Do Local Government Employees in Korea Engage

｢지방정부연구｣ 제16권 제1호(2012 봄) : 279～296

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in Emotional Labor and Do They Feel Stressed,

Exhausted and/or Satisfied?

* First author

** Corresponding author

: The Results of a Survey in Bucheon City

지방공무원의 감정노동 측정

: 부천시 공무원을 대상으로

Mark Wilding*

Kyung-Jin Chae**

Emotional labor in public administration represents a growing research concern in many countries. However, to date very few studies have been conducted on emotional labor in Korean public administration. The purpose of this study is to further understanding of emotional labor in the Korean context. In particular, the study focuses on who does emotional labor and whether they feel job stress, emotional exhaustion and/or job satisfaction. The study presents the results of a survey of local government employees (n=467) in Bucheon. The variables of educational level, age, service length, and position revealed significant differences in the factor analysis of emotional labor and in terms of job stress and emotional exhaustion. In contrast to the majority of studies on emotional labor, the analysis found no significant differences by gender for emotional labor, although women were significantly more likely to suffer from emotional exhaustion. In terms of job satisfaction, significant differences were only found according to the position variable, with employees at level 6 or over reporting the highest levels of job satisfaction. More generally the results revealed relatively low levels of emotional labor. Explanations for the results are offered based on the management and training of the Bucheon local authority, but also according to cultural factors of Korean public administration. Suggestions are made for policies on emotional labor and for future research on emotional labor in Korea.

Key words : Emotional labor, Job stress, Emotional exhaustion, Job satisfaction

주제어 : 감정노동, 직무 스트레스, 감정 소진, 직무만족

Ⅰ. Introduction

Despite the wealth of international research which has emerged on emotional labor since Arlie Hochschild’s first article on the concept in 1979, there has been relatively little written on this topic in Korea. Similarly, until recently emotional labor in the public sector has been a topic which has been overlooked in the Korean context. Some exploratory studies have begun to emerge in the last few years however, including surveys on the use of emotional labor by the police (Kim Sang Ho, 2009; Kim & Han, 2012), as well as public administrators (Kim Sang Goo, 2009; Yang & Song, 2010). These studies have demonstrated how emotional labor can be applied to the Korean public sector. For the most part the studies are concerned with identifying who does emotional labor, and with identifying connections between various factors of emotional labor and job stress, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction. Due to the limited number of studies which have been conducted in this area to date, these are questions which require further investigation.

The present study attempts to contribute to the field through a survey of local government employees at city hall and ward (gu) offices in Bucheon. The data is used to analyze which public employees are more likely to engage in emotional labor, based on the variables of gender, age, level of education, position, length of service, and personality type. In addition, the same variables are utilized to determine who is more likely to feel job stress, emotional exhaustion and/or job satisfaction. The rest of the study is arranged as follows. Part two reviews the literature on emotional labor. Part three details the research design. Part four presents the results, while the implications are discussed in part five. Finally part six offers a conclusion which includes suggestions for future research on emotional labor in Korea.

Do Local Government Employees in Korea Engage in Emotional Labor and Do They Feel Stressed, Exhausted and/or Satisfied?

｢지방정부연구｣ 제16권 제1호(2012 봄)

Ⅱ. Theoretical background

1 What is Emotional Labor & Why is it Important for Public Administration?

The international literature on emotional labor is now well rehearsed. Hochschild’s study of flight attendants defined emotional labor as the ‘management of feeling to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display’ (1983: 7). Emotional labor occurs in the context of paid work and has been identified in occupations as wide ranging as waiting staff in restaurants (Kim & Lee, 2011), secretaries (Han, 2005), and academics (Bellas, 1999). Emotional labor may involve surface acting which occurs when a worker attempts to display emotions that they do not feel, such as smiling when they actually feel very tired. Hochschild also identified deep acting, a process which takes place when a worker attempts to change the way that they actually feel in order to be more effective at their job, for example they try to make themselves feel enthusiastic about an activity that may have become routine. The gap between how a worker feels and how they are expected to act is called emotional dissonance. The greater the emotional dissonance, the more emotional labor is required. As surface acting does not change the way the worker feels, this is likely to result in increased emotional dissonance. Emotional labor can include both positive and negative emotions. For example a school teacher may be required to appear stern and strict when actually she feels carefree.

