The Moderating Effect of Hotel Employees' Emotional Intelligence on the Causal Relationship between Emotional Labor, Emotional Dissonance, and Self-Efficacy

The Moderating Effect of Hotel Employees' Emotional Intelligence on the Causal Relationship between Emotional Labor, Emotional Dissonance, and Self-Efficacy

This study aimed to identify the moderating effect of hotel employees' emotional intelligence on the causal relationship among emotional labor, emotional dissonance, and self-efficacy. A valid sample of 361 people working in 6 5-star hotels in Seoul and Incheon, South Korea, was used for hypothesis testing. After checking all measurements' construct validity and reliability, the hypotheses were verified through structural equations and regression analysis. The research results are as follows. First, the emotional labor of hotel employees affects emotional dissonance. Second, the emotional labor of hotel employees affects self-efficacy. Third, hotel employees' emotional intelligence partially controls the causal relationship between emotional labor and emotional dissonance. Fourth, it was found that hotel employees' emotional intelligence had a partial control effect on the causal relationship between emotional labor and self-efficacy. As an implication of these research results, it is interpreted that psychological support activities are essential for the work efficiency of hotel employees.