Hier wird Wissen Wirklichkeit The Psychology of Service: Interacting with Customers and Clients Part...

Hier wird Wissen Wirklichkeit

The Psychology of Service: Interacting with Customers and Clients

Part I

Dieter Zapf

Valencia

12th March 2008

Johann Wolfgang Goethe-UniversitätFrankfurt am Main

Fachbereich Psychologie und Sportwissenschaften Institut für PsychologieUniversität Frankfurt, Institut für Psychologie, 60054 Frankfurt Arbeits- & Organisationspsychologie

Dieter Zapf2 Hier wird Wissen Wirklichkeit

Content

1. What is service?

2. Emotional labour – emotion work

3. Emotional job requirements

4. Antecedents of Emotion Work and Emotional Job Requirements

5. Emotional Job Requirements and Well-being at Work


Increased Importance of Service Work

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1950 1999

in %

Primary Sector (Agriculture)

Secondary Sector (Industries)

Tertiary Sector (Service)

(Source: Statistisches Bundesamt, 1999)


1. What is Service?


What is Service?

A problem of a customer is solved or a need is satisfied

Not production of a product, but adding something to a product or

changing a product

The process is in parts intangible

Normally, there is no mutual obligation between the partners of the

service interaction

There is a social interaction between a service provider and a

customer or client either face-to-face or mediated by electronic

media such as telephone

The interaction itself is part of service delivery. Therefore it has to

satisfy certain requirements

Corsten (1997); Nerdinger (1994)


Human Service Work

The customers/clients themselves are the subject-matter of service performance

This includes a direct impact on

Cognitive/intellectual,

emotional or

Physical

aspects of a person.

Examples: Physicians, nurses, teachers, social workers, hairdressers

Coincidence of production and consumption with regard to time and location: the

uno-actu-principle

The client has to ‘co-operate’ to make the service successful:

Co-Production


2. Emotional Labour

Emotion Work


Smiling and

humour is good for

our well-being


Smiling and

humour is good for

our well-being

However: being

EXPECTED to smile

all day is a different

story!


Emotion Work / Emotional Labour

Occurs in interactions with customers or clients

Organisations expect that employees behave in a certain

way in these interactions

This implies to display certain emotions based on so-called

display rules

The ‘friendly smile’ becomes a job

requirement!


First study of sociologist Arlie Russel Hochschild (1983):

Flight Attendants of Delta Airlines

Business man: Let’s have a smile.

Flight attendant: Okay. I’ll tell you what, first you smile and then

I’ll smile, okay?

Business man: smiles

Flight attendant: Good. Now hold that for 15 hours. walks away



Defined as

the paid work which

requires the regulation of one’s own emotions

to display an organisationally desired emotion in mimics, gestures and voice,

independent of whether or not this corresponds to the inner feelings (after Hochschild, 1983)



Framework Models of

Rafaeli & Sutton (1987)

Morris & Feldman (1996)

Grandey (2000)



Framework Model of Service Work in Organisations

Secondary Task

Interaction -oriented Sub-GoalsRequirement to express positive, negative or sympathy emotions Sensitivity RequirementsEmotional Dissonance

Redefinition Internal Task

Redefined Goals

Primary Task

Cognitive Regulation RequirementsE.g. Complexity

CognitiveAction Regulation

Goal Specification, Planning,Monitoring, Feedback

Emotion regulation

AutomatedEmotion regulation

surface actingdeep acting

Emotional deviance

Object-oriented Sub-Goals

Secondary taskparallel to primary task

Automatisation

• Occupational IdentitySocialisationPersonalityEmotionalCompetencies

Performance

Well-being

Service Organisation

Work Task

Organisational Goals

Customer Orientation

Display rules

External Tasks

••••

Regulation of Work Behaviour

Consequences

Customers

Frequency, Duration, Quality

of Service Interactions

Regulation problems (job stressors)


Secondary Task



Redefined Goals

Primary Task




Emotion regulation



Emotional deviance



Automatisation


Performance

Well-being


Work Task



Display rules

External Tasks

••••


Consequences

Customers




Ante-cedents

Con-sequences

Work Process

Cognitive/Motivational/emotional regulation

Job Require-ments



3. Emotional Job Requirements


Secondary Task



Redefined Goals

Primary Task




Emotion regulation



Emotional deviance



Automatisation


Performance

Well-being


Work Task



Display rules

External Tasks

••••


Consequences

Customers




Emotional DemandsRequirements

Behaviour Requirement Approach of Hackman (1970)



Job Demands in the History of Work Psychology

Physical Demands

Cognitive Demands

Emotional Demands

“Muscles Work“, Environmental factors (noise, heat, etc.)