Emotional labor makes clear the extent to which workers are required to use their emotions and draws attention to how workers are usually not rewarded for their emotional labor in contrast to manual or cognitive labor. This is significant due to the efforts which were made to claim that organizations are free or should be free of emotions, which reached its peak under scientific management and classical bureaucracy. Weber noted the dehumanizing effects achieved by bureaucracy’s elimination of ‘love, hatred, and all purely personal irrational, and emotional elements’ (1978 [1956]: 975). Nonetheless, as Parsons (1951) illustrated through the notion of affective neutrality, neutral emotions are still emotions. Goleman who popularized emotional intelligence as an attempt to manage emotional labor so that it benefits the organization, drew on Aristotle to point out how ‘the problem is not with emotionality, but with the appropriateness of emotion and its expression’ (Goleman, 1996, xiv). There are scholars in the field of public administration who have long observed the role of more personal factors in organizations (McGregor, 1957; Simon, 1997). Lipsky contrasted the work of street-level bureaucrats with Weberian bureaucracy:

For a discussion of the relationship between emotional intelligence and emotional labor see Johnson and Spector (2007).

‘...the reality of the work of street level bureaucrats could hardly be farther from the bureaucratic ideal of impersonal detachment in decision making. On the contrary, in street-level bureaucracies the objects of critical decisions-people-actually change as a result of the decisions’ (1980: 408).

2. Who Does Emotional Labor?

In principal, anybody in paid work can conduct emotional labor, including men, women, the old, the young, those with high status positions, and those in low status positions. However the use of emotional labor by some groups has attracted more research than others. In particular the use of emotional labor by women has received particular attention, with a majority of studies revealing how women face more demands to engage in emotional labor (Hochschild, 1979, 1983; James, 1989). In public administration, as with the general literature, there is an emphasis on the emotional labor of women (Martin, 1999; Webb, 2001, Guy & Newman, 2004; Mastracci et al., 2006; Meier et al., 2006). Korean studies of emotional labor in public administration have reported gender differences in the level of emotional labor which female employees are required to do (Kim Sang Goo, 2009; Kim Sang Ho, 2009). As such this study expects to find that female employees undertake more emotional labor and do so more frequently.

There are overlaps between gender and the power and status of workers. There is an abundance of studies which highlight the emotional labor of low status workers. For example, Williams (2003) highlights the emotional labor of flight attendants even when faced with sexual harassment, while Leidner (1999) describes how the status of many service workers creates emotional dissonance. In contrast, although there may be demands for emotional labor from professionals, in cases where their emotional labor is not being monitored by superiors, they may be more free in their emotional responses (Sloan, 2004). As there are clear differences according to rank and also level of supervision in Korean local government, it is expected that the demands of emotional labor will be less for employees in higher positions.

While fewer studies have focused on the effects of age and experience on emotional labor, Hochschild (1983) argued that older workers have more emotional memories to draw upon and hence are more capable of deep acting. Hochschild’s position is supported by more recent studies which have found that younger and less experienced workers are less likely to engage in techniques to manage their feelings (Erickson & Grove, 2007), and that age is positively related to deep acting (Dahling & Perez, 2010). As such, it may be that younger workers are more conscious of the emotional labor that they perform, and it may require greater effort. Korean studies have found that younger workers engage in emotional labor more frequently, are more attentive, engage in greater variety of emotional labor and experience more dissonance (Kim, Sang Goo, 2009). We expect to find higher levels of emotional labor for younger and less experienced workers, and in particular, higher levels of dissonance, due to less deep acting capability.

