University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh UNIVERSITY OF GHANA COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE EMOTIONAL LABOUR AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH: A STUDY OF GHANAIAN MEDIA PRACTITIONERS BY COLLINS BADU AGYEMANG (10327733) THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE IN PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY JULY 2017 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DECLARATION I hereby declare that except for references to other peoples’ works which have been duly acknowledged, this research was conducted by me in the Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, Legon, under the supervision of Dr. Maxwell Asumeng, Dr. Benjamin Amponsah, and Prof. C. Charles Mate-Kole. I also certify that this thesis is an original piece of research written by me and has never been submitted in whole or part for the award of any Degree in any other University other than the University of Ghana. ………………………………………….. ………………………………… COLLINS BADU AGYEMANG DATE (PHD CANDIDATE) ………………………………………….. ………………………………… DR. MAXWELL ASUMENG DATE (PRINCIPAL SUPERVISOR) ………………………………………….. ………………………………… DR. BENJAMIN AMPONSAH DATE (CO-SUPERVISOR) ………………………………………….. ………………………………… PROF. C. CHARLES MATE-KOLE DATE (CO-SUPERVISOR) i University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DEDICATION To all emotional labourers. To my mum, Maame Afia Kesewaa, who introduced me to the joy of reading from birth, molded and instilled in me an insatiable desire for knowledge, innovation, hard work, tenacity, and creative excellence. To my indescribably precious wife, Rebecca, and my lovely citizens; Nana Kwame, Kwabena Boateng, and Ohemaa Kesewah, for their indefatigable motivation, support, loving-kindness, tolerance, and selfless spirit as I took some of the family’s precious time for this project. ii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENT “It is good to give thanks… (Psalms 92:1)”. Every good gift and every perfect present comes from Jehovah. I thank the Almighty God Jehovah for giving me the strength beyond what is normal throughout the research period. This thesis would not have been possible without the loving support and constructive suggestions of my resourceful supervisors, Dr. Maxwell Asumeng, Dr. Benjamin Amponsah, and Prof. C. Charles Mate-Kole. Indeed, I could not have seen farther without standing on your stalwart intellectual shoulders. Your mentorship and coaching has shaped me into a focused and usable scientist poised to fatten many others planning to climb the hills of learning. You proved to be the Daddies I longed for. I am highly indebted to my mother, mentor, guardian, and academic mirror, Prof. Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu, who said to me “PhD is not about the certificate but the training you go through”. Your encouragement and practical support shaped my academic pathways. My heartfelt appreciation to Professors Akusah and de-Graft Aikins, for allowing me to serve as an ‘academic foot-soldier’. I am indebted to UG-Carnegie Corporation for their support. I am also grateful to all UG-Carnegie Staff, Mama Christy Badu, Jennifer, David, Ophelia, Felix, and Antwi Boasiako and family. I owe my deepest gratitude to Dr. Akuamoah Boateng, for the foundation given me as an I-O Professional. Prof David Lackland Sam, your tutelage and exposure strengthened my arms. Let me thank the entire lecturing team at the Psychology Department especially my mate and friend Dr. Francis Annor. Not to be left out is the secretarial set of the Department of Psychology; Gina, Lydia, and Gifty. I thank all Media Practitioners who shared their experiences with me. I offer my regards to my dearest family and friends especially the ‘W.89’ family in Mampong, the Kyei family, Fynn family, Boateng family, Opoku – Agyemang family, Larbi Family, Maafia Adomah, Eunice, and my fellow supporters Acquah-Coleman, Abishai, Andrews and Mawuli Kushitor. My siblings, Oyelese, Naana and Nat, your prayers has been worthwhile. I appreciate the loving encouragement from my colleagues; Drs. (Mrs) Helen Arkorful, Emmanuel Asamoah, Ernest Abraham, Ummu Markwei, Anthony Kumassey, Ibrahim Mohammed, Profs. Amartey and Puni and my roommates, Gerald Nyanyofio and Emmanuel Dougan. I am also grateful to Mr K. Sarfo, Mavis Ada, Esther Ayensu and Ruth Lartey. To my staunch wife, Rebecca, I must admit that no amount of compendium of quotations, poems and narrations can accurately convey my innermost appreciation to you for your love, peace, humility, corrections, tolerance, selflessness, and kindness. Your ritualized Friday soups and Omutuo was an inspiration of hope, support, and unflinching support that prepared me for the tortuous nationwide journey for my research data collection. You gave me reasons to climb harder when the journey arduously seemed unsurmountable. As an ‘escatologist’, I sound the last trumpet into the ears of my fellow comrades; Erica, Dickus, Leb, Joan, Bruwaa, and Seth, ,not as a duty cry but to celebrate the joy of delaying together, working together, and encouraging each other to the finish line. iii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABSTRACT Studies on emotional labour have been increasingly influential as service employment continues to replace manufacturing ones in many developed and emerging economies. In a two component study (quantitative and qualitative) using convergent parallel (complementary concurrent) mixed method approach, the research aimed at explaining Ghanaian media practitioners' emotional labouring experiences and likely psychological health implications. The quantitative data (study one) was cross-sectionally obtained using questionnaires on emotional labour and psychological health from a purposive sample of 336 (205 males and 131 females). The quantitative data was analyzed using Pearson’s product moment correlation, Hayes process moderation analysis, and Standard Multiple Regression. Using purposive and snowball sampling strategy, 13 (9 males and 4 females) media practitioners were interviewed with a semi-structured interview protocol for the qualitative data (study two) as well as observation data from 4 media crew. All data set were gathered from media practitioners in Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Western Regions of Ghana. The first study revealed that surface acting significantly related to general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion but not psychological distress. It was also found that media practitioners who engage in surface acting experience emotional exhaustion indirectly through psychological effort. Religiousity significantly moderated the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion as well as psychological distress. Analysis of the qualitative study indicate that media practitioners explain emotional labour as ‘faking’- principally explained as ‘pretense’ or ‘living a lie’- and is manifested through the ‘suppression’ and/or ‘enhancement’ of ones' emotions. The study two further revealed depressive symptoms, stress, emotional dissonance, suicidal ideations, nightmares and associated insomnia, work- life balance challenges, turnover intentions, and superior-subordinate bullying, as key explorations of media practitioners’ psychological health states. Feedback from the public, fellow employees, friends and family emerged as predisposing factors of emotional labour iv University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh experiences. Even though some media practitioners resort to poor coping strategies such as abuse of alcohol, smoking, and intemperance in social activities, majority recourse to personal, religious and social resources as effective coping strategies to deal with emotional labour demands. These findings underscore the need for media employers and regulatory bodies to have emotional labour management strategy and psychological support systems to stabilize and improve employee health. v University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ..................................................................................................................... i DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................. x LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... xi LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................. xii CHAPTER ONE ..................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 1 1.0 Background ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................. 9 1.2 General Objectives of the Study .................................................................................. 14 1.2.1 Specific Objectives of the Study ........................................................................... 14 1.3 Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 15 1.4 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................ 15 1.5 Organization of the Thesis .......................................................................................... 17 CHAPTER TWO .................................................................................................................. 19 LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................................................... 19 2.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 19 2.1 Conceptual Descriptions .............................................................................................. 19 2.1.1. Emotions .............................................................................................................. 20 2.1.2 Emotional Dissonance .......................................................................................... 21 2.1.3 Emotional Labour ................................................................................................. 22 2.1.4 Psychological Health ............................................................................................ 25 2.2 Theoretical Underpinnings .......................................................................................... 28 2.2.1 Emotional Labour Theory (Grandey, 2000; Hochschild, 1983; Zapf et al., 1999) ....................................................................................................................................... 28 2.2.2 Conservation of Resource (CoR) Theory (Hobfoll, 1989; 2001) ......................... 30 2.2.3 Job Demand Resource Theory (JD-R) – (Demerouti et al., 2001) ....................... 31 2.2.4 Socio-ecological Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) ................................................ 32 2.2.5 Africultural Coping (Utsey, Adams & Bolden, 2000) .......................................... 34 vi University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.3 Review of Related Studies .......................................................................................... 35 2.3.1 Emotional Labour and Psychological Health ....................................................... 35 2.3.2 Emotional Labour and Work-Related Outcomes .................................................. 55 2.3.3 Emotional Labour, Mediating and Moderating Variables .................................... 61 2.3.4 Emotion-related Studies in Africa and Ghana ...................................................... 75 2.4 Rationale for the Study ................................................................................................ 82 2.5 Statement of Hypotheses ............................................................................................. 88 2.6 Operational Definitions ............................................................................................... 89 CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................... 91 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................ 91 3.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 91 3.1 Philosophical Assumptions of the Study ..................................................................... 91 3.2 Data Sources for the Study .......................................................................................... 94 3.3 Research Setting .......................................................................................................... 94 3.4 Population of the Study ............................................................................................... 95 3.5 Sampling Procedure .................................................................................................... 96 3.6 Part One – Quantitative Study ..................................................................................... 97 3.6.1 Research Design ................................................................................................... 97 3.6.2 Sample Size........................................................................................................... 98 3.6.3 Inclusion/ Exclusion Criteria for Study Participants ............................................ 