Activation of cognitive resources; action control: goal setting, planning, execution, feedback processing

Activation of emotional resources; perception, appraisal, display and control of emotions

In Service Occupations:


Dimensions of Emotion Work - Emotional Requirements

Requirement to display positive emotions

Item example: „Does it occur in your job that you have to express pleasant emotions towards clients?” (very often – very rarely/never)

Requirement to display negative emotions

Item example: „Does it occur in your job that you have to express unpleasant emotions towards clients?” (very often – very rarely/never)

Requirement to display neutrality

Item example: „How often do you yourself have to come across as being neutral and impartial when dealing with clients?” (very often – very rarely/never)

Requirement to display sympathy emotions

Item example: „Please mark how often you are required to display them when working with clients - sympathy” (very often – very rarely/never)

Requirement to be sensitive to emotions of others

Item example: „Is it important in your job to know, how clients feel?” (very often – very rarely/never)

Instrument: Frankfurt Emotion Work Scales FEWS 4.2Zapf, Werner, Holz, Fischbach & Dormann (submitted)


Emotional Dissonance

The requirement of the organisation to display emotions in interactions with customers, clients, students, etc. in mimics, gestures and voice which are not felt in that particular moment.

The dissonance between displayed and felt emotions (Rafaeli & Sutton, 1987)

Item examples“How often does it occur in your job that one has to display positive emotions while feeling indifferent?”

“How often does it occur in your job that one has to display positive emotions which do not correspond to what is felt in this situation?”



Emotion Work Control

Autonomy with regard to display rules end emotional requirements

Item examples“How often can you decide for yourself on as to which emotions to display towards the client? ?”

“Person A has strict instructions from the company on how to deal with his/her own feelings and those of the clients.

Person B has hardly any instructions from the company on how to deal with either his/her own feelings nor those of the clients

Which one of these two jobs is most similar to yours? ”



Emotion Work in Call Centers and other Service and Non-Service Jobs

1,51,71,92,12,32,52,72,93,13,33,53,73,94,14,34,5

PositiveEmotions

NegativeEmotions

SensitivityRequirements

EmotionalDissonance

Call Centers No Services Services Human Services

Emotion Work in Service Branches


Emotion Work in Different Service Branches

1,50

2,00

2,50

3,00

3,50

4,00

4,50

Positive E Sympathy E Negative E Neutrality Sensitivity R E W Control EmotionalDissonance

InsuranceRetailSocial affairsHospitalSocial WSecurityTravel ATeachersCall Centres


1,50

2,00

2,50

3,00

3,50

4,00

4,50

Positive E Sympathy E Negative E Neutrality Sensitivity R E W Control EmotionalDissonance

Social Workers

Call Centres

Emotion Work in Different Service Branches


Emotion Work – Desired Emotions

1,00

1,50

2,00

2,50

3,00

3,50

4,00

4,50

5,00Several times/hour

Several times/day

Once/day

Once/week

seldom/never


4. Antecedents of Emotion Work

and

Emotional Job Requirements


Secondary Task



Redefined Goals

Primary Task




Emotion regulation



Emotional deviance



Automatisation


Performance

Well-being


Work Task



Display rules

External Tasks

••••


Consequences

Customers

Frequency, Duration,

Social Qualityof Service Interactions


Antecedents of Emotion WorkAntecedents of Emotion Work



Secondary Task



Redefined Goals

Primary Task




Emotion regulation



Emotional deviance



Automatisation


Performance

Well-being


Work Task



Display rules

External Tasks

••••


Consequences

Customers






Antecedents of Emotion Work ?



