Current literature remains inconclusive regarding the adverse impact of emotional labor requirements on burnout. To address the discrepancy, this study revisited this relationship as well as investigated the potential additive and interactive effects of job resources, namely job control, social support, and rewards. In the sample of 208 public service workers, regression results revealed that display rules that require expression of positive emotions did not account for variance in emotional exhaustion whereas display rules that require suppression of negative emotions were emotionally taxing. Job resources were uniformly associated with decreased emotional exhaustion. Moreover, coworker support significantly attenuated the harmful impact of emotional demands. Based on these findings, this study suggests, rather than emphasizing negative display rules, it is more favorable for organizations to specify appropriate expressions of job-related emotions. When workers are at risk of burnout, provision of job resources can help ease the burden and reduce job stress.

In this article we investigate the influence of emotional labor on job satisfaction and burnout across a range of public service occupations. While prior studies in this genre have primarily focused on human services, occupations in this analysis range from routine clerical interactions to emotionally intense first-responder jobs. Despite this range, structural equation modeling shows that (a) emotion work increases job satisfaction as well as burnout; (b) emotive skills lead to an upsurge in job satisfaction and are inversely associated with burnout; and (c) the deleterious effect of emotional labor mainly occurs not with its performance, per se, but when workers must fake their feelings. It is this circumstance that produces an elevated risk of burnout.

The literature on knowledge sharing motivation has addressed the importance of both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation to sharing knowledge. However, a theory of knowledge sharing motivation in the public sector requires particular consideration since government’s main concern is in public service, not profits. Therefore, the present study introduces the concept of public service motivation (PSM) to the study of knowledge sharing among civil servants. Based on the PSM theory, this study postulates that civil servants’ interest in policy making, commitment to the public interest, compassion, and willingness for self-sacrifice can drive them to share knowledge for a sacred reason – serving the public interest. By using the data collected from middle-level public managers in Taiwan, the authors empirically tested whether PSM predicts knowledge sharing, and our hypotheses received strong support. Thus, PSM opens a new window for researchers interested in the study of knowledge sharing in the public sector. Points for practitioners: With the introduction of PSM, the present study connects knowledge sharing with public administration. Public service as a calling leads civil servants to share knowledge in order to create more advanced organizational knowledge and accordingly improve public service performance. Compared to situational factors (e.g. the use of information technology and rewards), PSM plays an even more pivotal role in promoting knowledge sharing, according to the results of our empirical research. Thus, altruistic motivation should be addressed and emphasized if knowledge sharing in the public sector is to be encouraged.