Differences in emotion regulation strategies across time and situational contexts among emotion laborers

Abstract

This study investigated emotional experience and emotion regulations among emotional laborers at work and off work across work years. In order to make a cross-sectional approach, 165 cabin crews were recruited from a commercial airline in Korea, whose work experiences varies from 1 month to longer than 16 years. The results of regression analysis showed that negative emotional experiences were explained by work years. However, positive emotional experiences reduced among laborers with up to around 8 work years and then increased. Such curvlinear pattern was also found in cognitive reappraisal, which is a type of emotion regulation strategies. In addition, we conducted moderation analyses to investigate the association between emotion regulation at work and off work in terms of work years. The results showed that the association between cognitive reappraisal at work and off work were stronger among laborers with short work years than those with long work years. These findings suggest that the maladaptive consequences of emotional labor such as less positive emotional experiences, less cognitive reappraisal, and more spillover effect may tone down at some point of work years. Theoretical implications and suggestions for practitioners were included.