Effects of Emotional Labor, Anger, and Work Engagement on Work-Life Balance of Mental Health Specialists Working in Mental Health Welfare Centers

Abstract

This study is a descriptive survey aiming to examine the general characteristics, emotional labor, anger, and work engagement of mental health specialists at mental health welfare centers and determine their effects on work-life balance (WLB). A total of 193 mental health specialists from 21 mental health welfare centers at metropolitan cities U and B were enrolled. A self-report and anonymous online questionnaire was used to collect data from 11 March to 1 April 2021. The collected data were analyzed using the t-test, analysis of variance, Scheffé test, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and multiple regressions using SPSS Windows (Ver 25.0). We found that WLB is significantly negatively correlated with emotional labor (r = −0.47, p < 0.001), anger (r = −0.32, p < 0.001), and work engagement (r = 0.37, p < 0.001). The regression model confirmed that the male sex (β = 0.35, p = 0.002), moderate perceived health (β = −0.31, p = 0.003), poor perceived health (β = −0.35, p = 0.020), 1–3 years of career experience at a mental health welfare center (β = 0.27, p = 0.043), level of attentiveness required in emotional labor (β = −0.23, p = 0.014), and vigor of work engagement (β = 0.15, p = 0.005) were predictors of WLB, and these factors explained 43.1% of the variance. Supportive work policies and environments that promote perceived health, reduce emotional labor, and stimulate work engagement are needed to help mental health specialists at mental health welfare centers maintain a good WLB and enjoy a higher quality of life.