Mode of delivery (i.e., whether services are delivered face-to-face, via telephone, or other means) can also impact upon emotional labor. Studies have documented the extent to which call center workers are expected to regulate their emotions (Deery et al., 2002; Lewig & Dollard, 2003; Kinman, 2009), and as such emotional labor does not necessarily need to take place in a face-to-face context. While there are several reasons for suspecting that those involved in face-to-face exchanges with the public may have to perform more emotional labor, including the relatively longer exchanges, and greater emphasis on facial expression and body language, Kinman (2009) did not find any significant differences between those involved in face-to-face, or voice-to-voice work. As such, we do not expect to find a difference between these categories of employees.

There have also been studies which have investigated the consequences of emotional labor, which may be considered to include burnout (Brotheridge & Grandey, 2002), as well as job stress, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction (Morris & Feldman, 1996). Similarly, Korean research contains an emphasis on the relationships between aspects of emotional labor and the health and well-being, and motivation of employees. Emotional labor has been found to impact upon the job stress and emotional exhaustion of street level bureaucrats (Kim, Sang Goo, 2009). Sang Ho Kim (2009) found most dimensions of emotional labor to increase the level of occupational stress of those employed by the police service, while Yoo et al (2011) found emotional labor to act as a factor of the job demand part of the Korean Occupation Stress Scale and to have an impact on musculo-skeletal symptoms and absence or early leave of civil affairs officials. However, Kim and Han (2012) only found emotional dissonance to be connected to increased job stress. International studies have found links between emotional labor and turnover intention (Wright & Cropanzano, 1998), although it has also been suggested that emotional labor coping strategies can be used to reduce turnover (Meier, et al., 2006; Guy et al., 2008). While the connection between emotional labor and turnover is also a consistent theme in research into the private sector in Korea (Lee & Yang, 2008, Kim & Lee, 2011; Shin, 2011), civil servants cite job security as their biggest motive to enter public service (Hahm, 2010), and as such turnover intention need not be considered as a significant consequence of emotional labor in Korea (Yang & Song, 2010). We expect to find that employees who report greater frequency, attentiveness and variety of emotional labor as well as emotional dissonance will report higher levels of job stress and emotional exhaustion.

While early international literature pointed to a negative relationship between emotional labor and job satisfaction, following Wharton’s (1993) study of service work, studies have found positive relationships between emotional labor and job satisfaction (Guy et al., 2008). The evidence is mixed however, with other studies finding a negative relationship between emotional labor and job satisfaction (Brotheridge & Grandey, 2002). In the Korean context Yang and Song (2010) found deep acting to be positively related to job satisfaction, while Kim and Han (2012) also reported positive consequences in the form of increased job satisfaction. More generally however Korean public employees have been found to be more satisfied with their jobs, and in particular job security and job content when compared to private sector employees, but less satisfied with their wages (Jung et al., 2007). As there is evidence from Korean studies which stresses the relationship between emotional labor and job satisfaction, we expect employees who engage in emotional labor to report more job satisfaction.

Ⅲ. Research design

1. Measures

The survey utilized questions previously used in the context of Korean local government by Sang Goo Kim (2009), which in turn was based on previous surveys including primarily Morris and Feldman (1996). The survey conceptualizes the emotional labor construct according to four factors; frequency of emotional display, attentiveness to required display rules, variety of emotions required to be expressed, and emotional dissonance. The survey also includes questions on the possible consequences of emotional labor, including job stress, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction. Respondents were presented with a list of 36 statements and asked to indicate the extent to which they agreed according to a 5-point Likert scale (1=very slightly or not at all, 5 = extremely).