Relation between Antecedents and Emotion Work : Cross-sectional Study

Positive emotions

Sympathy emotions

Negative emotions

Sensitivity requiremen

t

Emotional dissonance

Step 1 β β β β β

total Time .32 ** .18 ** .14 ** .20 ** .28 **

Display rules .19 ** .15 ** -.07 ** .11 ** .08 **

Mean duration .01 .14 ** .16 ** .17 ** -.12 **

Task complex .02 .23 ** .28 ** .28 ** .15 **

F 65.33 ** 60.24 ** 60.39 ** 80.59 ** 40.45 **

R2 15.9 14.9 14.9 18.9 10.5

Step 2

Negative quality of interaction

.13 ** .26 ** .40 ** .22 ** .45 **

F 27.20 ** 106.41** 288.15 ** 80.62 ** 382.29 **

ΔR2 1.6 6.1 14.7 4.5 19.4

R2 17.5 21.1 29.6 23.3 29.8

Field study: 6 service organisations; N=1391

Zapf, Werner, Holz, Fischbach & Dormann (submitted)


Experimental Simulation of a Call Centre

Situation

Experimental Group: be friendly!

Control Group: be authentic!


The Effect of Display Rules on Emotional Dissonance: Experimental Study

4,20

2,33

1

1,5

2

2,5

3

3,5

4

4,5

Friendly Authentic

t=7,70; p<.01; d=3.55Experiment 2: Call centre agent in a recruitment agency for students; N=18

Fischbach & Zapf (2005)

Quality of interactionInteraction timeDuration Held constantComplexity


5. Emotional Job Requirements

and Well-being at Work


Secondary Task



Redefined Goals

Primary Task




Emotion regulation



Emotional deviance



Automatisation


Performance

Well-being


Work Task



Display rules

External Tasks

••••


Consequences

Customers






?



Burnout

Burnout(Maslach Burnout Inventory)

Emotional Exhaustion

the feeling of being burnt out and frustrated; working with people is perceived as very effortful

Depersonalization

the tendency to treat clients like objects; becoming indifferent and apathetic with regard to clients

Personal Accomplishment

the feeling of having energy to do things and of being able to meet one’s aspirations

Emotional Labour


Hochschild (1983):

High load of Emotion Work


Alienation of one’s Feelings

Psychological Strain Psychosomatic complaints, alcohol problems, sexual problems

Emotion Work has Negative Effects

Negative Effects of Emotion Work


Positive Effects of Emotion Requirements

Affiliation needs are met

Recognition, status

Experience of successful interaction, feelings of self efficacy

Positive reaction in return

Facial feedback hypothesis: Display of positive emotions induces

positive feelings


Relations between Emotion Work and Burnout

Service Sample (Kindergarden, Hotels, Banks, Call Center, Social workers (N=1032)

Italic and in parentheses:

representative sample (N=405)

Neuroticism

PositiveEmotions

NegativeEmotions

Sensitiv.Requirem

EmotionalDissonance

Personl.Accompl

EmotionalExhaustion

Deperso-nalisation

.51 ( ).61

.48 ( ).44 .39 ( ).47

-.24 (-.32)

.18(.21)

.10

.28(.34)

.11 (.12 p<.10)

.33(.42)

-.06.11

(-.08n.s.)

.08 (.15)

.25 (.09n.s.)

.23 (.16)

.35 (.34)

.11(.06; n.s.)

-.09 (-.21 ). .39 (.43)

-.12 (-.19)

-.07

from: Zapf & Holz (2006, EJWOP)


Relations between Emotion Work and Burnout

Service Sample (Kindergarden, Hotels, Banks, Call Center, Social workers (N=1032)

Italic and in parentheses:

representative sample (N=405)

from: Zapf & Holz (2006, EJWOP)


Why is Emotional Dissonance Interesting?

