Does mindfulness reduce emotional exhaustion? A multilevel analysis of emotional labor among casino employees

International Journal of Hospitality Management 64 (2017) 21–30

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International Journal of Hospitality Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijhosman

Does mindfulness reduce emotional exhaustion? A multilevel analysis of emotional labor among casino employees Jun (Justin) Li a , IpKin Anthony Wong b,∗ , Woo Gon Kim c a

Dedman School of Hospitality, Florida State University, B4116 University Center, 288 Champions Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA Faculty of International Tourism and Management, City University of Macau, Avenida Padre Tomás Pereira (N402), Taipa, Macau International Center for Hospitality Research & Development, Dedman School of Hospitality, Florida State University, B4116 University Center, 288 Champions Way, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA b c

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history: Received 31 March 2016 Received in revised form 12 February 2017 Accepted 31 March 2017 Keywords: Mindfulness Surface acting The climate of authenticity Emotional exhaustion

a b s t r a c t Mindfulness has received considerable attention over the past few years in prior psychology literature. However, the role of mindfulness has yet to receive sufficient attention in the service sector, especially the casino service sector. The objective of the current study is to examine whether casino frontline employees’ perceptions of surface acting mediate the relationship between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion and to investigate the moderating role of a climate of authenticity in the process of their formation of emotional exhaustion. Hierarchical linear modeling results indicate that casino frontline employees’ perceived mindfulness has a significant negative influence on their surface acting, which ultimately has a significant positive effect on their emotional exhaustion. In addition, the significant positive association between surface acting and emotional exhaustion is moderated by the authentic climate. A higher degree of authenticity within the climate weakens the positive impact of surface acting on casino employees’ emotional exhaustion. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Emotional exhaustion is a special type of physical and psychological state of depletion. The problems of emotional exhaustion, with its accompanying high turnover rate, poor employee performance, and low level of organizational effectiveness, has attracted substantial interest in the body of hospitality literature (Kim, 2008; Lee and Ok, 2012). Compared to other service sector jobs (e.g., hotel, restaurant, airline, and call center), many casino frontline employees experience higher levels of emotional exhaustion due to the 24/7 nature of the casino business, demanding workloads, an artificial and noisy work environment, antisocial hours, poor air quality, and biological and physical hazards (Chan et al., 2015; Hing and Breen, 2005; Li et al., 2017; Tiyce et al., 2013; Wan and Chan, 2013). Thus, the possible antecedents of emotional exhaustion have been receiving increasing attention in the hospitality literature (Jung et al., 2012). Among these factors, surface acting has been found to correlate strongly with emotional exhaustion (Kim, 2008). For example, due to a lack of proper skills and correct strategies for

∗ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J. Li), [email protected] (I.A. Wong), [email protected] (W.G. Kim). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2017.03.008 0278-4319/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

coping with emotional exhaustion, employees manage emotional exhaustion by relying on surface acting, in which their worries are concealed so that others do not recognize that they are outside their comfort zone (Tiyce et al., 2013; Van Dijk et al., 2011). Concealing one’s emotion by service acting is particularly common with frontline casino employees as they often deal with overly emotional gamblers whose feelings range from anger at losing to euphoria from winning, and who routinely act unreasonably (Wan, 2010). Recent research has shown that mindfulness buffers employees against negative mood (Hülsheger et al., 2013). Mindfulness describes a conscious direction of an open attention in which people can complete awareness of their feelings and sensations on a moment-to-moment basis without judgment (Hülsheger et al., 2013). Mindfulness has an important role to play when it comes to work-related outcomes. For example, Hülsheger et al. (2013) described a negative association between mindfulness and aggressive behaviors such as physical and verbal aggression. Hyland et al. (2015) further pointed out that employees who are mindful have improved social relationships, reduced psychological distress, improved physical and mental well-being, enhanced overall wellbeing, and increased individual and organizational performance. Previous studies have acknowledged that a mindfulness-based coping strategy is an effective means of mitigating dissolution (Bazarko et al., 2013; Hülsheger et al., 2013; Hyland et al., 2015). Thus, an

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understanding of what causes the emotional exhaustion of casino employees will help casinos and other service providers to reduce the costs associated with the erosion of employee performance and loyalty (O’Connell and Kung, 2007; Ongori and Agolla, 2008). Despite the important role of mindfulness and surface acting on employee behaviors, their direct and indirect impacts on emotional exhaustion have largely been ignored in hospitality research; thus creating a void in the literature. The first objective of the present study is, therefore, to examine the mediating effect of surface acting on the relationship between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion in the casino setting. Prior studies have posited that the work environment has both positive and negative effects on employees (Lundberg et al., 2009). A healthy and positive work environment makes employees productive and improves job communication, and this provides motivation that sustains them throughout the day (Gursoy et al., 2008). Recent research in the management and organizational behavior literature has focused on how an authentic climate in the workplace contributes towards workers’ employment and psychological wellbeing. A climate of authenticity refers to the common perceptions and norms that define the self-expression of its member’s emotions, in terms of values and acceptance of emotional expression, especially the negative emotions of an organization (Cicekli, 2011). Grandey et al. (2012) argued that employees feel encouraged and appreciated when they are working in an environment with a climate of authenticity in which they can feel as though they are essentially ‘taking a break’ from the constrained organizational rules, thus reducing their stress and emotional exhaustion. In the light of these findings, it seems plausible to speculate that employees are more productive and creative in the workplace when they feel comfortable being themselves because they can focus their attention on work rather than on hiding parts of themselves. This premise coupled with the role of surface acting purports a more complete theoretical advancement about the precise cause of emotional exhaustion. In particular, it helps not only to demonstrate the direct influence of employee surface acting and an organization’s climate of authenticity on employee emotional depletion, but it also helps to understand how organizational climate could act as a buffering condition that moderates the negative surface acting effect. Thus, to enrich the understanding of service acting, which is germane to the organizational climate theory, the second objective of this research study is to determine whether the moderator variable (i.e., casino frontline employees’ perceived climate of authenticity) affects the strength of the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion. In summary, this study attempts to extend the previous literature by assessing the indirect effect of mindfulness on emotional exhaustion through service acting; it also aims to enrich organizational climate theory by assessing the cross-level moderating effect of climate of authenticity in the context of casinos.

