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Review
. 2018 Mar;59(2):187-193.
doi: 10.3349/ymj.2018.59.2.187.

Emotional Labor and Burnout: A Review of the Literature

Da Yee Jeung  1   2 , Changsoo Kim  3 , Sei Jin Chang  1   4
Affiliations
Review

Emotional Labor and Burnout: A Review of the Literature

Da Yee Jeung et al. Yonsei Med J. 2018 Mar.

Abstract

This literature review was conducted to investigate the association between emotional labor and burnout and to explore the role of personality in this relationship. The results of this review indicate that emotional labor is a job stressor that leads to burnout. Further examination of personality traits, such as self-efficacy and type A behavior pattern, is needed to understand the relationships between emotional labor and health outcomes, such as burnout, psychological distress, and depression. The results also emphasized the importance of stress management programs to reduce the adverse outcomes of emotional labor, as well as coping repertories to strengthen the personal potential suitable to organizational goals. Moreover, enhancing employees' capacities and competence and encouraging a positive personality through behavior modification are also necessary.

Keywords: Emotional labor; burnout; self-efficacy; type A behavior pattern.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no financial conflicts of interest.

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