Are your goals working for you or against you? Implications of interpersonal goals at work on surface acting and burnout.

Burnout is a costly consequence of chronic work stress. Although reliably predicted by work conditions, many situations are not modifiable. It is therefore important to identify modifiable individual factors as well. In particular, little is known about the influence of intrinsic factors on burnout, such as motivations in social contexts, and whether engagement in surface acting serves as a path by which social motivations affect burnout. Informed by the Ecosystem–Egosystem Theory of Social Motivation, the present study investigated the extent to which having goals to construct, maintain, and defend desired images of the self (i.e., self-image goals) and goals to support and not harm others in the workplace (i.e., compassionate goals) influences employee engagement in surface acting and work-related burnout. Participants whose jobs required moderate to high customer interaction (N = 240) provided three waves of self-reported data. Findings suggest self-image goals may contribute to subsequent burnout, but they were not associated with surface acting over time. Compassionate goals, conversely, were associated with less subsequent surface acting, but not burnout. Alternative models suggest burnout may contribute both to higher self-image goals and lower compassionate goals. However, some results were inconsistent. This is the first study to investigate interpersonal goals as a predictor of surface acting and burnout in the workplace. Findings provide initial insight into how interpersonal goals that are derived from motivational systems may influence behavior in the workplace and affect well-being. Implications and considerations of the study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of International Journal of Stress Management is the property of American Psychological Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)