Emotional Labour, Work Control and Work Victimization as Predictors of Proactive Work Behaviour among Academic Staff

Abstract

This study examined emotional labour, work control and work victimization as predictors of proactive work behaviour among staff. Two hundred and twenty nine staff (229) comprising 128 males and 101 females selected from Enugu State University of Science and Technology participated in the study. Their ages ranged from 25 to 70 years. Four instruments were used for data collection and they are Emotional Labour Scale, Work Control Scale, Work Victimization Scale and Proactive Work Behaviour Scale. The result of the hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that the two sub-dimensions of emotional labour (surface acting and deep acting), collectively accounted 4.1% variance in proactive work behaviour of staff. Surface acting significantly and negatively predicted proactive work behaviour of staff. Deep acting positively and significantly predicted proactive work behaviour of staff (β = .22, P= .002). Work control significantly and negatively predicted proactive work behaviour of staff. Work victimization significantly and negatively predicted proactive work behaviour of staff. The implications of these findings were highlighted, limitations were stated and suggestions were made for further studies.