The impact of action crises on employees’ emotional labor

Purpose Employees' emotional labor is a complex process, which is affected by action crises. However, the specific mechanisms through which action crises impact employees' emotional labor remain incompletely elucidated in existing research. Grounded in Ego-Depletion and Conservation of Resources theories, this study investigates ego depletion as a mediator and achievement motivation as a moderator in the relationship between action crises and emotional labor. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 453 Chinese service industry employees via a questionnaire assessing demographics, action crises, achievement motivation, ego depletion, and emotional labor. After assessing scale reliability, validity, and common method variance, we conducted descriptive statistics and correlation analyses. Subsequently, a structural equation model (SEM) was established to test the hypothesized influence paths. Findings The results indicate that perceived action crises negatively affect surface acting but positively affect deep acting, with ego depletion mediating these relationships. Furthermore, achievement motivation moderates the link between action crises and ego depletion: success-seeking motivation strengthens it, while failure-avoidance motivation weakens it. Originality/value This study makes two key contributions. Theoretically, it offers a novel integrated perspective on the psychological mechanisms linking action crises to emotional labor. Practically, it provides actionable strategies to help managers mitigate the negative impact of emotional labor and support employee well-being.