2. Literature review and hypotheses 2.1. State of mindfulness Employees are required to comply with organizational rules (Zhou, 1993) and thus need to suppress and disguise their feelings by surface acting (Judge et al., 2009), which usually involves managing emotions using an artificial voice and facial expressions when exhibiting the emotions required by the job (Hülsheger and Schewe, 2011). Effective emotion management by employees is recognized as an essential component for increasing customer loyalty in the hospitality industry (Karatepe and Aleshinloye, 2009). Casinos often require employees to exhibit surface acting when communicating and interacting with customers face-to-face (Chan

et al., 2015). For example, a casino dealer has to greet gamblers with a smile even if he or she feels gloomy (Wan, 2013). Previous research has demonstrated that mindfulness is likely to have a negative impact on surface acting (Baer et al., 2006). Mindfulness concerns a receptive state of awareness: paying attention with open sensations or feelings of current happenings and observing both ongoing internal and external events at the same time (Hülsheger et al., 2013). Jimenez et al. (2010) argued that mindfulness stimulates individuals’ self-regulatory activities or skills by eliminating impediments and reducing stress response, thereby allowing people to display greater self-determination and less defensive responses. Fetterman et al. (2010) found that mindfulness was negatively associated with impulsivity but positively related to self-control. Hülsheger et al. (2013) examined whether the idea of self-training mindfulness in the workplace could reduce stress in participants whose jobs involved face-to-face interactions with customers. Their results showed that participants who received mindfulness self-training used less surface acting and felt less emotional exhaustion. In particular, participants who received mindfulness training had higher mindfulness ratings, felt less emotional exhaustion, and had greater job satisfaction. Given that mindfulness can act as a buffer in mitigating employee emotional depletion, this study proposes the following hypothesis: H1. Mindfulness is negatively related with the emotional suppression of surface acting. 2.2. Surface acting and emotional exhaustion Emotional exhaustion is a state of emotional and mental frustration resulting from continuous stress that leads to high depersonalization and burnout (Maslach and Leiter, 2008). Grandey (2003) argued that emotional exhaustion resulted from a combination of depression, emotional listlessness, and a cynical attitude toward environmental stressors. Two complex causes lead to emotional exhaustion: (1) the incremental job-induced tension that emotional dissonance can produce (Lewig and Dollard, 2003), and (2) the draining of mental resources by the efforts of the emotional regulation process (Grandey, 2003). Based on a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature on emotional labor, Hülsheger and Schewe (2011) found that surface acting was associated with emotional depletion across multiple industries. Hülsheger and Schewe (2011) further argued that increased surface acting is a determinant of emotional exhaustion because it involves the continual evaluation and modification of emotional reactions. The constant depression between expressed and felt emotions requires mental effort and drains mental energy. The positive relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion goes beyond forprofit organizations, as studies show a negative link between these two constructs in public sectors such as firefighting (Dobson et al., 2011). Given the acknowledged influence of surface acting on emotional exhaustion, the authors believe that this effect would be even stronger in casino settings. The rationale stems from the fact that frontline casino employees are trained and encouraged to conform to high service standards in order to deliver excellent customer experiences (Yang et al., 2015; Wong, 2013). Thus, they present a vented emotion by using a specific facial expression with an unnatural and artificial body language during the service delivery process, which introduces stress and emotional exhaustion (Wan 2013). Diestel and Schmidt (2012) argued that undesired behaviors and emotions may cause a variety of long-lasting psychological side effects such as emotional depletion and depersonalization. They further pointed out that self-control demands were positively related to emotional exhaustion, and surface acting was a sign of physical and emotional depletion. This situation is particularly

