The mediating role of job satisfaction in the relationship between emotional labor and organizational commitment

The purpose of this study is to understand the complex relationship between employees' emotional experiences, their commitment to their work, and their satisfaction with their jobs. In this complex relationship, how job satisfaction affects the link between emotional labor and organizational commitment is emphasized. For this purpose, the relationship between emotional labor and organizational commitment was tried to be explained by the mediating role of job satisfaction. In addition, it was aimed to discuss the three-dimensional structure of deep action, fake emotions and concealed emotions, which were put forward by Lee and Brotheridge (2011) as sub- dimensions of emotional labor. Models and hypotheses were created in line with the purpose of the study. The study was conducted with service sector employees who interact directly with customers in Antalya province. Data were collected using a survey technique from 372 participants who were selected through convenience sampling. In the analysis of the data, AMOS and LISREL programs were used to perform descriptive statistics and factor analysis, as well as structural equation modeling. As a result of the structural equation model analysis, it was revealed that job satisfaction has a full mediating role in the relationship between emotional labor and organizational commitment. In addition, it was observed that employees' organizational commitment and job satisfaction were negatively affected by fake emotions and positively affected by deep action and concealed emotions, which are emotional labor sub-dimensions.