2. Sample

Bucheon city has the most rapidly growing population in South Korea and has undergone rapid industrialization since the 1970s. Recently, Bucheon has gained a reputation as the most experimental city in the country due to the early adoption of central government initiatives, and consequently is now the first city which the Board of Audit and Inspection audits among the many local governments in South Korea. The efforts of Bucheon’s public officials were rewarded with a ‘best city’ award from the president in 2011. As Table 1 highlights below, local officials in Bucheon deal with a range of applications from the public. While there are now facilities to process applications online, and Korean e-government is ranked as the best in the world by the United Nations, issues such as the digital divide and a lower than hoped for take-up-rate of online applications mean that a minority of applications are processed online (Moon, 2009; UN, 2012). The majority of applications are for certificates such as ‘certificate of family relations’, or in order to register property or motor vehicles, but also include sanction permission, patent licenses and tests. On average, local government officials dealt with 11,788 applications per working day in 2010. The city government offers around 60 training programs a year to employees, not only to maintain citizen satisfaction, but also in order to educate employees on how to manage job stress.

<Table 1> Frequency of Civil Applications

Year	Total	Sanction permission	Patent license	Approval designation	Test	Registration	Certificate	Other
2008	4,603,908	11,271	696	1,800	1,078	851,391	3,680,379	57,293
2009	4,905,354	9,466	493	1,495	659	823,889	4,006,792	62,560
2010	4,302,621	6,635	746	1,828	687	835,912	3,395,240	17,320

Source: Bucheon city(2011).

A paper and pencil survey was distributed to 500 mostly non-managerial level bureaucrats of Bucheon city to complete during regular working hours over a period of 4 days from 20/3/2012 to 23/3/2012. A cover letter was provided along with the survey which explained the study objectives, requested participation, and guaranteed anonymity. In total 467 employees (93.4%) responded with usable data. The characteristics of the respondents are displayed in the table below.

<Table 2> Respondent Characteristics

Variable	N	%
Place
City hall	280	60
Gu office	187	40
Dept. type
Face-to-face	183	39.2
Not face-to-face	277	59.3
Gender
Male	273	58.5
Female	192	41.1
Education
High school	72	15.4
Univ. graduate	357	76.4
Master & over	30	6.4
Age
20s	23	4.9
30s	133	28.5
40s	198	42.4
50 & over	111	23.8
Service Length
0-5years	66	14.1
6-15years	125	26.8
16years & over	269	57.6
Position
Level 9	45	9.6
Level 8	118	25.3
Level 7	231	49.5
Level 6 & over	69	14.8

Among the respondents, men were more strongly represented than women. However, there was a relatively even spread in terms of ages. The low number of workers in their 20s is to be expected due to the length of time it takes to pass the government exam as well as mandatory military service for all Korean men. The category of 50s and over is used because Korean civil servants are required to retire when they are 62 years old. In terms of workplace, 280 of the respondents worked in the city hall, while 187 worked in the gu-offices. The sample included more respondents who are not required to have face-to-face contact with the public than respondents who meet the public face-to-face. It is important to note however that these employees may still come into contact with the public, in particular through the telephone. The majority of respondents were educated to university level. As the great majority of Koreans now go on to university, those without university degrees tend to be older. The sample included many respondents with significant employment experience in public administration, although 66 respondents had less than five years experience. In Korea government positions range from level 9 (lowest), to level 1 (highest).

Ⅳ. Results

Descriptive statistics were computed for each of the factors of emotional labor, as well as possible consequences of emotional labor, using SPSS18.0. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used with Scheffé post-hoc mean tests to determine where significant differences between pairs of respondent characteristics were present. Missing values were omitted from the analysis. Table 3 presents the statistics for all of the variables used in the analysis. A principal components factor analysis was performed on the items, using varimax rotation. After 6 rotations, the KMO was .883 which meant the data were suitable for factor analysis. All Cronbach’s Alphas have values over 0.7 as recommended by Nunnally (1978). Overall, higher results were found for emotional exhaustion, attentiveness and job satisfaction. However the remaining scales all had means below 3.0. The mean responses can be seen to be relatively low compared to the previous study of emotional labor in Korea using the same scale (Kim, Sang Goo, 2009).

