How to Escape a Surface Acting Spiral

We’ve long known that physical labor can take its toll at work. Whether it’s the repetitive movements of factory workers, or construction workers exposed to the elements. We also recognize the demands of cognitive labor at work, like the stress faced by CEOs confronted with a barrage of difficult decisions, or a teacher overwhelmed with balancing the diverging needs of their students. A third, often unrecognized demand at work is emotional labor, which captures the need to regulate your emotions as part of your job.

Emotional labor is most prevalent in jobs that require contact with customers, clients, or the public at large. Think about the restaurant server who must appear friendly and cheerful in the midst of the dinner rush. Or the airline desk agent who must remain calm while a customer unleashes their frustration about a delayed or cancelled flight. But emotional labor is also necessary when we interact with our coworkers, and even for leaders managing their team.

Research shows that people tend to use two distinct strategies when regulating their emotions at work. Surface acting occurs when we merely fake the emotions we’re expected to show, and hide any hint of frustration, anger, or other inappropriate emotion. It’s reactive by nature, and there’s a disconnect between the emotions that are felt and those that are shown, which causes tension. Deep acting, however, involves intentionally putting oneself in a good mood prior to interacting with others. You might take a moment to reflect on a recent pleasant memory, or to remind yourself what you like about your job or how it helps you provide for your family.

As you may have guessed, the research shows that surface acting is linked with worse performance and health, while deep acting is either beneficial or at least not harmful. That poses a critical question – why would anyone surface act in the first place?

Seeking answers

To provide a better understanding of this dynamic, we followed customer service workers over two work weeks. We targeted these customer service workers specifically because they have among the highest emotional labor expectations of any job. In two separate studies, we asked these employees each morning about their energy levels going into the day. After work, we asked how they regulated their emotions at work – did they rely more on surface acting or deep acting with customers?

Our results, recently published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior, revealed a troubling dynamic. When employees started the day already drained, they tended to rely more heavily on surface acting. Instead of investing the time and energy to put themselves in a good mood (deep acting), they were merely faking their way through the workday.

But this faking had consequences. Surface acting is exhausting, given that we are forced to maintain emotional expressions that are at odds with our feelings. What’s more, customers can tell when an employee is surface acting and respond with more hostility. In contrast, deep acting inspires more genuine connection from others.

Together, this dynamic traps employees in a surface acting spiral. When you wake up already exhausted, you have little choice but to fake your way through the day by surface acting. This faking leaves you exhausted and disconnected from your own emotions and others, so you start the following day with even lower energy levels than the day before. The spiral continues to build and dig employees deeper into a hole.

Escaping surface acting spirals

If this sounds like you or someone you know, don’t despair just yet. We also studied ways to break free of this spiral by asking participants whether they engaged in any recovery activities after work. This included social activities like grabbing dinner with a friend, physical activities like hitting the gym or going for a run, and low-effort activities like relaxing with a good book or series.

Interestingly, low-effort activities were uniquely able to break people free of this surface acting spiral. We suspect this is because they require little up-front investment to enact. While practicing a sport or attending a family get-together can be enjoyable, they also require energy in terms of organizing and preparing. For those caught in a surface acting spiral, this investment might be more than they can muster. In contrast, simply slowing down and relaxing requires much less effort up front, but can still replenish us so that we’re better able to deep act the following day.

This, of course, is easier said than done. Many people are pressed for time or have caregiving demands that make it difficult to set aside time for relaxation. The good news is that even short breaks – five minutes or less – can help employees recover. Stepping away to take a short walk, stretch, or grab a breath of fresh air during work time would all count as relaxation. Decompressing with colleagues and sharing how we really feel can also go a long way in helping handle the stress of emotional labor.

Companies must also play a role in protecting their employees’ well-being. First, organizations should carefully consider whether emotional labor requirements are really necessary for accomplishing goals. The organizational benefits of emotional labor are modest, and providing employees more latitude to express authentic emotions can help avoid many of the harms associated with surface acting. Second, organizations can abandon the “customer is king” mentality and instead foster a culture of mutual respect. Doing so empowers employees to push back against rude or hostile customers and minimizes the need to surface act in the first place. Third, companies can ensure employees have sufficient breaks and the autonomy to step away when they find themselves depleted and unable to engage in more adaptive forms of emotional labor.

Putting the pieces together

Although it often goes unrecognized, emotional labor is a demanding aspect of many jobs – especially those who must deal with customers or the general public. Investing the time and energy into deep acting by putting yourself in a positive mood before starting your work shift can be an effective way to handle these demands. Our research shows that this is easier said than done. When energy levels are running low, employees’ options are limited and they rely more heavily on surface acting. This only serves to further exhaust them, setting the stage for a surface acting spiral. Setting aside time to relax and recover can help employees break free, and organizations should carefully consider whether the emotional expectations they place on employees are really worthwhile. Finally, we should all do our part as customers to treat service workers with respect and kindness, which can alleviate emotional labor demands and help prevent these spirals from occurring in the first place.