The study of the Correlation among Emotional Labor, Emotion Regulation, Psychological Flexibility and Mental Health in Public Service Workers

• Main Authors: Hu, Che-Hsin, 胡哲馨
• Other Authors: Chen, Hsiu-Jung
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2016
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/68501654179808798946

碩士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 教育心理與輔導學系 === 104 === Aim: When front-line public service workers earned quality of service, they have to exhibit particular affection and emotion, so-called emotional labor. The present study focused on if the emotion regulation strategies and psychological flexibility can mediate the effects between the emotional labor and mental health. The purposes of the present study were: (1) To explore the relationships among emotional labor, emotion regulation, psychological flexibility, and negative mental health of public service workers. (2) To test the predictability weight of emotional labor, cognition reappraisal, expression suppression and psychological flexibility to negative mental health. (3) To find the role of the cognition reappraisal, expression suppression or psychological flexibility variables between emotional labor and negative mental health. Method: The present study surveyed a total of 428 civil servants of Household registration office of Taipei City. Participants were required to complete 5 questionnaires, including general information, emotional labor questionnaire, emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ), acceptance and action questionnaire-II (AAQ-II) and general health questionnaire (GHQ-28). According to the study purposes, statistical methods were included independent sample t-test, MANOVA, Pearson product-moment correlation and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Results: (1) The more emotional labor public service workers had, the less psychological flexibility and the more negative mental health symptoms they had. (2) Psychological flexibility was the main factor to negatively predict negative mental health, including somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction and severe depression. (3) The mediating effect of psychological flexibility was showed between emotional labor and negative mental health, also same relations found in other negative mental health sub-scales including somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction, or severe depression separately. Discussion: (1) The psychological flexibility gave full play for emotional labor workers to promote their health. (2) Cognitive reappraisal need through psychological flexibility influenced negative mental health. (3) Suppression only with emotional labor moderated the negative mental health. Our study suggested a mental health improving model for our emotional labor public service workers as well as some actual practices and policy can include in the on-the-job training program.