<Table 3> Refined Scale Statistics

Scale	Number of Items	Mean	Variance	SD	Alpha
Frequency	4	2.92	11.138	.848	.847
Attentiveness	3	3.06	9.129	.762	.801
Variety	3	2.98	7.111	.591	.634
Dissonance	4	2.82	12.824	.751	.871
Job Stress	3	2.88	7.320	.810	.864
Emotional Exhaustion	5	3.18	16.499	.807	.913
Job Satisfaction	3	3.02	8.870	.645	.768

* 6 times rotated, principal components analysis, varimax, KMO: .883(.00)

Table 4 presents the results for the four factors of emotional labor. Those working in face-to-face departments reported the greatest frequency of emotional labor, and the results show a significant difference according to department type. In terms of frequency, there were also statistically significant differences according to place of work, level of education, age and service length. Regarding the level of attentiveness required for emotional labor, with the exception of age and position, none of the differences were significant. In terms of age, while those in their 30s, 40s, and 50s were grouped closely together, employees in their 20s reported that they were less attentive in emotional labor terms. Similarly, level 9 employees reported the lowest levels of attentiveness for the position variable. City hall employees reported a significantly greater variety of emotional labor than their counterparts in the gu-offices, and there were also significant differences according to age, service length and position, with younger employees, those with less service length and level 9 employees reporting the least variety of emotional labor. Dissonance received the lowest overall scores, with no groups of employees having a mean higher than 3.0 on any of the questions. However, there were significant differences in terms of education, age, and service length.

<Table 4> Emotional Labor Analysis

(N)		Frequency		Attentiveness		Variety		Dissonance
		M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
Place	City hall (280)	2.82	3.126**	3.05	.436	3.04	3.260**	2.82	.102
	Gu-office (187)	3.07		3.08		2.87		2.81
Dept. type	Face-to-face (183)	3.46	12.951**	3.13	1.294	2.95	1.056	2.85	.606
	Not face-to-face (277)	2.59		3.04		3.00		2.81
Gender	Male (273)	2.87	1.750	3.04	.740	3.01	1.316	2.79	1.178
	Female (192)	3.01		3.10		2.93		2.87
Education	High school (72)	2.58	8.063**	2.94	1.244	2.93	1.528	2.52	7.157**
	Univ. graduate (357)	3.00		3.09		3.00		2.88
	Master & over (30)	2.83		3.11		2.82		2.81
	post-hoc (Scheffé)	U > H						U > H
Age	20s (23)	2.50	3.574*	2.43	5.687**	2.64	3.584*	2.12	9.168**
	30s (133)	3.06		3.10		2.93		2.98
	40s (198)	2.86		3.10		3.04		2.81
	50s & over (111)	2.97		3.09		3.00		2.82
	post-hoc (Scheffé)	30 > 20		30=40=50 > 20		40 > 20		30=40=50 > 20
Service length	0-5 years (66)	2.86	5.226**	2.91	1.930	2.81	3.392*	2.66	4.472*
	6-15 years (125)	3.13		3.04		2.99		2.98
	16 years & over (269)	2.84		3.12		3.02		2.80
	post-hoc (Scheffé)	6-15 > 16-				16- > 0-5		6-15 > 0-5
Position	Level 9 (45)	2.59	2.603	2.73	4.175**	2.76	2.925*	2.57	2.129
	Level 8 (118)	2.97		3.06		2.97		2.90
	Level 7 (231)	2.95		3.15		3.03		2.82
	Level 6 & over (69)	2.98		3.01		2.95		2.84
	post-hoc (Scheffé)			7 > 9		7 > 9

*p<0.05, **p<0.01

Interestingly, there were no significant differences according to gender, and men even reported a slightly greater variety of emotional labor. While face-to-face workers reported significant differences according to frequency, the differences were not significant for the other three factors. Age was a significant variable for every factor, with those in their 20s using the least emotional labor. Similarly, those with less than five years experience reported the lowest levels of emotional labor, as did level 9 employees. Interestingly, there was no clear pattern regarding seniority and emotional labor, although employees at level 6 or over reported lower scores than those at levels 7 and 8 in regards to attentiveness and variety.