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salient in casinos where gamblers often show anger and disrespect to frontline employees (Wan, 2010). Thus, the authors expect that the more casino frontline employees suppress their emotions by service acting, the more they are emotionally exhausted over time. Accordingly, the authors propose the following hypothesis: H2. Surface acting is positively related with emotional exhaustion. 2.3. Surface acting mediates the relationship between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion Employees suppress their negative emotions in compliance with organizational rules and in-role behaviors (e.g., they perform assigned tasks and responsibilities on time and satisfactorily) when they feel upset and angry (Grandey, 2003). In-role behavior is obligatory and is the critical element of employee performance while extra-role behavior is discretionary (Van Dyne and LePine, 1998). During the process of exhibiting surface acting, hospitality employees experience psychological inconsistency as a consequence of the discrepancy between their inner feelings and outer expressions (Lee and Ok, 2012). For example, casino frontline employees have to deal with demanding or frustrated customers with a smile on their faces (Wan, 2014). Hospitality frontline employees often suffer from job burnout, which is an emotional threat due to anxiety disorders and the execution of tedious or repetitive tasks (Maslach et al., 1986; Wright and Cropanzano, 1998). A review of the existing hospitality literature has shown that surface acting has a direct positive effect on emotional exhaustion (Kim, 2008). Mindfulness negatively relates to surface acting by nonjudgmentally bringing the attention and awareness of employees into the present (Shapiro et al., 2006). Mindfulness is a relatively new area within management practice, and so there is a lack of prior studies on this topic. However, mindfulness serves as a buffering mechanism that helps to reduce employees’ depletion of self-regulatory resources (Grandey et al., 2012). This line of logic is germane to the conservation of resource theory in that “people strive to retain, protect, and build resources and that what is threatening to them is the potential or actual loss of these valued resources” (Hobfoll, 1989; p. 513). With reference to this theory, the inauthentic expressions and emotional suppression of employees in the process of surface acting consume these resources because such acting threatens their self-worth and self-efficacy (Brotheridge and Lee, 2002; Grandey et al., 2012), which ultimately causes exhaustion of their emotions. Therefore, these theoretical underpinnings are indicative in drawing a linkage between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion through the mediating effect of surface acting in that an increase of casino frontline employees’ mindfulness would ultimately lead to a lower level of emotional exhaustion through less self-regulatory resource depletion by performing surface acting. Therefore, the authors propose the following research hypothesis in casino work settings: H3 (.). Surface acting acts as a mediator between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion. 2.4. The moderating effect of a climate of authenticity Employee climate perceptions have received considerable empirical attention in hospitality literature. Emerging studies have been investigating those climate perceptions, specifically, casino employees’ perceived competitive working climate (Li et al., 2016a,b), hotel employees’ perceived work-family climate, and casino employees’ perceived service climate (Kralj and Solnet, 2010). In addition, Wong and Ko (2009) called for more research on the development of a working climate, which incorporates mutual respect, shared values, and constructive collaboration with the

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human resource management. Thus, understanding the relationship between employees and their perceived authentic workplace environment is key to an organization achieving competitive advantages. Person-environment fit (P-E fit) theory provides a more comprehensive framework and theoretical explanation for the climate of authenticity. It positions that work-related stress arises at work not merely because of the working environment, but also in terms of the interaction between the worker and the working environment (Caplan, 1987; Edwards et al., 1998). Researchers developed individual-level and cross-level analyses to explore the role of climate of authenticity. For example, a number of important trends in the study of understanding authenticity come from an individual-level perspective (van den Bosch and Taris, 2014). The individual level analysis focuses on the relationship among authenticity, turnover, job performance, and motivation. Ménard and Brunet (2011) and Toor and Ofori (2009) found that there was a positive relationship between authenticity and psychological well-being. Individuals with positive and high core self-evaluation will increase their job satisfaction to a greater degree than employees who feel disconnected from and left behind by their colleagues. Sheldon et al. (1997) proposed various levels of authenticity as experienced by different occupation types. The results showed that lower levels of authenticity equated to higher levels of emotional exhaustion. Based on data from 685 participants, van den Bosch and Taris (2014) investigated the connection between an authentic workplace, work-related well-being (job engagement, burnout, and job satisfaction), and work outcomes (turnover and performance) using the hierarchical regression analyses. The results indicated that authenticity at work explained a significant variance of different well-being and work-related outcomes. There have been relatively few empirical studies that have conducted a cross-level conceptualization of authenticity climate. The cross level of analysis focuses on authenticity with the study of group leadership, norms, and roles (Hannah et al., 2011). Grandey et al. (2012) examined the relationship between authenticity climate and emotional exhaustion in Australian health institutions and found that a climate of authenticity offers one the platform to replenish drained resources from a self-management of emotional labor. Hannah et al. (2011) argued that the authentic leadership style was positively related to workplace authenticity, job pattern, and performance. Recent studies show that an authentic climate mitigates the negative effect of emotional work on emotional exhaustion (Grandey et al., 2012). For example, employees who utilize surface acting in a workplace with a high perception of authenticity show a lower burnout level compared to workers who work in a low level one. Simons (1995) reported that an authentic and transparent work environment (e.g. safe and clean working conditions, respect among colleagues, coaching and rewards, etc.) should help hospitality employees motivate and empower themselves and also meet the hospitality business’s goals. Prior studies provide ample evidence that an authentic climate could serve as a self-regulatory adaptation (Grandey et al., 2012). Thus, the authors expect that frontline employees who perceive authenticity at work fit the casino’s values better and tend to exhibit lower levels of emotional exhaustion in casinos. Accordingly, this study formulates the following hypothesis: H4. The level of climate of authenticity (aggregated at the casino level) moderates the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion. Based on the above discussion, this study proposes a conceptual framework and postulates the hypotheses listed in Fig. 1.

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Fig. 1. Cross-level effects of mindfulness, surface acting, and employee emotional exhaustion.