99 3.6.4 Quantitative Survey Instrument ............................................................................ 99 3.6.5 Pilot Study Report ............................................................................................... 103 3.6.6 Quantitative Data Collection Procedure ............................................................. 105 3.6.7 Analyzing Quantitative Data .............................................................................. 105 3.7 Part Two- Qualitative Study ...................................................................................... 106 3.7.1 Justification for the Qualitative Study ................................................................ 106 3.7.2 Sample Size for Study Two ................................................................................ 109 3.7.3 Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria ............................................................................... 110 3.7.4 Qualitative Data Collection and Procedure ........................................................ 110 3.7.5 Analyzing the Qualitative Interviews ................................................................. 111 3.7.5.1 IPA Steps for Analyzing Study Two ............................................................ 114 3.7.6 Reliability and Validity of Interview Data ......................................................... 115 3.8 Observation Data ....................................................................................................... 117 3.9 Ethical Considerations for Conduct of this Research ................................................ 118 vii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................... 121 QUANTITATIVE RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ........................................................ 121 4.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 121 4.1 Preliminary Analysis ................................................................................................. 121 4.1.1 Demographic Characteristics of Respondents .................................................... 121 4.1.2 Descriptive Statistics of Variables ...................................................................... 125 4.1.3 Test for Normality .............................................................................................. 125 4.1.4 Correlation Matrix .............................................................................................. 127 4.2 Hypothesis Testing .................................................................................................... 129 4.3 Summary of Study One Findings .............................................................................. 139 4.4 Discussion of Quantitative Findings ......................................................................... 141 CHAPTER FIVE ................................................................................................................. 151 QUALITATIVE RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................. 151 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 151 5.2 Results ....................................................................................................................... 151 5.2.1 Relevant Demographics of Participants .............................................................. 152 5.2.2 Main Findings of the Micro-textual Interview Data ........................................... 156 5.2.2.1 Meanings of Emotional Labour ................................................................... 156 5.2.2.1.1 Dimensions of Emotional Labour – Enhancement and Suppression .... 163 5.2.2.1.1.1 Enhancement ...................................................................................... 163 5.2.2.1.1.2 Suppression ........................................................................................ 164 5.2.2.2 Predisposing Factors .................................................................................... 167 5.2.2.3 Emotions Displayed by Media Practitioners ................................................ 172 5.2.2.4 Psychological Health .................................................................................... 176 5.2.2.4.1 Psychological States .............................................................................. 177 5.2.2.4.1.1 Depressive Symptoms ........................................................................ 177 5.2.2.4.1.2 Stress .................................................................................................. 178 5.2.2.4.1.3 Emotional Dissonance ........................................................................ 179 5.2.2.4.1.4 Suicidal Ideations ............................................................................... 180 5.2.2.4.1.5 Nightmares (Flashes of bad memories) and Insomnia ....................... 181 5.2.2.4.1.6 Work-Life Integration Challenges ...................................................... 182 5.2.2.4.1.7 Turnover Intentions ............................................................................ 182 viii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.2.2.4.2 Behavioral Responses ............................................................................ 184 5.2.2.4.2.1 Ventilation .......................................................................................... 184 5.2.2.4.2.2 Substance Use- Alcohol Intake and Smoking .................................... 185 5.2.2.4.2.3 Intemperance in Social Activities ....................................................... 185 5.2.2.5 Coping and Management Strategies ............................................................ 187 5.2.2.5.1 Personal Resources ................................................................................ 187 5.2.2.5.1.1 Psychological Capital ......................................................................... 187 5.2.2.5.1.1 Post-Traumatic Growth ...................................................................... 188 5.2.2.5.2 Religious and Social Resources............................................................. 190 5.2.3 Results of Observation Data ............................................................................... 194 5.3 Discussion of Qualitative Findings ........................................................................... 