Emotional labor: A conceptualization and scale development

Despite increased research attention, the emotional labor construct remains without a clear conceptualization and operationalization. This study designed a conceptually grounded, psychometrically sound instrument to measure emotional labor with an emphasis on the experience of discrete emotions—the Discrete Emotions Emotional Labor Scale (DEELS). This conceptualization and operationalization of emotional labor departs from existing efforts because it focuses on the behavior of emotional expression, encompassing genuine, faked, and suppressed positive and negative emotional displays. Results provide initial evidence for the convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity of the DEELS.