2.5. Research context Macau was a Portuguese colony for more than four hundred years before its turnover to China in 1999. With a long history of gambling that traces back more than three hundred years, Macau is regarded as the “Las Vegas of the East” and has gradually become the gambling capital of the world. As the only territory in China with legal casinos (Liu et al., 2015), Macau liberalized its gambling industry in 2002. According to the official data, Macau’s gambling revenues reached US$28.92 billion, and there were six casino licenses holders with 35 commercial casinos in operation in 2015 (Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, 2016). With two newly built casinos entering the market in 2016, Macau has a total of 37 casinos. The city welcomed Chinese gamblers in the millions, and, as a result, since 2006, the gaming revenue has surpassed that of Las Vegas (Li et al., 2016a,b). The influx of gamblers in Macau’s hotels and casinos have created great health problems for casino frontline employees such as clinical burnout and emotional exhaustion, resulting in erosion of job embeddedness, organizational commitment, and voluntary turnover (Lo et al., 2012). Thus, it is imperative that casino practitioners identify factors that enhance employees’ well-being and maintain low retention rates by reducing emotional exhaustion in the workplace (Taormina and Kuok, 2009). However, despite an overall increase in the number of studies on the gambling industry, only limited empirical research has been conducted that deals with reducing or preventing casino frontline employees’ emotional exhaustion. Thus, this study fills a major research gap on how frontline employees manage negative emotions in casinos.

3. Methodology

The researchers used a survey-based methodology to collect data from the 28 casinos. They sent the survey packages to HR directors who distributed them to frontline employees. Each survey package included a cover letter, a self-administered questionnaire, and self-addressed pre-stamped envelopes. The cover letter clearly explained that the study would be used only for academic purposes, it would be kept completely confidential, and their employers would not review them. The respondents returned the questionnaire directly to the survey administrator in sealed envelopes. To match each employee with their corresponding casino, the researchers coded the questionnaires with a researcher-assigned identification number. The authors collected data over a one-month period from these 28 casinos. They distributed a total of 750 surveys to the HR directors, and the survey administrator received 542 completed surveys (72.26% return rate). After deleting 7 questionnaires with careless responses (significantly the same answers, such as 3 for all survey questions) and 9 questionnaires with incomplete answers, they retained a total of 526 valid questionnaires (70.13% effective response rate). Out of the 526 casino employees, 67.46% were female, and 54.00% were less than 30 years old. 26.00% held at least a bachelor’s degree, and their average tenure at their current job was 2.10 years. Regarding the participants’ job positions, 46.22% were from slot operations, 37.83% were from table games, and 15.95% were from front office, F&B, and others. In addition, the authors performed a chi-square analysis to examine the similarities between gender groups in terms of their demographic characteristics. This information is summarized in Table 1. For example, out of the 526 casino frontline employees, 354 were female, and 172 were male workers. However, there was no statistically significant difference between female and male employees with respect to age, education, and job position.

3.1. Sample and data collection

3.2. Measures

The target population for this study is casino frontline employees, defined as any employee who directly engages and interacts with casino customers and acts as a communication medium between guests and the casino. To provide a convenient research segmentation, the authors identified two mainly distinct segments of casino frontline employees: the employees behind the counter (cashiers, receptionists, etc.) and gaming service workers (dealers, etc.). There were 35 casinos located in Macau in 2015. The researchers sent an introductory email to the top management of all the casinos explaining the purpose of the research and requesting permission to conduct research on their premises. Out of the 35 casinos contacted, top management from 28 casinos finally agreed to participate.

To design a valid and practical self-administrated questionnaire to evaluate casino frontline employees’ attitude, the researchers initially developed the questionnaire in English and then used three independent professional bilingual translators to translate it into Chinese. A back-translation was then obtained from another bilingual academic as suggested by Brislin (1980) to critically assess the total equivalence in meanings between the Chinese version and English translation. The process of validity checking with the back-translation procedure confirmed that the translated version reflected the same item content as the original versions. The researchers gave a pilot survey to 25 casino employees to ensure the clarity of each question. Slight modifications were made based on their feedback. For example, the researchers deleted some obscure

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Table 1 Background characteristics of respondents. Male (N = 172)

Female (N = 354)

Age 20–29 30–39 40–49 50–59 60 or over Education Pre-high school High school University Postgraduate Others Job position Slot operations Table games Receptionists Others

Frequencies

%

Frequencies

%

201 87 41 19 6

56.8 24.5 11.6 5.4 1.7

83 58 21 7 3

48.2 33.8 12.2 4.1 1.7

47 199 86 2 20

13.2 56.1 24.2 1.0 5.5

21 97 43 5 6

12.2 56.4 25.0 2.9 3.5

174 121 39 20

49.1 34.2 11.1 5.6

69 78 22 3

40.2 45.3 12.8 1.7

␹2

d.f.a

Sig.b

299.4

4

0.134

303.8

4

0.263

186.45

3

0.121

Note: d.f. = degree of freedom; Significant at a 0.05 level.

