Development and cross-national validation of the Emotional Effort Scale (EEF)

Researchers define Emotional Labour (EL) as the effort associated with meeting the emotional requirements of the job, yet nobody has ever directly tested this effort. Building on classic stress and ego depletion theory, this study develops the Emotional Effort Scale (EEF). Methods: In Study 1, explo...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Quiñones García, Cristina, Rodríguez Carvajal, Raquel, Moreno Jiménez, Bernardo, Clarke, Nicholas
Format: article
Publication Date:2013
Country:España
Institution:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repository:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/666562
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10486/666562
https://dx.doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2012.289
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Emotional labour
Surface acting
Emotional effort
Emotional exhaustion
Instrumental study
Trabajo emocional
Actuación superficial
Esfuerzo emocional
Cansancio emocional
Estudio instrumental
Psicología
Description
Summary:Researchers define Emotional Labour (EL) as the effort associated with meeting the emotional requirements of the job, yet nobody has ever directly tested this effort. Building on classic stress and ego depletion theory, this study develops the Emotional Effort Scale (EEF). Methods: In Study 1, exploratory (N = 197) and confi rmatory factor analysis (N = 182) were conducted with a British sample. In Study 2, the instrument was adapted to Spanish and measurement invariance was tested (N = 304). In Study 3, (N = 185), we tested convergent and divergent validity with the EL strategies (i.e., surface acting and deep acting) and the relationship between EEF and emotional exhaustion. Results: The final scale is a two-dimensional measure (explicit and implicit emotional effort) with good reliability levels in all samples (N = 818). Additionally, it shows adequate convergent, divergent and nomological validity. Conclusions: The Emotional Effort construct adds unique value to the literature. Thus, explicit effort seems to be the mechanism that explains the association between EL and exhaustion. Additionally, this study adapts and translates the measure to two of the most used languages in the world, enabling the emergence of cross-national studies in the fi eld of emotions at work