Abstract:

In the current study, the impact of employees' emotional labor behaviors on burnout and the role of self-esteem in this process have been investigated. The study's sample comprises 272 healthcare professionals working in a public hospital in Şanlıurfa. The survey technique, a quantitative research method, was utilized. The data collection instruments for the study included the Emotional Labor Scale (Diefendorff et al., 2005), Burnout Scale (Schaufeli and Salanova, 2007), and Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965). Structural equation models were constructed to test the research hypotheses. In the hypothesis test results, it was found that surface acting positively affects depersonalization and inefficacy, and negatively affects efficacy. It has been determined that naturally felt emotions negatively affect depersonalization and inefficacy, and positively affect efficacy. It was found that self-esteem negatively affects depersonalization with inefficacy and positively affects efficacy. To identify the moderating role of low, moderate, and high self-esteem levels, the Hayes Process macro extension (Model 1) was employed. It was found that self-esteem at different levels (low, moderate, high) played a moderating role in the relationship between surface acting and inefficacy. Additionally, the moderating role of self-esteem at different levels was identified in the effect between naturally felt emotions and efficacy. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the emotional labor behaviors of healthcare workers during working hours regarding patients and their relatives affect burnout over time. In this influence, healthcare workers with high self-esteem levels experienced less burnout compared to those with low self-esteem levels. The results obtained were discussed within the framework of the Conservation of Resources Theory and the literature.

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