phrases and repetitive information to prevent ambiguity and aid the clarity of the sentence. There were three major sections in the printed questionnaire: the introduction, demographic information (e.g., gender, age, education, and tenure), and questions pertaining to four multi-dimensional latent constructs. The researchers used the multiple-item scale to measure each construct in this research. The reliability and validity of these constructs have been well established in previous studies, so the researchers needed to make only slight modifications to the present study. In addition, the dataset did not contain any missing values, and hence no data imputation was necessary. A six-item scale adapted from Brown and Ryan (2003) measured casino frontline employees’ perceived mindfulness. They rated how often the experience described in each item on the Likert-type seven-point scale ranging from 1 (always) to 7 (never) occurred. A score of 7 on each item was indicative of a higher level of perceived mindfulness. The illustrative items were “I do jobs or tasks automatically without being aware of what I’m doing,” and “I find myself doing things without paying attention.” The alpha coefficient indicated high internal consistency for mindfulness (␣ = 0.91). A three-item scale adapted from Grandey (2003) measured surface acting. Based on the 7-point Likert scale (1 = never and 7 = always), respondents evaluated the frequency of regulating emotional expressions and the hiding of true feelings during interactions with casino guests. Sample items were “I just pretend to have the emotions I need to display for my job,” and “I put on an act in order to deal with casino guests in an appropriate way.” The coefficient alpha for this scale was 0.87. A six-item scale adapted from Maslach and Jackson (1981) measured emotional exhaustion. The researchers measured responses on the seven-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Sample items were “I feel emotionally drained from my current casino job,” and “I feel frustrated by my current casino job.” The reliability coefficient for this measurement scale was 0.89. The climate of authenticity was measured by using the sevenitem scale developed by Grandey et al. (2012). Casino frontline employees were asked their opinion of each statement using the 7-point rating scale (1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree). Typical items were “It is safe to show how you really feel with this casino,” and “Working with colleagues of this casino, expressions of feelings are respected.” The coefficient alpha coefficient was 0.88.

This study controlled for participant demographics, for example, gender, age, education, and tenure, since these variables may affect the results of the study (e.g., Grandey et al., 2012). The authors adopted the hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to test the study hypotheses. Prior research showed that multilevel analysis is suitable for research designs where data for respondents are organized at more than one level (i.e., nested data) (Hofmann and Stetzer, 1998). The researchers plotted and examined data for univariate normality, which revealed that the variables were normally distributed (Ali et al., 2016; Kim et al., 2016a,b,c). The skewness was less than 2 and kurtosis was less than 7, which indicated that all measured constructs was approximately normally distributed (Finney and DiStefano, 2006). 4. Results 4.1. Descriptive analyses Table 2 shows the means, standard deviations, and zero-order correlations for the study variables. Regarding the correlations of the study variables, there is a small but statistically significant correlation between age and climate of authenticity (r = 0.11, p < 0.05). In addition, gender, education, and organizational tenure have non-significant zero-order correlations with the four research constructs of interest presented in Fig. 1 (rs from −0.10 to 0.06). There is a significant negative correlation between mindfulness and surface acting (r = –0.31, p < 0.01) and a significant positive relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion (r = 0.34, p < 0.01). Furthermore, climate of authenticity (r = −0.32, p < 0.01) is negatively related to employee emotional exhaustion. 4.2. Confirmatory factor analysis The researchers performed a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine the hypothesized multi-factor measurement model. The fit measures used in this study were the goodness of fit index (GFI), comparative fit index (CFI), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA). The covariance matrix between constructs served as input to estimate the structural coefficients between latent variables. The researchers hypothesized and subsequently tested three types of CFA models. First, a full measurement model with four conceptual factors had acceptable fit indices (␹2 = 401.21, df = 131, p < 0.01; RMSEA = 0.06; GFI = 0.91; CFI = 0.93).

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Table 2 Means, standard deviations, and individual-level correlations and reliability estimates. Variables

Mean

SD

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1.Gender 2.Age 3. Education 4. Organizational tenure 5. Mindfulness 6. Surface acting 7. Emotional exhaustion 8. Climate of authenticity

1.64 32.11 0.59 2.10 4.72 5.32 5.21 4.92

0.28 6.24 0.81 1.06 1.27 1.01 0.96 1.12

0.03 0.01 0.13** 0.02 0.04 −0.09 −0.06

−0.10* 0.08 −0.03 0.06 −0.05 0.11*

−0.07 0.14** −0.09 −0.10 0.08

−0.04 −0.07 −0.10 0.04

−0.31** −0.32** 0.11

0.34** −0.12*

−0.32**

Note. N = 526. * p < 0.05. ** p < 0.01.

The item loadings for the four factors, respectively, were for mindfulness from 0.76 to 0.86, for surface acting from 0.76 to 0.88, for emotional exhaustion from 0.69 to 0.89, and for climate of authenticity from 0.70 to 0.84. A model with three conceptual factors was then specified, which combined both items for surface acting and emotional exhaustion since they had the highest correlation out of the other variables (r = 0.34, p < 0.01). The model with three factors had a marginally acceptable fit (␹2 = 677.21, df = 161, p < 0.01; CFI = 0.90; GFI = 0.89; RMSEA = 0.12). Finally, a one-factor model, in which all items loaded on a single factor, resulted in a poorer fit (␹2 = 938.01, df = 192, p < 0.01; GFI = 0.49; CFI = 0.51; RMSEA = 0.19) than the two measure models presented above. Therefore, the four factor solution had the best fit, thus it was adopted in this study. More importantly, this measurement model also supported the discriminant validity of the measures.

