Transactional Leadership Behaviour and Workers Emotional Labour in Nigerian Hospitality Industry

This study investigates the effect of transactional leadership behaviour on workers emotional labour in Nigerian hospitality industry. Cross sectional research survey was employed in the study. Two hundred and sixty workers were surveyed from twenty selected four star hotels in Abakaliki with a sample size of one hundred and fifty five. Questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection. Cronbach α was used to determine the instrument reliability. Linear regression was used to analysed the hypotheses. The study found that transactional leadership behaviour dimensions have positive significant effect on the measures of workers emotional labour in Nigerian hospitality industry. This study concludes that transactional leadership behaviour that is measured in term of transactional leadership behaviour dimensions such as contingent rewards and active management by exception increases workers emotional labour in Nigerian hospitality industry. The implication of this study is that hospitality practitioners and managers should employ transactional leadership behaviour to influence their workers by rewarding them for their performance and effectiveness.