The possible consequences of emotional labor will now be discussed in terms of job stress, emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction. As previous research has found connections between emotional labor and stress, emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction, we can expect that those groups who scored more highly on emotional labor to also score more highly on its consequences. Table 5 reveals significant differences in relation to education, age, service length and position, with employees without university degrees, those in their 20s, those with less than five years of service, and level 9 employees showing the least stress. With emotional exhaustion, education, age, service length and position again show significant differences, as does gender, with women being more likely to suffer from emotional exhaustion than men. In terms of job satisfaction, only the position variable provides statistically significant results, with those at level 6 and over being the most likely to be satisfied, followed by those at level 9. As such, there is greater similarity between the responses for emotion labor and job stress and emotional exhaustion than there is between emotional labor and job satisfaction.

<Table 5> Analysis of Job Stress, Emotional Exhaustion, and Job Satisfaction

(N)		Job Stress		Emotional Exhaustion		Job Satisfaction
		M	F	M	F	M	F
Place	City hall (280)	2.91	1.132	3.22	1.458	3.07	1.900
	Gu-office (187)	2.83		3.11		2.95
Dept. type	Face-to-face (183)	2.89	.158	3.12	1.373	3.01	.273
	Not face-to-face (277)	2.87		3.23		3.02
Gender	Male (273)	2.83	1.581	3.08	3.397**	3.02	.145
	Female (192)	2.95		3.33		3.02
Education	High school (72)	2.66	3.212*	2.92	4.619**	2.88	2.694
	Univ. graduate (357)	2.92		3.24		3.06
	Master & over (30)	2.86		3.14		2.92
	post-hoc (Scheffé)	U > H		U > H
Age	20s (23)	2.25	6.425**	2.17	14.277**	3.26	1.191
	30s (133)	2.97		3.29		3.00
	40s (198)	2.95		3.24		3.00
	50s & over (111)	2.78		3.15		3.03
	post-hoc (Scheffé)	30=40=50 > 20		30=40=50 > 20
Service length	0-5 years (66)	2.66	3.666*	2.85	7.986**	3.02	1.100
	6-15 years (125)	2.99		3.33		2.95
	16 years & over (269)	2.88		3.20		3.06
	post-hoc (Scheffé)	6-15 > 0-5		6-15 = 16- > 0-5
Position	Level 9 (45)	2.32	12.302**	2.40	24.385**	3.16	4.411**
	Level 8 (118)	3.05		3.43		2.91
	Level 7 (231)	2.97		3.29		2.99
	Level 6 & over (69)	2.66		2.96		3.23
	post-hoc (Scheffé)	7 = 8 > 6 = 9		7 = 8 > 6 > 9		6 > 8

*p<0.05, **p<0.01

Ⅴ. Discussion

While we expected younger and less experienced employees to use more emotional labor, the results differed from our expectations, as they revealed low levels of emotional labor by employees in their 20s and those with five years or less experience. We expected dissonance to be higher for younger and less experienced employees due to fewer opportunities to develop surface acting. However, these two groups also had the lowest scores for dissonance. It is interesting however that emotional labor begins to reduce again for employees in their 50s and over, as this would support the idea that older workers are more experienced in deep acting. The results for the position variable also differ from the existing literature, with level 9 employees recording the lowest scores. Interestingly, those whose highest level of education was high school also recorded low frequency of emotional labor and low levels of dissonance. Usually those with only a high school level of education are older and so this may help to explain the differences. However, it may be that there is less concern for emotional labor among those with less education, and so this variable would benefit from further investigation.

Though there are some differences according to department type, these are only significant in terms of frequency. This was expected, because although face-to-face employees may be required to use body language and facial expressions more, emotional labor can still be conducted through the telephone, and previous studies did not find significant differences according to mode of delivery. Interestingly, there are also differences according to place of work with those who work in gu-offices recording greater frequency of emotional labor, and those in city hall scoring higher on variety. It is perhaps unsurprising that employees in the gu-offices are required to use emotional labor more frequently, as these employees work in smaller offices and are therefore more likely to meet residents face-to-face, and be closely monitored by supervisors and management. Similarly, as employees at city hall process a greater range of applications in contrast to the more routine work of gu-office employees, this may help to explain the greater variety of emotional labor that they report using. Moreover, the city hall respondents were older with longer length of service, and so consequently they may be capable of performing a greater variety of emotional labor.