4.3. Aggregation tests and level of analysis Although there is no rule of thumb regarding sample size in multilevel models, given a reasonably large sample of level-1 and level-2 units (e.g., 526 employees from 28 casinos), it is possible to make a sound statistical inference and obtain accurate measures of the parameters that are used in the statistical test. The researchers conducted two tests to validate the data structure before estimating any cross-level interaction effects. First, to test the assumption of intra-correlation between individual responses in the same casino, they calculated a measurement of the within-group agreement for each casino (rwg ). The within-group agreement rwg on climate of authenticity was 0.82, which was higher than the suggested 0.70 level, indicating that employees within a casino share common agreements on climate of authenticity. Second, the researchers further estimated two intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs). ICC (1) is the proportion of between group variance in a variable relative to its total variance. Researchers calculate the magnitude of ICC (1) as the intercept variance component in the null model divided by the total of the variance components. For example, the estimated ICC (1) in this current study was the ratio of casino variance to total variance. ICC (2) provides an estimate of the reliability of the group mean differences. ICC (2) was calculated based on the Spearman-Brown formula with the ICC (1) and second level size. The ICC (1) and ICC (2) of casino frontline employees’ score for climate of authenticity were 0.22 and 0.72 (p < 0.01) respectively. Overall, a strong within-group agreement score (rwg = 0.82), a strong group level variability from ICC (1) = 0.22, and reliably differentiated group means (ICC (2) = 0.72) lend support to the conclusion that climate of authenticity is a reliable measurement at the group level. Therefore, the researchers aggregated the individual scores of climate of authenticity to a level 2 variable value.

4.4. HLM results for the direct and cross-level effects of employee service performance 4.4.1. Individual-level predictors Hypothesis H1 postulated that casino frontline employees’ perceived mindfulness is negatively associated with surface acting. We examined the direct influence of mindfulness on surface acting and of surface acting on emotional exhaustion based on the intercept-as-outcomes model. They first formulated the unconditional models, which did not include predictor variables at any level. The HLM results indicated that mindfulness significantly and negatively affected surface acting (Model 1: ␤ = −0.19, p < 0.05); thus, casino frontline employees’ perceived mindfulness is negatively related to surface acting, supporting Hypothesis H1 (see Table 3). Surface acting significantly and positively affects emotional exhaustion (Model 2: ␤ = 0.23, p < 0.05), thereby lending support to Hypothesis H2. This study tested the mediating effect of surface acting according to Baron and Kenny’s (1986) three major assumptions of mediation. The results in both Hypothesis H1 and Hypothesis H2 confirmed that the first two conditions were supported: the mediator (surface acting) is influenced by the independent variable (mindfulness); the outcome variable (emotional exhaustion) is affected by the mediator (surface acting). To test the third condition, the researchers re-estimated the conceptual model by testing the direct relationship between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion based on a separate intercept-as-outcomes model. The test results indicated that casino frontline employees’ perceived mindfulness did negatively affect their emotional exhaustion (␤ = −0.32, p < 0.05), suggesting a partial mediation of surface acting. To further address the third hypotheses of mediation in the multilevel context, the researchers estimated that the random intercept model with surface acting mediates the effect of mindfulness on emotional exhaustion. The researchers used an examination of random effects with surface acting as a level-1 predictor, which indicated that there was not a statistically significant variance component in this effect (␹2 = 49.35, df = 34, p > 0.05). Further analysis using a specified aggregated level variable was not justified. Therefore, the significant effect of mindfulness on emotional exhaustion was fully mediated by surface acting. Hypothesis H3 was therefore supported.

4.4.2. Adding firm-level predictors This study tested the hierarchical model in order to explore whether the casino-level variable −climate of authenticity- has a direct effect on emotional exhaustion. This study directly entered surface acting as a level 1 predictor of emotional exhaustion. The results indicate a significant relationship (Model 3: ␥ = −0.16, p < 0.05) between climate of authenticity and emotional exhaustion. This model accounted for 21% of the explained between-group variance in casino frontline employees’ emotional exhaustion.

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Table 3 Hierarchical linear modeling results.

Individual level (level 1) Intercept (␤0j ) Gender Age Education Tenure Mindfulness (␤1j ) Service acting (SA) (␤2j ) Casino level (level 2) CA (␥01 ) SA × CA (␥21 ) R2 Deviance

SA

EE

EE

EE

Intercept-asoutcomes model 1

Intercept-asoutcomes model 2

Slope as outcomes model 3

Slope as outcomes model 4

3.76*** (9.43) –0.03(0.05) –0.06(0.09) 0.09(0.07) 0.02(0.05) −0.19** (2.13)

2.75*** (7.87) 0.01(0.04) –0.02(0.8) 0.12(0.13) 0.13(0.14)

2.68*** (7.33) 0.03(0.07) 0.06(0.09) 0.12(0.19) 0.01(0.04) –0.21** (2.01) 0.22** (2.05)

2.54*** (6.53) 0.01(0.05) 0.03(0.07) 0.05(0.09) 0.10(0.92) –0.19** (1.96) 0.21** (1.99)

−0.16** (1.97)

−0.14* (1.71) –0.26** (2.47) 0.17 218.46

0.23** (2.36)

0.29 343.21

0.26 376.28

0.21 284.21

Level-1

SAij = ␤0j + ␤1j × MFij + rij

EEij = ␤0j + ␤1j × SAij + rij

Level-2

␤0j = ␥00 + 0j

␤0j = ␥00 + 0j

␤1j = ␥10

␤1j = ␥10

EEij = ␤0j + ␤1j × MFij + ␤2j × SAij + rij ␤0j = ␥00 + ␥01 × CA0j + 0j ␤1j = ␥10 B2j = ␥20

SAij = ␥00 + ␥10 × MFij + 0j + rij

EEij = ␥00 + ␥10 × MFij + 0j + rij

Mixed model

EEij = ␥00 + ␥01 × CA0j + ␥10 × MFij + ␥20 × SAij + 0j + rij

EEij = ␤0j + ␤1j × MFij + ␤2j × SAij + rij ␤0j = ␥00 + 0j ␤1j = ␥10 B2j = ␥20 + ␥21 × CA2j EEij = ␥00 + ␥10 × MFij + ␥21 × CA2j × SAij + ␥20 × SAij + 0j + rij

Note: MF = mindfulness, SA = surface acting, EE = emotional exhaustion, CA = climate of authenticity. Values within parenthesis are t-values. *** p < 0.01. ** p < 0.05. * p < 0.10.

