The status of level of commitment of registered medical technologists (RMTs) may be expressed in relation to emotional labor, which eventually affected job performance and delivery of laboratory results, more so, during a time of pandemic. A total of 106 Metro Manila-based RMTs participated in this descriptive correlational study that determined if emotional labor (EL) is a mediator between the relationship of public service motivation (PSM) and job performance (JP). The online survey questionnaire included identified Demographic Profile variables, Emotional Labor Scale, revised PSM Scale, and Individual Work Performance Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Pearson Product- Moment Correlation and ANOVA were utilized. Results showed that RMTs have average EL in terms of surface acting and high in terms of deep acting, naturally felt emotions, and emotional termination. In terms of PSM, the respondents have an average attraction to policy making and compassion, and have high levels of commitment to public interest, and self-sacrifice. The RMTs have very high JP in terms of task performance and contextual performance, and high counterproductive work behavior. Significant relationships were found among EL, PSM, and JP. However, EL and PSM are not found to be predictors of JP, hence, EL is not a mediator between PSM and JP. The results may serve as a basis for revision of laws or formulation of additional policies beneficial to healthcare workers. Formulation of programs or workshops engaging RMTs on training could reinforce service motivation, emotional stability, and job performance. Results could be a basis for revision of the BSMT curriculum that may include courses on understanding EL, PSM and JP.
Cite this paper
Cortez, G. A. O. , Averilla, M. D. S. , Brotonel, G. P. R. , Leon, M. H. A. J. D. , Lao, A. M. T. , Reyes, K. L. C. , Sharief, A. S. , So, E. J. U. and Diaz, J. T. (2021). Emotional Labor as a Mediator between the Relationship of Public Service Motivation and Job Performance of Registered Medical Technologists. Open Access Library Journal, 8, e8066. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1108066.
Fiori, M. and Vesely-Maillefer, A.K. (2018) Emotional Intelligence as an Ability: Theory, Challenges, and New Directions. In: Keefer, K.V., Parker, J.D.A. and Saklofske, D.H., Eds., Emotional Intelligence in Education Integrating Research with Practice, Springer, Berlin, 23-47. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90633-1_2
Carpenter, J., Doverspike, D. and Miguel, R.F. (2012) Public Service Motivation as a Predictor of Attraction to the Public Sector. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80, 509-523.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.08.004
Ertas, N. (2016) Millennials and Volunteering: Sector Differences and Implications for Public Service Motivation Theory. Public Administration Quarterly, 40, 517-558. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24772881?seq=1
Adam, A. and Kim, P.S. (2020) Why Emotional Labor Is Important for Public Service Motivation and Job Performance? The Case of Civil Servants in Ghana. The Korean Journal of Area Studies, 38, 49-74. https://doi.org/10.29159/KJAS.38.1.2
Ciobanu, A. and Androniceanu, A. (2015) Civil Servants Motivation and Work Performance in Romanian Public Institutions. Procedia Economics and Finance, 30, 164-174. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)01280-0
Hsieh, C.-W., Yang, K. and Fu, K.-J. (2011) Motivational Bases and Emotional Labor: Assessing the Impact of Public Service Motivation. Public Administration Review, 72, 241-251. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2011.02499.x
Psilopanagioti, A., Anagnostopoulos, F., Mourtou, E. and Niakas, D. (2012) Emotional Intelligence, Emotional Labor, and Job Satisfaction among Physicians in Greece. BMC Health Services Research, 12, 463. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-12-463
Pandey, J. and Singh, M. (2015) Donning the Mask: Effects of Emotional Labour Strategies on Burnout and Job Satisfaction in Community Healthcare. Health Policy and Planning, 31, 551-562. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czv102
Palma, R., Crisci, A. and Mangia, G. (2020) Public Service Motivation-Individual Performance Relationship: Does User Orientation Matter? Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 73, Article ID: 100818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seps.2020.100818
O’Boyle, E.H., Humphrey, R.H., Pollack, J.M., Hawver, T.H. and Story, P.A. (2010) The Relation between Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32, 788-818. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.714
Joseph, D.L., Jin, J., Newman, D.A. and O’Boyle, E.H. (2015) Why Does Self-Reported Emotional Intelligence Predict Job Performance? A Meta Analytic Investigation of Mixed EI. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100, 298-342.