The results of our survey reveal significant differences in job stress and emotional labor, according to the variables of educational level, age, service length and position. As there are also significant differences according to the emotional labor of these groups, this appears to be consistent with the existing literature which emphasizes the connection between emotional labor, job stress, and emotional exhaustion. The general lack of significant variation according to job satisfaction, while differing from our expectations is nonetheless consistent with research which has found relatively high job satisfaction in the Korean public sector (Jung et al., 2007).

Regarding gender, the lack of significant differences, apart from in the area of emotional exhaustion, represents a departure from the results of previous studies. One explanation could be that more women than men are socialized into expressing the ‘right’ kinds of emotions and so they are less conscious of their emotional labor. In other words, they may see emotion regulation as being quite normal, but nonetheless feel the consequences in terms of emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, it is still the case that women are expected to undertake more unpaid work at home, and this may contribute to the relatively higher levels of emotional exhaustion felt by female employees. While the emotional labor differences were not significant, it is important to note that female employees still gave higher responses across each of the factors, and as such may benefit from programs to reduce the negative impacts of emotional labor.

The relatively low scores for emotional labor, and in particular in regard to dissonance mean that there is a general degree of emotional consonance among the employees in our sample. Emotional consonance is something which has received relatively little attention in studies, although it appears to fit with what Hochschild (1983) termed ‘passive deep acting’ (Näring et al., 2007). According to Näring et al (2007), consonance is something which occurs when people effortlessly feel the emotions that are required in a certain situation. One reason for this may be that most applicants to the civil service in Korea are aware of what is required of them as the process of passing the civil service exam may take several years.

More specifically, Bucheon has been recognized as a ‘best government’, and offers substantial training to employees, particularly with regard to managing stress. Previous research supports the idea that when well managed, emotional labor does not provide an undue burden to employees (Guy & Newman, 2004; Mastracci et al., 2006; Meier et al., 2006). As such, it may be that the good practices of local government in Bucheon help to provide employees with strategies to cope with the demands of emotional labor, and thus reduce the amount of effort required by employees to manage their emotions. In short, the management practices in Bucheon local government offer a potential explanation as to why the results of our survey differ from those of previous studies (Kim, Sang Goo, 2009).

The role of Confucianism in Korean culture may further help to explain the degree of consonance. Confucianism can still be seen to have affect the everyday life of Koreans, despite it no longer being practiced as a religion (Koh, 1996). In particular, humaneness (仁), the ultimate virtue of Confucianism emphasizes love, harmony, kindness and benevolence (Kee, 2008), similar values to which public servants may be expected to display in their work. While public servants are no longer selected on the basis of their knowledge of Confucian philosophy as was the case in the Chosun Dynasty, and despite the challenges of globalization, the impact of Confucianism continues to be felt on Korean government (Park, 1997). Moreover, as Confucianism stresses hierarchy, subordinates must obey orders from superiors, and in terms of age, juniors should respect their seniors. It would appear that the culture of Confucianism prepares Koreans to express the required emotions at work. While there are limits to the influence of Confucianism, it nevertheless helps to explain both the lower overall reporting of emotional labor, and also the lower emotional labor responses for those in their 20s, with five years or less experience, and at level 9 in the organizational hierarchy.

A further issue that must be taken into consideration is the possibility of response bias. As some aspects of emotional labor carry negative connotations, for example being confused about one’s emotions, it may be that employees give responses that they perceive to be more emotionally desirable. Kim and Kim (2012) have suggested that in relation to public service motivation, social desirability bias may be a problem, as there is a strong tendency to respond in a socially desirable way to social and cultural norms in Korea. As studies of emotional labor are usually based on questionnaires with similar formats, response bias may also be an issue in emotional labor research.

