Emotional labour, burnout and work engagement amongst service centre employees in South Africa
Orientation: Transforming public service delivery is crucial for the South African government. Emotional labour (EL), managing emotions during client interactions, is essential in service centres. Research purpose: This study examined the relationship between EL, burnout and work engagement (WE) am...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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AOSIS
2025-01-01
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| Series: | SA Journal of Human Resource Management |
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| Online Access: | https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/2771 |
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| _version_ | 1823858177619263488 |
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| author | Amanda Erasmus Elrie Oosthuysen |
| author_facet | Amanda Erasmus Elrie Oosthuysen |
| author_sort | Amanda Erasmus |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Orientation: Transforming public service delivery is crucial for the South African government. Emotional labour (EL), managing emotions during client interactions, is essential in service centres.
Research purpose: This study examined the relationship between EL, burnout and work engagement (WE) amongst service centre employees in a South African government organisation.
Motivation for the study: South African government organisations, as sole service providers, require employees to deliver ‘service with a smile’. This increases mental workload and job stressors, leading to negative responses among service centre employees.
Research approach/design and method: Cross-sectional, correlational and nonexperimental quantitative research design was used. The sample consisted of service centre employees in a government organisation.
Main findings: The main findings indicated a positive correlation between EL and burnout, a negative correlation between burnout and work engagement and a negative correlation between EL and work engagement. These findings imply that higher EL leads to increased burnout, and reduces work engagement levels.
Practical/managerial implications: Training on emotional regulation techniques could assist employees with effective emotional management, thereby reducing the negative impact of surface acting on mental well-being. Additionally, it is recommended that the organisation should focus on person–environment fit and personality traits during recruitment to minimise emotional dissonance and burnout amongst employees.
Contribution/value-add: This study is the first of its kind in the South African government organisation and provides insight into the relationship between EL, burnout and work engagement of client service employees. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-20dccd81cf394bce9b3856c599782e24 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1683-7584 2071-078X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | AOSIS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SA Journal of Human Resource Management |
| spelling | doaj-art-20dccd81cf394bce9b3856c599782e242025-02-11T13:29:09ZengAOSISSA Journal of Human Resource Management1683-75842071-078X2025-01-01230e1e1410.4102/sajhrm.v23i0.2771851Emotional labour, burnout and work engagement amongst service centre employees in South AfricaAmanda Erasmus0Elrie Oosthuysen1Optentia Research Unit, School for Industrial Psychology and Human Resource Management, North-West University, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa; and, Department of Talent and Enablement, South African Revenue Service, Pretoria,Optentia Research Unit, School for Industrial Psychology and Human Resource Management, North-West University, VanderbijlparkOrientation: Transforming public service delivery is crucial for the South African government. Emotional labour (EL), managing emotions during client interactions, is essential in service centres. Research purpose: This study examined the relationship between EL, burnout and work engagement (WE) amongst service centre employees in a South African government organisation. Motivation for the study: South African government organisations, as sole service providers, require employees to deliver ‘service with a smile’. This increases mental workload and job stressors, leading to negative responses among service centre employees. Research approach/design and method: Cross-sectional, correlational and nonexperimental quantitative research design was used. The sample consisted of service centre employees in a government organisation. Main findings: The main findings indicated a positive correlation between EL and burnout, a negative correlation between burnout and work engagement and a negative correlation between EL and work engagement. These findings imply that higher EL leads to increased burnout, and reduces work engagement levels. Practical/managerial implications: Training on emotional regulation techniques could assist employees with effective emotional management, thereby reducing the negative impact of surface acting on mental well-being. Additionally, it is recommended that the organisation should focus on person–environment fit and personality traits during recruitment to minimise emotional dissonance and burnout amongst employees. Contribution/value-add: This study is the first of its kind in the South African government organisation and provides insight into the relationship between EL, burnout and work engagement of client service employees.https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/2771emotional labourburnoutwork engagementservice centrepublic service. |
| spellingShingle | Amanda Erasmus Elrie Oosthuysen Emotional labour, burnout and work engagement amongst service centre employees in South Africa SA Journal of Human Resource Management emotional labour burnout work engagement service centre public service. |
| title | Emotional labour, burnout and work engagement amongst service centre employees in South Africa |
| title_full | Emotional labour, burnout and work engagement amongst service centre employees in South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Emotional labour, burnout and work engagement amongst service centre employees in South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Emotional labour, burnout and work engagement amongst service centre employees in South Africa |
| title_short | Emotional labour, burnout and work engagement amongst service centre employees in South Africa |
| title_sort | emotional labour burnout and work engagement amongst service centre employees in south africa |
| topic | emotional labour burnout work engagement service centre public service. |
| url | https://sajhrm.co.za/index.php/sajhrm/article/view/2771 |
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