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037681
Fogaça, N., Rego, M.C.B., Melo, M.C.C., Armond, L.P. and Coelho, F.A. (2018) Job Performance Analysis: Scientific Studies in the Main Journals of Management and Psychology from 2006 to 2015. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 30, 231-247.
https://doi.org/10.1002/piq.21248
Bashir, A., Amir, A., Jawaad, M. and Hasan, T. (2020) Work Conditions and Job Performance: An Indirect Conditional Effect of Motivation. Cogent Business & Management, 7, Article ID: 1801961. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1801961
Yang, C., Chen, Y. and Zhao, X. (2019, September 18) Emotional Labor: Scale Development and Validation in the Chinese Context. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2095. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02095/full
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02095
Kim, S. (2008) Revising Perry’s Measurement Scale of Public Service Motivation. The American Review of Public Administration, 39, 149-163.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074008317681
Koopmans, L., Bernaards, Hildebrandt, van Buuren, van der Beek and de Vet (2013) 51 Improving the Individual Work Performance Questionnaire Using Rasch Analysis. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 70, A17.3-A18.
https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2013-101717.51
Baron, R.M. and Kenny, D.A. (1986) The Moderator-Mediator Variable Distinction in Social Psychological Research: Conceptual, Strategic, and Statistical Considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173
Lo, S.C. and Huang, K.-P. (2017) The Smiling Mask in Service Encounters: The Impact of Surface and Deep Acting. Evaluation Review, 6, 40-55.
https://www.academia.edu/32405318/The_Smiling_Mask_in_Service_Encounters_The_Impact_of_Surface_and_Deep
Anafarta, N. (2015) Job Satisfaction as a Mediator between Emotional Labor and the Intention to Quit. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 6, 72-81.
Zaluski, M. and Makara-Studzińska, M. (2018) Emotional Labour in Medical Professions. Review of Literature from the Period 2010-2017. Psychiatria I Psychologia Kliniczna, 18, 194-199. https://doi.org/10.15557/PiPK.2018.0023
Lee, Y. and Wilkins, V.M. (2011) More Similarities or More Differences? Comparing Public and Nonprofit Managers’ Job Motivations. Public Administration Review, 71, 45-56. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2010.02305.x
Suhartini and Nurlita, D.E. (2019) The Effect of Public Service Motivation on Employee Performance with Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Job Satisfaction as Its Intervening Variables. Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 8, 283-300.
Macovei, C.M. (2016) Counterproductive Behaviors and Work Performance in Military Organization. International Conference Knowledge-Based Organization, 22, 444-450. https://doi.org/10.1515/kbo-2016-0076
Maneotis, S.M., Grandey, A.A. and Krauss, A.D. (2014) Understanding the “Why” as Well as the “How”: Service Performance Is a Function of Prosocial Motives and Emotional Labor. Human Performance, 27, 80-97.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2013.854366
Kerasidou, A. and Horn, R. (2016) Making Space for Empathy: Supporting Doctors in the Emotional Labour of Clinical Care. BMC Medical Ethics, 17, 8.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-016-0091-7
Barnett, M.D., Hays, K.N. and Cantu, C. (2019) Compassion Fatigue, Emotional Labor, and Emotional Display among Hospice Nurses. Death Studies, 1-7.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2019.1699201
Curtis, K., Gallagher, A., Ramage, C., Montgomery, J., Martin, C., Leng, J., Theodosius, C., Glynn, A., Anderson, J. and Wrigley, M. (2016) Using Appreciative Inquiry to Develop, Implement and Evaluate a Multi-Organisation “Cultivating Compassion” Programme for Health Professionals and Support Staff. Journal of Research in Nursing, 22, 150-165. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987116681376
Yue, Y., Wang, K.L. and Groth, M. (2015) The Impact of Surface Acting on Coworker-Directed Voluntary Workplace Behaviours. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 25, 447-458.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2015.1111874
Kang, S., Lee, J.-A., Hur, W.M. and Chay, J.H. (2016) The Effects of Service Employee’s Surface Acting on Counterproductive Work Behavior: The Mediating Roles of Emotional Exhaustion. Journal of Distribution Science, 14, 73-82.
https://doi.org/10.15722/jds.14.2.201602.73
Sharma, S. and Sharma, S.K. (2014) Emotional Labour and Counterproductive Work- place Behaviour: Evidence from Banking Sector in India. Journal of Organisation & Human Behaviour, 3, 29-38.
https://www.academia.edu/32559086/Emotional_Labour_and_Counterproductive
O’Riordan, J. (2013) Public Service Motivation. An Foras Riaracháin Institute of Public Administration.
https://www.ipa.ie/_fileUpload/Documents/PublicServiceMotivation.pdf
Ritz, A. (2011) Attraction to Public Policy-Making: A Qualitative Inquiry into Improvements in PSM Measurement. Public Administration, 89, 1128-1147.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2011.01923.x
Zubaidah, M.A.S., Ng, S.I., Ho, J.A. and Murali, S. (2019) A Review on Counterproductive Work Behavior (CWB) and EVLN Coping Strategy Model amongst Flight Attendants. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9, 118-138. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v9-i10/6468
Bhardwaj, B. and Kalia, N. (2021) Contextual and Task Performance: Role of Employee Engagement and Organizational Culture in Hospitality Industry. Vilakshan— XIMB Journal of Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/XJM-08-2020-0089
Dziuba, S.T., Ingaldi, M. and Zhuravskaya, M. (2020) Employees’ Job Satisfaction and Their Work Performance as Elements Influencing Work Safety. System Safety: Human—Technical Facility—Environment, 2, 18-25.