Therefore, climate of authenticity was another significant predictor of emotional exhaustion, which meets the presumption for its moderating role. 4.4.3. Cross-level interactions Hypothesis H4 predicted that climate of authenticity (at the casino-level) negatively moderates the impact surface acting has upon emotional exhaustion (at the individual-level), such that the relationship becomes weaker with increasing levels of perceived climate of authenticity. This study’s results showed that climate of authenticity had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion (Model 4: ␥ = −0.26, p < 0.05). Compared to casinos with weaker levels of climate of authenticity, there is a weaker relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion in casinos with strong levels of climate of authenticity. In brief, the stronger a casino’s climate of authenticity, the weaker the effect of surface acting is on emotional exhaustion. Therefore, casino frontline employees with a high level of surface acting displayed a higher emotional exhaustion, but this positive relationship was weaker for casinos encouraging an authentic working environment. Thus, Hypothesis H4 was supported. 5. Discussion and conclusions Using casino frontline employees as research subjects, this study is one of the first empirical field studies to develop and empirically test an integrated model of the relationship among mindfulness, surface acting, and emotional exhaustion. The current study corroborates and extends the extant literature by conceptualizing and empirically testing the moderating role of climate of authenticity

on the link between surface acting and emotional exhaustion. The results provide support to the relationships postulated in Fig. 1 in that surface acting partially mediates the relationship between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion. The results further indicate that climate of authenticity moderates this relationship in that the negative effect of surface acting on emotional exhaustion is mitigated by an organizational climate that encourages the expression of personal emotions, especially in casinos that retain a high level of such a climate. 5.1. Theoretical implications The current research makes three major contributions to the existing literature. First, this study seeks to identify the mediating role of surface acting on employees’ attitudes towards mindfulness and emotional exhaustion in the casino industry. Recent researchers have begun to investigate the role of mindfulness on emotion control in stressful contexts. Even so, much more empirical support is required to understand the ways that mindfulness helps to buffer against emotional exhaustion in a casino setting. Although potential mediators for this relationship have been empirically identified, to the authors’ knowledge, the importance of surface acting has not yet been investigated in the context of the casino industry. Thus, this study extends the theoretical importance of the mindfulness domain to the casino industry. The findings demonstrate that mindfulness helps prevent surface acting, which lowers employees’ productivity and, eventually, affects the effectiveness of both the individual and the casino. This study’s findings are consistent with prior research since it shows that mindfulness facilitates the reduction of surface acting and the improvement of job satisfaction (Hülsheger et al., 2015a,b).

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Second, this study explores the moderating effect of a climate of authenticity on surface acting—the emotional exhaustion relationship. It also aims to shed light on emotional labor studies (Grandey et al., 2012; Hochschild, 1983; Judge et al., 2009) by illustrating how mindfulness and the organizational climate could serve as buffering strategies that mitigate casino frontline employees’ strain and burnout. Thus, the results reveal that an authentic working environment (e.g., well acknowledged and accepted negative emotions and shared decision-making) has a negative relationship on employee ill-being and psychological frustration. Such a finding is consistent with previous results from western countries showing that an authentic climate in the workplace attenuates the positive effect of surface acting on emotional exhaustion (Grandey et al., 2012). However, considerable empirical information is still needed to determine the moderating mechanism of climate of authenticity on cross-cultural values between western and Asian countries. A climate of authenticity moderated the association between work environment and basic psychological need frustration in a way that higher levels of climate of authenticity meant a weak relationship. Researchers have proven that mindful people are prone to disengagement or retreat from an initial negative appraisal and reaction emanating from a negative emotion, thereby engaging in broadened attention and also improved cognitive flexibility. As a result of this approach, an individual becomes resilient because stressful situations have become part of life and are now termed as manageable by those who respond in a flexible manner to their situations. Intentional capacity and decision-making are shortsighted for individuals who show disregard for undesired negative experiences. Instead of people in this category adequately adapting in an active way, they exert all their strength in avoiding the stressors, and as such, they are psychologically incapacitated to produce a response and adapt in an active manner to the cues of the environment. That said, the findings of this study enrich the current understanding of the surface acting-emotional exhaustion link by demonstrating how an individual’s mindfulness and an organization’s climate could jointly reduce employee stress and emotional depletion. Such a dyadic view of joint influence from individual and organizational perspectives offers a new avenue in understanding the potential mechanisms of mindfulness and climate of authenticity as they buffer against workplace ill-being to represent a critical next step in human resource management inquiry. Third, from broader theoretical and analytical perspectives, this study presents merits in several ways. For example, the concentration of past research on emotional exhaustion and burnout was germane to an individual level of analysis (Humborstad et al., 2007; Liang, 2012; Van Dijk and Kirk, 2007). It is paramount to note that this study endeavors to critically shorten the gap between factors residing at both individual and organizational levels by proposing a multilevel structure of emotional exhaustion. By doing so, this study addresses the call from multilevel proponents (Wong, 2016) to offer new means for understanding organizational behaviors. In turn, this study analyses the direct effects of both individual-level (mindfulness and surface acting) and firm-level constructs (climate of authenticity) on emotional exhaustion. It further investigates the effect of cross-level interactions of surface acting × climate of authenticity on emotional exhaustion. Through a multilevel approach, this study presents opportunities for future exploration. To begin with, previous research has analyzed situational variables and the degree to which these components may advance or constrain an individual’s working attitude and performance. Climate as a contextual factor has deliberately given shape to organizations, which in turn affects employees’ attitudes and work behaviors (Kim et al., 2016a,b,c). Thus, organizational climate has significant implications for firms. The representation of these values is best defined as firm-level constructs. As a matter of fact, international research worldwide is progressively interested in studying contex-