Although hypothesised, emotional demands did not play a role in empirical studies in the prediction of burnout for a long time (see., e.g., Lee & Ashforth, 1996; Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998)

Quantitative indicators describing interactions with customers (no. of customers, frequency of service interaction; time working with customers or clients) tended to show no correlation with burnout (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998; Zapf, 2002)

Qualitative indicators such as verbal customer aggression predict burnout are strong predictors (Dormann & Zapf, 2004), but are of relevance only for a minority (<20%; i.e., many report not to be exposed to customer aggression)

In contrast, emotional dissonance is a sensitive qualitative indicator to describe service interactions


The Status of Emotional Dissonance

Is Emotional Dissonance

a Stressor or

a Stress Reaction?

A characteristic of the situation/ environment that has an impact on the individual

An individual reaction elicited by a stressor and as such a characteristic of

the individual


The Status of Emotional Dissonance

•Emotional Dissonance as job requirement (Hackman, 1971)

4-dimensional model of Morris & Feldman (1996) Pugliesi (1999): self-focused emotional labour Abraham (1998): Difference scores Schaubroeck & Jones (2000): requirement to suppress negative emotional efference Zapf et al., (1999): regulation problem

•Emotional Dissonance as psychological/behavioural strategy

Brotheridge & Lee (2003) and Brotheridge & Grandey (2002): surface acting and deep acting


The Status of Variables in the Stress Process

Situation AppraisalCoping/

BehaviourOutcome

ReappraisalHow often in your job do you have to display emotions that do not agreewith your true

feelings?

How much do you feel

hampered by having to express

emotions you don’t feel?

I feel exhausted because I have to express emotions which I don‘t feelHow often do

you express emotions which you do not feel

at that moment?


How can the Status of Emotional Dissonance as a Job Requirement be Justified

Emotion theory: Inter-individual differences stronger for regulation, but less for the experience of emotion

Emotional dissonance can be induced in experiments

Emotional Dissonance depends on

The frequency of interactions

Existence and Monitoring of display rules

Autonomy with regard to display rules

Quality of service interaction (conflicts, negative customer behaviour)


What we know so far about Emotional Dissonance and Burnout ...

In cross-sectional studies, emotional dissonance is associated with emotional exhaustion (around .30) and depersonalisation (around .30) (Zapf, 2002, HRMR)

But there is a lack of longitudinal field studies which allow the investigation of cause and effect


Hypotheses: Causal and Reversed Effects

According to Hochschild (1983): Causal Effects

Reverse Effects: Employees under strain are less able to show the required positive emotions. Thus strain increases emotional dissonance

Emotion work

Requirem.


Strain

StrainEmotional Dissonance

Emotion work

Requirem.


Instruments

Frankfurt Emotion Work Scales (FEWS 4.0, Zapf et al., 1999; 2005)

The Requirement to Display Positive Emotions refer to the requirement to show pleasant emotions (e.g. "In your job how often does it occur that you have to display pleasant emotions towards your clients?").

The Requirement to Display Negative Emotions This scale asks for the necessity of displaying and dealing with unpleasant emotions (example item: "How often does it occur in your job that you have to display unpleasant emotions towards your clients?").

Sensitivity Requirements

This scale examines whether empathy or knowledge about clients' current feelings are required by the job (e.g. "Does your job require paying attention to the feelings of your clients?").


refers to the display of unfelt emotions and to the suppression of felt but organizationally undesired emotions (e g. "How often does it occur in your job that one has to display positive emotions which do not correspond to what is felt in this situation?”)


Maslach Burnout Inventory MBI, German version, Büssing & Perrar, 1992

Emotional Exhaustion

the feeling of being burnt out and frustrated; working with people is perceived as very effortful

Depersonalization

the tendency to treat clients like objects; becoming indifferent and apathetic with regard to clients

Personal Accomplishment

the feeling of having energy to do things and of being able to meet one’s aspirations

Instruments


Sample

Municipal youth and social welfare office of one of Germany’s large cities; (N=151): administrative staff, social workers (“paper work”)

