Measuring Emotional Labor among Young Workers

Abstract

This analysis examines the applicability of the emotional labor scale from the Emotions at Work Scale (EWS) through the assessment of its psychometric properties in a sample of young workers. Factor analysis and test—retest reliability were conducted on a 13-item scale measuring emotional labor. The EWS 13-item emotional labor scale was refined to 9 items. Two subscales were delineated: 5 items measured surface acting and 4 items measured deep acting, each with a mean inter-item correlation of 0.33. Cronbach's alpha was .96 for the 9-item scale, and .71 and .67 for the surface acting and deep acting subscales, respectively. Test—retest reliability was 0.64 for surface acting and 0.51 for deep acting during a mean interval of 3 months. Emotional labor can be quantitatively measured among young workers using the derived 9-item scale, although additional studies further evaluating its use should be conducted.