https://doi.org/10.2478/czoto-2020-0003
Al Zefeiti, S.M.B. and Mohamad, N.A. (2017) The Influence of Organizational Commitment on Omani Public Employees’ Work Performance. International Review of Management and Marketing, 7, 151-160.
https://ideas.repec.org/a/eco/journ3/2017-02-22.html
Aboul-Ela, G.M.B.E. (2017) Reflections on Workplace Compassion and Job Performance. Journal of Human Values, 23, 234-243.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0971685817713285
Pradhan, S., Jena, L.K. and Bhattacharyya, P. (2018) Transformational Leadership and Contextual Performance. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 67, 445-462. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-08-2016-0186
Choudhary, S., Ismail, A. and Hanif, R. (2017) Individual Compassion Leading to Employees’ Performance: An Empirical Study from Pakistan. Journal of Management and Research, 4, 114-148. https://doi.org/10.29145/jmr/41/040106
Margulescu, A.-M. (2020) The Relationship between Burnout and Counterproductive Work Behavior. The Role of Compassion Fatigue and Organizational Justice. Studia Doctoralia, 11, 72-80. https://doi.org/10.47040/sd/sdpsych.v11i2.113
Banks, G.C., Whelpley, C.E., Oh, I.-S. and Shin, K. (2012) (How) Are Emotionally Exhausted Employees Harmful? International Journal of Stress Management, 19, 198-216. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029249
Hoogervorst, N., De Cremer, D., van Dijke, M. and Mayer, D.M. (2012) When Do Leaders Sacrifice? The Leadership Quarterly, 23, 883-896.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2012.05.006
Sousa, M. and van Dierendonck, D. (2015) Servant Leadership and the Effect of the Interaction between Humility, Action, and Hierarchical Power on Follower Engagement. Journal of Business Ethics, 141, 13-25.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2725-y
Li, R., Zhang, Z.-Y. and Tian, X.-M. (2015) Can Self-Sacrificial Leadership Promote Subordinate Taking Charge? The Mediating Role of Organizational Identification and the Moderating Role of Risk Aversion. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 37, 758-781. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2068
Zhou, R., Long, L. and Hao, P. (2016) Positive Affect, Environmental Uncertainty, and Self-Sacrificial Leadership Influence Followers’ Self-Sacrificial Behavior. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 44, 1515-1524.
https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2016.44.9.1515
Heine, F., van Witteloostuijn, A. and Wang, T.-M. (2021) Self-Sacrifice for the Common Good under Risk and Competition: An Experimental Examination of the Impact of Public Service Motivation in a Volunteer’s Dilemma Game. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, muab017.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muab017
Ma, S., Silva, G., Trigo, V. and Callan, V. (2015) Do Job Positions Matter in Emotional Labor and in Its Relationship with Job Performance? Proceedings of the 11th European Conference on Management Leadership and Governance, Lisbon City, November 12-13 2015, 242-247.
Ghalandari, K., Jogh, M.G.G., Imani, M. and Nia, L.B. (2012) The Effect of Emotional Labor Strategies on Employees Job Performance and Organizational Commitment in Hospital Sector: Moderating Role of Emotional Intelligence in Iran. World Applied Sciences Journal, 17, 319-326.
Bellé, N. (2013) Experimental Evidence on the Relationship between Public Service Motivation and Job Performance. Public Administration Review, 73, 143-153.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2012.02621.x
Miao, Q., Eva, N., Newman, A. and Schwarz, G. (2018) Public Service Motivation and Performance: The Role of Organizational Identification. Public Money & Management, 39, 77-85. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2018.1556004
Stefurak, T., Morgan, R. and Johnson, R.B. (2020) The Relationship of Public Service Motivation to Job Satisfaction and Job Performance of Emergency Medical Services Professionals. Public Personnel Management, 49, 590-616.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0091026020917695
Pratama, A.B. and Nurhidayah, A. (2019) Does Public Service Motivation Matter to Employees’ Performance and Organizational Commitment in Sub-District Offices? JKAP (Jurnal Kebijakan Dan Administrasi Publik), 23, 1.
https://doi.org/10.22146/jkap.37913
Liu, L., Xu, P., Zhou, K., Xue, J. and Wu, H. (2018) Mediating Role of Emotional Labor in the Association between Emotional Intelligence and Fatigue among Chinese Doctors: A Cross-Sectional Study. BMC Public Health, 18, Article No. 881.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5817-7
Nguyen, N. and Stinglhamber, F. (2018) Emotional Labor and Core Self-Evaluations as Mediators between Organizational Dehumanization and Job Satisfaction. Current Psychology, 40, 831-839. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-9988-2
Pan, H., Liu, S., Miao, D. and Yuan, Y. (2018) Sample Size Determination for Mediation Analysis of Longitudinal Data. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18, Article No. 32. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-018-0473-2