Hospital (N=54): Nurses, Physicians, administrative staff

Total sample: N=205 Men age: 42 years at time 1 Women: 68%, Men: 32%

Sample for LISREL analyses due to listwise deletion: N=188


Correlation between Emotion Work and Burnout

Pos Emo Neg Emo Sensitivity Emo Dis Emo Exh Pers Acc Depersonals

Pos Emo T1 1,00T2 1,00 p<.01 for r>.17T3 1,00

Neg Emo T1 0,13 1,00 p<.05 for r>.13T2 0,09 1,00T3 0,18 1,00 198 < N < 202

Sensitivity T1 0,57 0,26 1,00T2 0,57 0,26 1,00T3 0,60 0,25 1,00

Emo Dis T1 0,27 0,50 0,41 1,00T2 0,18 0,47 0,39 1,00T3 0,29 0,46 0,37 1,00

Emo Exh T1 -0,07 0,40 0,05 0,46 1,00T2 -0,05 0,35 0,17 0,47 1,00T3 -0,04 0,33 0,07 0,43 1,00

Pers Acc T1 0,32 -0,07 0,28 -0,01 -0,36 1,00T2 0,33 -0,08 0,27 -0,15 -0,34 1,00T3 0,43 0,06 0,36 0,01 -0,29 1,00

Depersonals T1 -0,18 0,41 -0,06 0,40 0,61 -0,24 1,00T2 -0,17 0,50 0,08 0,47 0,67 -0,23 1,00T3 -0,06 0,50 0,06 0,49 0,75 -0,22 1,00


Measurement Model

E Dis 1

E Exh 1

E Dis 2

E Exh 2

E Dis 3

E Exh 3

ED11 ED12 ED21 ED22 ED31 ED32

EE11 EE12 EE21 EE22 EE31 EE32


Effects of Positive Emotions and Emotional Dissonance on Burnout

Pos E 1

E Dis 1

E Exh 1

P Acc 1

Pos E 2

E Dis 2

E Exh 2

P Acc 2

Pos E 3

E Dis 3

E Exh 3

P Acc 3

Baseline Model

Time 1 Time 2 Time 3


Pos E 1

E Dis 1

E Exh 1

P Acc 1

Pos E 2

E Dis 2

E Exh 2

P Acc 2

Pos E 3

E Dis 3

E Exh 3

P Acc 3

Conceptual Model




Pos E 1

E Dis 1

E Exh 1

P Acc 1

Pos E 2

E Dis 2

E Exh 2

P Acc 2

Pos E 3

E Dis 3

E Exh 3

P Acc 3


Reversed Causation Model 1: Exh E Dis



Pos E 1

E Dis 1

E Exh 1

P Acc 1

Pos E 2

E Dis 2

E Exh 2

P Acc 2

Pos E 3

E Dis 3

E Exh 3

P Acc 3

Reversed Causation Model 2: All Effects Reversed




Model Comparison

Model 2 (d.f.=203) AICAIC= 2 + 2t

t: no. of estimated parameters

Baseline (d.f.=212) 341,60 517,60

Conceptual 264,05 458,05

Exhaustion causes dissonance 276,45 470,45

All Effects reversed 281,27 475,27

2 (d.f.=9, p<.05) = 16,92



Pos E 1

E Dis 1

E Exh 1

P Acc 1

Pos E 2

E Dis 2

E Exh 2

P Acc 2

Pos E 3

E Dis 3

E Exh 3

P Acc 3

.30

.36

.62

n.s. -.14

-.42

.88 .91

.80 .77

.61 .60

.59 .63.14

.23

-.28

.14

.25

-.15.27


GFI = .89 okAGFI = .84 okNFI = .92 NNFI = .97 CFI = .98 RMSEA = .040

SRMR = .076

-.12

Zapf, Holz, Dollard & Werner (submitted)

