Emotional labor and workplace relationships among personnel officials and teachers

We examined the influence of personnel officials’ emotional labor on teachers’ perceptions of personnel officials’ emotional displays. Additionally, we assessed the effects of these perceptions on teachers’ guanxi with personnel officials. Participants were 165 personnel officials and 490 teachers from Taiwanese public elementary and junior high schools. Results indicated that the type of emotional acting performed by personnel officials was significantly related to teachers’ perceptions of the same type of acting. Teachers’ perceived authenticity of personnel officials was related to greater guanxi with personnel officials than was perceived inauthenticity. These results indicate the benefits associated with teachers’ impressions of personnel officials’ authentic emotional displays. Therefore, emotional authenticity might be important for an individual’s ability to understand another’s personal identity.