203 CHAPTER SIX ................................................................................................................... 218 GENERAL DISCUSSION.................................................................................................. 218 6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 218 6.2. Brief Overview of Thesis ......................................................................................... 218 6.3 Summary of Key Findings (Study One and Two) ..................................................... 219 6.3.1 Complementarity of Findings ............................................................................. 220 6.3.2 Inconsistencies and Additional Findings ............................................................ 222 6.4 Contributions to the Body of Knowledge .................................................................. 225 6.4.1 Contributions to Theory and Literature .............................................................. 225 6.4.1.1 Methodological Contributions ..................................................................... 227 6.4.1.2 Analytical Contributions .............................................................................. 228 6.5 Limitations of the Study ............................................................................................ 229 6.6 Implications for Policy and Psychological Practice in Ghana................................... 231 6.7 Recommendations for Future Research .................................................................... 234 6.8 Reflexivity: Research Process, Ethical Issues, and Surprises ................................... 236 6.9 Summary and Conclusion ......................................................................................... 238 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................... 241 APPENDICES .................................................................................................................... 260 ix University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh LIST OF TABLES Table 1.0: Growth of the Electronic Media in Ghana ............................................................. 7 Table 3.0: Data Sources and Type of Analysis…………..…………………………...…….94 Table 3.1: Summary of Pilot Study Report (Cronbach’s Alpha) for Scales (N = 41) ....... 104 Table 3.2: Qualitative Research Paths ............................................................................... 117 Table 4.0 Some Descriptive Statistics of Study Participants ……………..………………..122 Table 4.1: Summary of the Means, Standard Deviation, Skewness, Kurtosis, and Reliabilities ......................................................................................................... 126 Table 4.2: Summary of Pearson Product Moment Correlation (Matrix) of Variables........ 128 Table 4.3.1: Summary Coefficients of Emotional Labour Dimensions and Emotional Exhaustion. ......................................................................................................... 130 Table 4.3.2: Summary Coefficient of Emotional Labour Dimensions and General Wellbeing............................................................................................................ 131 Table 4.4 Mediation Results ………………………………………………………......….132 Table 4.5.1: Summary Results of the Moderation Analysis on the Relationship between Surface Acting and Psychological Distress 133 Table 4.5.2: Summary Results of the Moderation Analysis on the Relationship between Surface Acting and General Wellbeing 134 Table 4.5.3: Summary Results of the Moderation Analysis on the Relationship between Surface Acting and Emotional Exhaustion…………………………………….134 Table 4.6.1: Summary Results of the Moderation Analysis on the Relationship between Deep Acting and Psychological Distress ............................................................ 136 Table 4.6.2: Summary Results of the Moderation Analysis on the Relationship between Deep Acting and General Wellbeing .................................................................. 137 Table 4.6.3: Summary Results of the Moderation Analysis on the Relationship between Deep Acting and Emotional Exhaustion ............................................................ 137 Table 5.0 Relevant Demographics of Participants…………….…………………………..153 Table 5.1: Summary of Themes on Emotional Expressions .............................................. 176 Table 5.2: Summary of Themes on Psychological Health .................................................. 186 Table 5.3: Summary of Themes on Coping Resources ....................................................... 193 Table 5.4: Some Relevant Demographics of Observed Media Crew ................................. 195 Table 5.5: Electronic Media Crew’s Meanings of Emotional Labour from Observation Data ............................................................................................................................ 197 Table 5.6: Participants’ Meaning (s) of Emotional Labour and Framework for such Explanations ....................................................................................................... 202 x University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.0: A Diagrammatic Representation of WHO’s Conceptualization of Health (2014) ........................................................................................................................... 26 Figure 2.0: Hypothesized Relationship among Variables of the Study ................................ 89 Figure 3.0: Research Path for Study One and Two ............................................................... 93 Figure 4.1: Moderation Effect of Religiosity on the Relationship between SA and PD ...... 135 Figure 4.2: Moderation Effect of Religiosity on the Relationship between SA and EE .... 136 Figure 4.3: Observed Model of Predictors and Outcome Variables ................................... 139 Figure 5.0 Meanings Assigned to Emotional Labour………..………………..…………..166 Figure 5.1: Explanation of Qualitative Findings Using Socio-ecological Model ............... 