Examining individual antecedents of emotional labour in the banking sector

This study aims to examine the relationship between the dark triad personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) and the display of emotional labour among employees in the banking sector. In the service industry, particularly in banking, it is crucial for employees to meet customer expectations and exhibit behaviors that align with these expectations, playing a significant role for organizations operating in this sector. Therefore, it is important to investigate which personality traits are associated with which types of emotional labour (surface acting, deep acting, naturally felt emotions) in the banking sector. Indeed, there are still empirical gaps in the emotional labour literature regarding which personality traits are associated with different types of emotional labour. In this regard, the study focuses on examining the relationship between dark personality traits, which have recently been widely studied in organizational psychology, and the display of emotional labour. In the present study, primary data were collected via an online survey, employing a quantitative research approach. The measurement of variables was conducted using the Emotional Labour and Dark Triad Scales, which had been previously adapted into Turkish and had their psychometric properties validated. In addition, a set of questions and a control question were included to ascertain the demographic characteristics of the participants. The study sample comprised 181 bank employees. According to the correlation analysis results, it was found that narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy are strongly and positively correlated with each other. While surface acting was strongly and positively correlated with deep acting, it was strongly and negatively correlated with naturally felt emotions. Narcissism was strongly and positively related to both surface acting and deep acting, Machiavellianism was strongly and positively related to deep acting while being strongly and negatively related to naturally felt emotions, and psychopathy was strongly and positively related to surface acting but weakly and negatively related to naturally felt emotions. Regression analysis results indicated that Machiavellianism had a very strong and positive effect on surface acting, while narcissism had a strong and positive effect. Narcissism had a strong and positive effect on deep acting, while Machiavellianism had a low and negative effect on naturally felt emotions. Independent Samples T-Test results revealed that male employees tend to exhibit more psychopathy compared to female employees. Single employees were found to show more naturally felt emotions compared to married employees. Employees in the private sector were found to exhibit more surface acting compared to those in the public sector.