Results from a 3-wave Longitudinal Study


Effects of Sensitivity Requirements and Emotional Dissonance on Burnout

Sens 1

E Dis 1

E Exh 1

P Acc 1

Sens 2

E Dis 2

E Exh 2

P Acc 2

Sens 3

E Dis 3

E Exh 3

P Acc 3

.46

.37

.51

-.44

.83 .70

.71 .72

.76 .56

.58 .65.15

.14

-.30

.19

.24

-.17.23

.17





Effects of Negative Emotions and Emotional Dissonance on Burnout

Neg E 1

E Dis 1

E Exh 1

P Acc 1

Neg E 2

E Dis 2

E Exh 2

P Acc 2

Neg E 3

E Dis 3

E Exh 3

P Acc 3

.56

-.08ns

.56

ns -.11

-.39

.80 .48

.71 .79

.63 .61

.64 .72.07

.20

-.29

.23

-.17.13


.44

.19 .29 -.01 ns

Chi2 = 241.52, df=202, p=.03GFI = .90 okAGFI = .86 okNFI = .93 NNFI = .98 CFI = .98 RMSEA = .032 SRMR = .059




Experimental Simulation of a Call Centre

Situation

Experimental Group: be friendly!

Control Group: be authentic!


Method

Experimental simulation of a call centre situation

Anger induction: A customer complaint in a call centre of German Railway (the customer was a confederate of the experimenters, semi-standardized dialog)


Method

Sample: 82 women (19-55 years), mainly psychology students

Experiment:

Authentic behaviour

Friendly behaviour

Trait Anger (-)* N = 20 N = 20

Trait Anger (+)* N = 21 N = 21

* Median split of the State-Trait-Anger Inventory, German version (STAXI, Schwenkmezger et al., 1992)


Method

Instruments:

• State-Trait Anger Inventory STAXI (German version: Schwenkmezger, Hodapp, 1993)• Surface acting, deep acting, venting (adapted from Grandey, 2003)• PANAS Negative Affectivity NA scale German version (Krohne et al., 1992)• Heart rate• Verbal fluency: observer rating (trained observers rated videos of the experiment) (Interrater agreement 83%) • Memory test: participants were asked for standardised information provided by the confederate in the experiment (how much information recalled; e.g.: where did the customer want to travel?

How much money was she charged?, etc.): % of correct answers


0,36

1,09

1,47

1,63

0,76

1,761,86

0,86

0

0,2

0,4

0,6

0,8

1

1,2

1,4

1,6

1,8

2

EmotionalDissonance

Surface Acting Deep Acting Venting

AuthenticFriendly

Manipulation Check

2=12.71, p<.01

F (1;78)=23.56, p<.001

F (1;78)=17.81, p<.001

F (1;78)=6.42, p<.01


Changes in State NA rate before and after the experiment

Hypothesis 1: Emotion regulation results in a higher level of state-negative affectivity

1,29

1,43

1

1,05

1,1

1,15

1,2

1,25

1,3

1,35

1,4

1,45

1,5

State NA

Authentic

Friendly

n.s.


1,00

0,44

0,00

0,10

0,20

0,30

0,40

0,50

0,60

0,70

0,80

0,90

1,00

Friendly Authentic

t=2,54; p<.01; d=1.13

The Effect of Display Rules on State Negative Affect (PANAS): Experimental Study

Experiment 2: Call centre agent in a recruitment agency for students; N=18

Fischbach & Zapf (2005)


Psychophysiological Correlates of Anger Suppression in the Workplace (Rohrmann, Dinand, Meixner, Bechtoldt, & Zapf, submitted)

80

85

90

95

100

105

110

1st minute 2nd minute 3rd minute 4th minute 5th minute

Fraction of Time during the Customer Interaction

Hea

rt R

ate

per

Min

ute

authentic friendly

p = .008

N=80


72

74

76

78

80

82

Prior the Interaction After the Interaction

Time of Measurement

Hea

rt R

ate

per

Min

ute

authentic friendly

p = .038

N=80

Psychophysiological Correlates of Anger Suppression in the Workplace (Rohrmann, Dinand, Meixner, Bechtoldt, & Zapf, submitted)


Summary: Relations between Emotional Job Requirements and Well-being

1. Relations were demonstrated by - cross-sectional- longitudinal- experimental studies

2. Emotional dissonance had negative effects in all studies

3. The requirement to display positive emotions and sensitivity requirements had positive effects feeling s of accomplishment. (Mixed results for the other variables)

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