Emotional Intelligence and its Influence on Burnout from Surface Acting in a Seasonal Service Industry

In the world of customer service, it is commonly believed that the customer is always right, even when they may not be or may be. Roles that carry immediate interaction with the consumer have certain expectations that employees must fulfill, necessitating both surface acting and deep acting; tenets of emotional labor (Diefendorff et al., 2006). Previous research has revealed that relying solely on surface acting can lead to emotional exhaustion and burnout, impacting individuals and even spreading through emotional contagion (Mawritz et al., 2012; Totterdell & Holman, 2003). Leaders turn to emotional intelligence to address these challenges, which can potentially moderate the negative consequences of emotional labor and prevent burnout. This study investigates the role of emotional intelligence as a moderator in reducing burnout resulting from surface acting among summer employees in aerial adventure and zipline parks. Utilizing a quantitative, non-experimental approach our findings contribute to the fields of emotional intelligence and emotional labor.