215 xi University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ACSI Africultural Coping Systems Inventory APA American Psychological Association CAQDAS Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software CED Cognitive or Emotional Debriefing CRS Centrality of Religiosity Scale DA Deep Acting EE Emotional Exhaustion EL Emotional Labour GIBA Ghana Independence Broadcasters Association GIJ Ghana Institute of Journalism GJA Ghana Journalist Association GPA Ghana Psychological Association IPA Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis MFWA Media Foundation for West Africa MMPSS Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support MOC Ministry of Communications MPSS Multidimensional Perceived Organizational Support NCA National Communication Authority NMC National Media Commission ODC Occupational Display Culture PD Psychological Distress PSTD Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder SA Surface Acting UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization WHO World Health Organization xii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.0 Background On 18th January, 2014, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) broadcaster and once a Ghanaian journalist hosting the morning show on Joy FM - Komla Afeke Dumor- died. Enigmatically, shortly before his death, Komla bemoaned on social media about how he endured a lot of collegial level abuse at work but pressed on without giving much thought to the enormous emotional demands from work and other fierce challenges from colleagues. Komla posted on his social media web page the following unedited message barely a week before his death; “Last year I experienced a lot of illness. My BP nearly gave me a stroke but I trod on. Waking up at 2am and heading to work. Exhausted sometimes, aching in my body and soul……mentally and emotionally drained, but I kept going. I smiled for the camera……I volunteered for extra shifts…..I showed respect to my colleagues from directors to security guards…..I took a lot of jealousy driven vicious insults and backstabbing from petty people without reply.. … I remain silent in my personal strife and misery….. I kept smiling and pushing on to present better and to engage with my audience and increase my following……..long days and frustrating times but I kept going. But I kept going…….through the west gate mall coverage through the Mandela funeral… even when illness had me collapsing, I delivered…...today my boss, the head of Television called me for a one minute meeting……he said Komla we have decided to make you the anchor presenter for our coverage of the world cup in Brazil, we shook hands and I left” (General News Agency, Sunday - January 19, 2014). The above unedited lamentations of an astute employee and media practitioner speak volumes of a threatening work related emotional hazard. Indeed, the above lamentations may reflect the realities of the experiences of many modern employees who strive to remain active, committed and publicly acceptable. Many young professionals in the media industry of Ghana see Komla Dumor as a benchmark for excellence and inspiration. Many other media and public personnel in their quest to maintain their standards, following, and pride, succumb to emotional management. 1 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The media industry, which is a cognate of the service sector, usually requires employees to yield to organizational display rules. Media practitioners yield to both organizationally and occupationally acceptable display rules as part of their work. Ken Oosterbroek and Kevin Carter, all South African journalist, died out of such emotional challenges (Agyemang, Fawaz & Borley, 2015). Is it not likely such enhancement of emotions (smiling to the camera, remaining silent in your misery, and smiling to present better) and pressure to excel or appear appealing and to defy critics being it employees or the general public, cumulatively could have mammoth effect on employees’ psychological health? Some occupations and job requirements persuade employees to intentionally manage and display some specific and acceptable feelings in order to be accepted by others (especially clients). Hochschild (1983) in her ground breaking work, termed such an emotional display rules as “Emotional Labour” (p. 987). Hochschild tagged the “effort, planning and control needed to express organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions as “emotional labour” (p. 987). Hochschild’s (1983) conceptualization of emotional labour, viewed from employee perspective requires them “to induce or suppress feelings in order to sustain the outward countenance that produces the proper state of mind in others” (p.7). In a sense, emotional labour involves “the work of managing feelings to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display” (Hochschild, 1983, p.7). According to Hochschild, in a typical emotional labour experience “the ought of the feeling struggles with the is” (p. 61). A broader view of Hochschild’s conceptualization of emotional labour indicates that many people-oriented service providers emotionally labour in exchange for tangible or intangible rewards. From Grandey (2003) and Hochschild’s (1983) view, professionals such as the clergy, doctors, nurses, teachers, airline staff, customer service attendants, social service experts, call centre employees, and salespeople could be described as core emotional labourers. 2 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh These occupations usually involve direct interaction with people and tend to go through intense emotional management or labour process. Grandey (2003) presented that most emotional labour conceptual explanations suggest that to display acceptable emotions at work, individuals from time to time must hide or fake felt emotions that is surface acting (SA) or try to experience the desired emotion that is deep acting (DA). This is because a number of service-based occupations have the general expectation that positive emotions should be displayed, and DA typically involves trying to experience positive emotions so that positive displays naturally follow. In contrast, SA usually involves faking positive emotions and sometimes suppressing negative felt emotions, so that positive displays will follow. SA has been described as “acting in bad faith” and DA has been described as “acting in good faith” (Rafaeli & Sutton, 1987, p.10) as the former involves going through the emotions and the latter involves trying to experience the emotions. Ashforth and Humphrey (1993) argued that focusing on only SA and DA ignores the possibility that employees can spontaneously experience and display appropriate emotions. Indeed SA and DA may be considered compensatory strategies that help individuals to express emotions that do not come naturally with emotionally taxing demands. Wharton and Erickson (1993) described