Relationships between emotional labor, job burnout, and emotional intelligence: an analysis combining meta-analysis and structural equation modeling

Yin-Che Chen; Zhi-Ling Huang; Hui-Chuang Chu

doi:10.1186/s40359-024-02167-w

Relationships between emotional labor, job burnout, and emotional intelligence: an analysis combining meta-analysis and structural equation modeling

BMC Psychol. 2024 Nov 18;12(1):672. doi: 10.1186/s40359-024-02167-w.

Authors

Yin-Che Chen¹, Zhi-Ling Huang¹, Hui-Chuang Chu²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, National Tsing Hua University, 521 Nanda Rd, Hsinchu City, Taiwan.
² Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, National Tsing Hua University, 521 Nanda Rd, Hsinchu City, Taiwan. hcchu@mx.nthu.edu.tw.

Abstract

The present study adopted a meta-analysis design that incorporated structural equation modeling to explore the relationships between emotional labor (EL), job burnout (JB), and emotional intelligence (EI), and enable model validation. The results revealed that EL and JB were significantly and positively correlated, that EI was significantly and positively correlated with EL, and that EI was significantly and negatively correlated with JB. The SEM parameter estimation values were all positive, reaching the level of significance and meeting the basic fit criteria. The total effect size of EL on JB was 0.289, which was equal to the sum of the direct and indirect effect sizes (0.371-0.082). This result indicated that EL affected JB through EI, validating the presence of a moderating effect. Finally, the results were discussed, and practical suggestions were proposed.

Keywords: Emotional intelligence; Emotional labor; Job burnout; Meta-analysis; Structural equation modeling.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis

MeSH terms

Burnout, Professional* / psychology
Emotional Intelligence*
Emotions
Humans
Latent Class Analysis*