the Practice Environment Scale for Nurse Working Index (PES-NWI). Emotional labor strategies and the personality traits, in turn, were measured through the Emotional Labor Scale (ELS) and the Big Five Inventory Scale (BFIS) respectively. The hypothesized model was tested through a hierarchical multiple regression and bias-corrected bootstrap analyses (using 1000 bootstrap samples) with the PROCESS macros. The results reveal a negative relationship between perception of the work environment and the adoption of a deep acting strategy. This relationship happens when individuals score high in consciousness and openness and when individuals score low in extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. When healthcare institutions offer a good work environment, nurses try to do their utmost to make their emotions correspond with what is expected of them. Thus, healthcare managers need to better understand how organizational policies and practices are translated into the work environment.