employees with frequent face to face interaction with others as boundary spanners. Such employees are most likely to encounter emotional labour as part of their jobs. By boundary spanners, they meant that those employees whose positions and responsibilities provide the direct link between the organization and the customers or others they interact with are more susceptible to emotional labour experiences. These interaction frontiers are most likely to shoulder organizational brand of delivery by emotionally labouring. Although emotional labour seems beneficial for the attainment of organizational goals, little is known of its detrimental effects on media practitioners’ entire psychological wellbeing 3 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh (Brotheridge & Grandey, 2002; Grandey, 2000). The impact of emotional labour on employees has been documented as predominant across such occupations as airline attendants and bill collectors (Hochschild, 1983), customer service employees (Abraham, 1998), bank and hospital employees, and nurses (Morris & Feldman, 1996). As evidenced from the above review, there is paucity of data or literature of the intersection of emotional labour and psychological health among media practitioners. The undeniable role of media practitioners has been evident as they assume the voices of others in curbing social challenges and interrogating the tough questions. The present study is an attempt to study emotional labour on the general quality of well-being or optimal psychological functioning of some employees in the Ghanaian media industry. Thus far, emotional labour has been described as a “double-edged sword” (Ashforth & Humphrey, 1993, p.96). Emotional labour appears to have both negative and positive effects. Pulgliesi (1999) emphasized that emotional labour yields positive outcomes. Emotional labour has been found to relate positively to feedback hypothesis (James, 1984), job satisfaction (Agyemang, Fawaz & Borley, 2015; Morris & Feldman, 1996; Wharton, 1993), and turnover intentions (Agyemang, Fawaz & Borley, 2015). Ashforth and Humphrey (1993) also found emotional labour to promote and strengthen mutual relationships. Hochschild (1983) who introduced emotional labour as a conceptual variable in her work argued that the concept appears to generally focus on negative psychological outcomes. Emotional labour has been found to be related to low self-esteem and depression (Adelmann, 1989), emotional dissonance and exhaustion (Morris & Feldman, 1999), job dissatisfaction (Jones, 2000), job stress (Brotheridge & Grandey, 2002), organizational role stress (Waddar & Aminabhavi, 2012), hypertension and heart diseases (Mann, 2004). It is of interest that almost all these seminal studies are largely of Western literature. There are still some inconsistencies in findings and different theoretical viewpoints on emotional labour as a concept. Grandey et al. 4 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh (2005) also suggested that “cultural differences in work emotions are vital to understand emotional labour trends in other cultural context… as companies outsource their service functions overseas and export companies to other countries, managers need to be aware of the potential strain on employees if they require emotional displays that are incongruent with cultural norms’ (p. 902). In agreement to Grandey et al. (2005), more research is needed to deal with the conceptual ambiguity and varying trends on emotional labour (Choi & Kim, 2015). Little research attention has been given to media practitioners’ emotional labour experiences and their likely psychological effects from an African perspective (eg., Monteiro, Balogun & Oratile, 2014). With the established ambiguities in findings on emotional labour, context and cultural leanings may supply some valuable answers in an attempt to refine the concept of emotional labour (Grandey, 2005). Arguably, emotional labour results and conceptualizations may vary from individualistic and collectivistic settings. The link between employee’s psychosocial job characteristics and demands and employee psychological health have not been given much research attention (Harris & Daniels, 2004) especially in the African context. This is especially the case viewed from a psychological perspective in Ghana. Perspectives on stress and psychological wellbeing illuminate ways in which research, policy and practice can develop further. Linking this to Daniels’ (2011) argument, stress related issues such as emotional labour and employees’ wellbeing are complex areas of study and there are still new areas and settings yet to be exhumed. Brotheridge (2006) suggested that emotional labour research be studied among leaders in service-based organizations. Ghana’s media industry projects some identical characteristics as do other service-based occupations. Nnamdi Azikiwe of Nigeria is highly recognized as one of the most prolific journalists during the 1930s. Ghana as a country has been impressive in history regarding media related 5 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh activities. Media related activities in Ghana is dated to 1822, when the Gold Coast Gazette and Commercial Intelligencer was published by Sir Charles McCarthy with the aim of promoting literacy and rural development (Oberko, 2010). The first radio channel, Radio ZOY, was introduced by Colonial Governor Sir Arnold Hodson in 1935 with the principal motive of spreading propaganda to gain support of the colonies (Anokwa, 1997; Oberko, 2010). J.B Danquah and K.A.B. Jones-Quartey are two most popular pioneer media practitioners in Ghana in the 1930s (Anokwa, 1997; Oberko, 2010). J.B. Danquah is credited with the establishment of the West Africa Times newspaper. The Gold Coast Broadcasting system was also established in 1954. This was later renamed Ghana Broadcasting Corporation after independence in 1957. Ghana, in partnership with Sanyo Company of Japan, television was established in 1965. Post-independence media activities in Ghana was largely government-controlled and it was not until 1993 media liberalism began to take shape (Oberko, 2010). The 1992 constitution of Ghana established the National Media Commission as a guardian principally charged to promote and ensure the freedom and independence of the media. Among other things, the practitioners’ conduct and welfare ought to be guarded by the National Media Commission in their quest to establish and maintain the highest