Ⅵ. Conclusion

This results of this study can contribute to understanding emotional labor in Korean public administration. The variables of educational level, age, service length, and position revealed significant differences in terms of emotional labor and in terms of job stress and emotional exhaustion. These findings differ from earlier research which finds that older employees need to use more emotional labor (Kim, Sang Goo, 2009). No significant differences were found according to gender for emotional labor, although women were significantly more likely to suffer from emotional exhaustion. Again this contrasts with earlier research (Kim, Sang Goo, 2009). In terms of job satisfaction, significant differences were only found according to the position variable, with employees at level 6 or over reporting the highest levels of job satisfaction. This last finding is more consistent with earlier research in the Korean context which finds relatively high levels of job satisfaction in the public sector (Jung et al., 2007). More generally the results revealed relatively low levels of emotional labor. Explanations for the results are offered based on the management and training of Bucheon council, but also according to cultural factors of Korean public administration, including the lengthy preparation time required for the civil service entrance exam, and the continued influence of Confucianism on Korean public administration.

While this study offers new information on emotional labor in Korea, it also raises questions about the nature and extent of emotional labor in Korea. Information on who is likely to undertake emotional labor can help local governments to offer training and support. More support would not only have benefits for the workers themselves, but may also result in a more productive workforce and better services for the public. In this sense, the Bucheon authority offers an example of good practice in its training programs about managing job stress, and local governments throughout Korea that are not yet offering similar programs should be encouraged to do so. As there seems to be a significant overlap between those who engage in emotional labor and those who suffer from job stress and emotional exhaustion, local governments could offer additional support to groups who are identified as performing more emotional labor. More generally, the use of the e-civil complaints system offers ways of dealing with the public’s problems while requiring less emotional labor with the public (interaction with the public may be limited to written responses). Of course, not all complaints can be dealt with online, but this offers a way of at least reducing the burden of emotional labor and thereby reducing job stress and emotional exhaustion. In this sense, initiatives to reduce the digital divide and increase the use of online applications may also be useful in helping to reduce the emotional labor required of local government employees.

The findings of this study and the nature of the differences with previous studies in Korea suggest a strong need for further research on emotional labor in Korea. As a starting point we suggest that research should be conducted on the extent to which different public sector jobs in Korea require or emphasize emotional labor. Such research does not necessarily need to be based on employee responses, but could also be based on job descriptions and appraisal instruments (see Mastracci et al., 2006). In addition, if emotional labor is to develop in the Korean context, there is a need for further studies on the link between emotional labor and organizational performance (see Meier, 2006). In applying emotional labor to the Korean context, more work may be required to adapt the factors. As such, there is considerable scope for qualitative studies and hypothesis building as well as refining emotional labor scales. Research into response bias in relation to emotional labor in Korea may help to adapt emotional labor and the way it is measured in the Korean context. In particular, including fewer items in the scale may be more beneficial in the Korean context in order to reduce respondents’ workload. In time this may lead to research in wider areas of government activity, including social welfare and education, and in diverse types of organizations involved in delivering public programs, including social enterprises and nonprofit organizations. Only then will we be able to understand the full impact of emotional labor on Korean public administration.

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Mark Wilding: is a professor(full-time lecturer) in the Department of Public Administration at the Catholic University of Korea. He has a Ph.D in Labor Studies from the University of Manchester, UK. His current research focuses on social enterprise policies, and the mobility of policies across various contexts.

<E-mail: maw@catholic.ac.kr / 논문접수일: 2012. 04. 12 / 심사개시일: 2012. 04. 16 / 심사완료일: 2012. 05. 13>

Kyung-Jin Chae: is a professor(full-time lecturer) in the Department of Public Administration at the Seoul Jeil Graduate University. He has a Ph.D in Public Administration from the Catholic University of Korea. His current research focuses on cultural policy, local government collaboration, and research methodology.

<E-mail: kjinchae@gmail.com>