tual aspects of organizations; thus the use of a multilevel modeling approach could offer researchers an opportunity to analyze and measure contextual variables. 5.2. Managerial implications The findings of the current study provide some interesting insights for human resource (HR) managers, departmental managers, and casino operators to eliminate occupational burnout and implement wellness programs in the workplace. First, this research has identified specific coping strategies to help HR managers alleviate emotional exhaustion in employees in service organizations by “screening for emotional labor abilities,” “teaching emotional management skills and appropriate behaviors,” and “carefully constructing the physical work environment” (Zeithaml et al., 2006; pp. 360–361). Unlike previous recommendations, this study suggests that it is important for casino HR managers to focus their attention on the adoption of a mindfulness intervention for preventing emotional deterioration in casino frontline employees with high levels of work-related fatigue. That is, these managers are the key to manage and promote casino frontline employees’ mental health and their mindfulness traits or skills. The HR department could implement a two-month mandatory Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program for all new hires within two weeks of their effective date of employment (i.e., the first day of work) regardless of their positions. The possible initiatives in the MBSR program could include gentle static and passive stretching exercises of major joints (e.g., back, hips, neck, and knees) and yoga courses. Such healthy interventions in a MBSR program could prevent and alleviate casino frontline employees’ burnout and create a sense of well-being. The second implication of the study’s findings provides insight on how casino departmental managers might cultivate an environment of authentic climate to attenuate the impact of surface acting on employees’ emotional exhaustion. Departmental managers have a unique role in fostering an authentic working climate to help each front-line staff to express his/her real emotion at the back stage of the service encounter. Each manager is responsible for implementing a ‘self-awareness’ training program based on each department’s particularity or its special characteristics. A comprehensive training program could include activities of role play (e.g., handling irate customers or complaints), group discussions (e.g., sharing real opinions or admitting mistakes), and practical exercises (e.g., eco-therapy) in order to enhance employees’ selfawareness. For example, each division could implement a variety of indoor activities for employees before (e.g., discuss each member’s thoughts, feelings, and desires during the daily brief) and after their work (e.g., share emotions with team members and express their feelings of their departmental manager). These top-down initiatives not only boost employees’ interpersonal skills, but also help them open up and build work unit trust, which is a critical step in creating a sense of authenticity in employees at the departmental level. This study also gives guidelines to casino operators on providing organizational support for employees’ stress management by establishing a long-term support policy (e.g., frontline employees’ health and safety policy), increasing funding support (e.g., fund the budget of a workshop for casino employees affected by mental health disorders), and recruiting professional counselors (e.g., hire part time/seasonal certified mindfulness based stress reduction trainers). For example, casino operators should formalize, document, and approve several human resource management policies to help frontline employees overcome workplace burnout and stay self-motivated. Some of those policies could include limiting overtime, increasing compensation, allowing for flex work hours, or encouraging vacation days. In addition, management could provide

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an employee recognition award with travel options or gift cards to frontline employees who complete the stress management training program. Casino operators could also hire qualified direct support counselors or mental health specialists to provide professional counseling and referral resources to help frontline employees cope with stress at work and home. In addition, casino operators could develop and start an effective mental health mentoring program by using senior colleagues to guide new hires to relieve stress at work.

6. Limitations and future research directions There are several limitations in this study that need to be acknowledged. However, these limitations can serve as avenues for future studies. First, this study uses mindfulness only as an exogenous variable influencing surface acting and emotional exhaustion. However, numerous studies have identified other important antecedents of employee coping behavior: big five personality traits, organizational identification, affective commitment, and contract breach. Even though this study controlled for the demographic characteristics (age, gender, and education) of respondents, the researchers failed to include some of the other important exogenous variables in the research model. Second, this study explored only emotional exhaustion as the outcome of employee surface acting. Future researchers need to extend the research model by including other important outcomes such as job satisfaction, task performance, and turnover intention. Third, the researchers drew the sample from a specific eastern culture: Macau, China (Li and Yang, 2015). Thus, future researchers should use caution when generalizing the findings. Future researchers should undertake similar studies in other industries in western countries, and research in other service areas and countries might yield different results. Fourth, due to the difficulty of administering surveys in casinos with such strict data privacy policies, this study only targeted full-time front-line employees working on mass gambling floors. However, some employees work in the VIP gambling room for high-rollers. Work stress and work environment are significantly different for employees in the VIP room than for those who work on the mass tables. Future researchers could consider VIP room employees and explore the possible mediating and moderating mechanisms between their perceived mindfulness and their emotional exhaustion.

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