journalistic standards. In the view of the researcher, the NMC’s responsibilities cannot be limited to just oversight of free expression and free mass media. It is critical that the welfare (including mental health related concerns) of key actors- the practitioners- be scaled in. Presently, independent broadcasting has become an integral part of the Ghanaian social, economic and political landscape. As indicated in Table 1.0, the growth of the media industry in general, ripples on human resource decisions and policies. It is relevant to stress that if not for limited funding of the NMC in the area of research, progress on media practitioners’ occupational health and safety concerns may have been duly established (Personal Communication- NMC 6 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Chairman, April, 2016). With farsightedness, human resource growth coupled with the complexity of contemporary media work, it is vital that psychological research be tilted to look into mental health issues if any, of practitioners in the broadcasting media industry. The various stakeholders (Ministry of Communications, National Communications Authority (NCA), National Media Commission (NMC), Ghana Journalist Association (GJA), Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) and other media fashioned outlets have a role to play in managing the occupational health of media practitioners and stand to benefit from a seminal psychological research such as this in the Ghanaian setting. Table 1.0: Growth of the Electronic Media in Ghana Year Report TV Stations Radio Stations 2011 28 247 2013 50 320 2015 63 412 2016 93 481 Source: (National Communications Authority Annual Reports, 2016) From Table 1.0 above, it is obvious that the electronic media industry of Ghana is growing in numbers, depth and operations in a crescendo manner. Such a phenomenal growth has implications for recruitment, selection, training and occupationally sanctioned acculturation. A deeper understanding of media practitioners’ experiences in regulating their emotions which predominantly characterizes their work role and its implications will inform these work-related decisions. While the National Media Commission is tasked to only regulate the activities of the media houses, it is imperative that human resource and welfare related issues of media personnel be noticed and thereon drafted into policy lines. The work of most media practitioners, requires a strong liaison between one’s organization and viewers, listeners or interviews. Such interaction is usually laden with mental health 7 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh challenges. Mental health related issues are common in many African societies with ubiquitous consequences on the person, immediate society, and the community at large. The work of media practitioners present the challenge of having to deal with on-going trauma-centered cases as they carry out their professional work. It is clear that journalist have played a mammoth role in the transition from military-based regimes to democratic governance structure in many African context. In their line of duty, media practitioners come across violence, accident scenes, unrest, death-related reportage, get assaulted verbally and physically by their clients being it guest or field recipients. UNESCO Report (2015) indicates that one journalist dies every five days in pursuit of their profession and in their attempt to satisfy their job requirement. It is particularly noteworthy that the traditional media practitioners like television, radio, and print, accounted for 89% of all these physical attacks leading to deaths in some cases at the global level. The Council of Europe have over the years condemned the attacks on physical safety of media practitioners (Council of Europe Case Law Report, 2016). Statistics abounds with the physical challenges of these media practitioners when viewed at the global, continental, and regional levels. For instance, according to the Committee to Protect Journalist report (2017), 1923 media practitioners have been killed between 1992 and 2017 with politics and war related routes as the main lead to these death records. Among the top 10 deadliest countries with these attacks on media practitioners, Somalia and Algeria placed 4th and 6th respectively (Committee to Protect Journalist Report, 2017). These developments certainly raise concerns on the holistic health of media practitioners and their immediate social lineage. These physical attacks certainly may have transcending effects beyond the victim in question. Commenting on the challenges media practitioners face in Africa, a recent study by Frayintermedia (2017), noted that the attacks on media practitioners have taken a new shift 8 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh from physical to on-line. According to them, the African-wide study among journalist revealed that 48% of journalists in Africa have experienced on-line based attacks in the form of threats, harassment, and trolling. A careful analysis of media reports in Ghana on the challenges media practitioners face in their everyday operations made the researcher embark on this project. Electronic media practitioners especially go through a lot of psychological challenges but remains unreported (Rockson personal communication, October 18, 2014). According to Rockson (personal communication, October 18, 2014), the audio-visual nature of electronic media make them more susceptible to emotionally taxing demands from the public, social media addicts, and employers. The spate of assault and intimidation against electronic media practitioners is psychologically worrying (Nyarko & Akpojivi, 2017). Therefore, the principal aim of this study is to ferret out whether emotional labour (surface or deep acting) has a significant effect in explaining the psychological health (distress, general wellbeing, and emotional exhaustion) of Ghanaian electronic media practitioners and aimed to understand the lived- experiences of media practitioners who suppress or enhance their emotions as part of their work role. Irrespective of how fitting some media practitioners fit into the criteria provided by Hochschild (1983) and Wharton and Erickson (1993), they have not been an identified research population among psychologist engaged in emotions related research. 