Perceived Organizational Support Predicts Emotional Labor among Nurses

Background: Nursing is among the various occupations that require management of emotions according to the job demands. Emotional labor and lack of reward are the main sources of mental health outcomes among the nurses. It is very important that more researches, which contemplate the emotional labor importance and unfavorable mental health effects, be carried out. Aim: This study was aimed to investigate the effect of perceived organizational Support on emotional labor among nurses. Method: The present study was a correlational study, consist of 200 nurses both Male nurses (N=100) and Females nurses (N=100), from different hospitals and clinics. Age ranged from 20 to 51 years (M= 30.50; S.D= 4.40). Data of the study was collected through convenient sampling technique. Participants were assessed by Shorten Version of Survey of Perceived Organizational Support (Eisenberger et al, 1986) in order to measure perceived organizational support and Dutch Questionnaire on Emotional Labor (D-QEL) (Näring, Briët, & Brouwers, 2007) in order to assess emotional labor. Results: The results revealed that perceived organizational support significantly predicts emotional labor. By improving the perception of organizational support among nurses, the experience of emotional labor can be reduced. Conclusion: The purpose of the present study was to develop a health-care model of emotional labor which could help the organizations to understand the role of perceived organizational support on the reactions to the strain of the emotional labor. The present study revealed that perceived organizational support is a significant predictor of emotional labor. Informal types of organizational support (e.g., a perception that the organization is concerned with one’s personal life) are important for expatriate success, and should be incorporated into expatriate programs.