This article provides a quantitative review of the link of emotional labor (emotion–rule dissonance, surface acting, and deep acting) with well-being and performance outcomes. The meta-analysis is based on 494 individual correlations drawn from a final sample of 95 independent studies. Results revealed substantial relationships of emotion–rule dissonance and surface acting with indicators of impaired well-being (ρs between .39 and .48) and job attitudes (ρs between −.24 and −.40) and a small negative relationship with performance outcomes (ρs between −.20 and −.05). Overall, deep acting displayed weak relationships with indicators of impaired well-being and job attitudes but positive relationships with emotional performance and customer satisfaction (ρs .18 and .37). A meta-analytic regression analysis provides information on the unique contribution of emotion–rule dissonance, surface acting, and deep acting in statistically predicting well-being and performance outcomes. Furthermore, a mediation analysis confirms theoretical models of emotional labor which suggest that surface acting partially mediates the relationship of emotion–rule dissonance with well-being. Implications for future research as well as pragmatic ramifications for organizational practices are discussed in conclusion.

Service plays a vital role in today's economies. Indeed, service activities now account for about 70% of the gross domestic product in the United States as well as in European countries (Central Intelligence Agency, 2009). Accordingly, more than two thirds of the labor force in the United States and Europe is working in the service sector (Central Intelligence Agency, 2009), and this proportion is expected to...