1.1 Statement of the Problem Media personnel, like other service-based employees in most cases work under extreme pressures to satisfy public/social expectations and organizational requirements. The researcher refers to the tentative sample frame as “interaction frontiers”. As “interaction frontiers”, their work role is mostly dominated by face to face, telephone, internet based interactions with others. Emotional labour is more apparent and its output phenomena much 9 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh more intense and often under researched (Ulich, 1998) especially in less developed economies such as Ghana. A lot of employees in service-based occupations report emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and impaired feeling of self-realization through work (Maslach & Jackson, 1984). The researcher in his recent community support service to fire-flood victims in the capital of Ghana in the month of June, 2015 realized the extent to which many media personnel and other emergency service providers bracket off their natural feelings so as to live up to their core job mandate. In most cases, people in the media industry handle human problems at the expense of losing their own subliminal and psychological health. Literature from many Western countries show high rates of such phenomena as psychosomatic disorders, alcohol and drug dependence (Piko & Piczil, 2000). Diedong (2016) opined in his research on media journalist in Ghana that in the past decade, physical attack has been more prevalent. In some cases, media practitioners get exposed to traumatizing scene and incidents which invariably affect their health (Rockson, personal communication, October 18, 2014). There has been a number of instances there some media practitioners in Ghana have had serious problems in their attempt to uncover people who are in devastating and deplorable states that need to be attended to emergently as part of their professional job requirements. It appears much attention is given to the physical challenges confronting media practitioners to the neglect of the affiliate psychological challenges. Nyarko and Akpojivi (2017) in their exploratory study mentioned the degree of assault and intimidation of media practitioners in Ghana. They underscored the extent to which these cases of assault can affect the health of media actors. The experiences of media practitioners are phenomenal to warrant a study aimed at understanding the emotional their challenge as they assume the voice of the voiceless in shouldering their professional mandate. Many employees may emotionally labour in exchange for wages or with other intangible benefits. 10 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In agreement with Shulman (1997), a need exists to understand the effects of the on-going emotionally demanding stresses among media practitioners and propose psychological interventions to support media personnel. Many media practitioners strive to satisfy customers, admirers, and followers. There is a large reservoir of strides for the youth, especially those whose umbilical cords are attached to the media or public displays. Many journalist demonstrate that the price of success is costly and the principal component of this estimated cost may be labouring emotionally to satisfy the public and meet social expectations (Rockson, personal communication, October 18, 2014); Shulman, 1997). Second, to shoulder work related role. The highly polarised media landscape which has been poisoned with the spleen of political manipulation and manoeuvres, can easily raze down the walls of integrity, fairness, accuracy, objectivity and all the professional ethics that serve as the props and commandments of modern journalism. For one to be able to maintain his or her balance, it is vital that some emotions get suppressed or enhanced. A practitioner’s inability to manage natural emotions to the occupationally sanctioned emotions may reduce his level of respect and/or leave him or her tagged as an affiliate of one faction or another. There are moments some cases or story lines may be obvious, clear and apparent to be handled a particular way but for the balance of hearers and viewers, the media practitioner is required to bracket off his or her natural emotions. To be viewed as an efficient and tactful media personnel, the employee in most cases is required to swing in the continuum of emotional management. Finally, media practitioners in their quest to stand tall to organizationally challenging issues emanating from both the employer and employees, may emotionally labour. They experience different kinds of stress with lingering effects (Bloch, 1991). To be recognized by employers, colleagues, and an employee’s media clientele, it is relevant to go beyond normal emotional 11 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh demands. The desire to go beyond one’s job description or mandate may lead to workaholism in some cases with dire negative consequences (Burke & Matthiesen, 2004). The unshared experiences of media personnel beyond the smiles and recognitions are of great value to social scientist. Grandey and Diamond (2010) concluded that outcomes of emotional labour may be dependent on job context and occupation of respondents. The suggestion of Grandey and Diamond (2010) suggests that carrying out emotional labour study in Ghana among media practitioners is a novelty that can add value to the body of knowledge. The present study focused on emotional labour experiences of media practitioners in Ghana using a mixed- method approach. Media personnel come across as key actors of society in their day to day operations. There may be other factors such as image enhancement accruing from sentiments of working around the so called prominent persons, being exposed to relevant others in society, and some esteem satisfaction which likely predisposes some media personnel to labour emotionally, however uncomfortable they may be. While this argument may sound raw and tend to mimic the pattern of social commentators, it is only research that can give support to understanding the “why” and “how” of such social phenomena. Kahn and Byosiere (1992) suggest that an individual’s life can result in illness-related problems such as heart attack, burnout, diminished concentration and diminished performance in other life roles and organizational performance. In essence, the psychological health – the healthy state of mental well-being- of employees can be affected negatively. In a recent press conference, threat to the lives of journalist and journalism in a growing democracy was accentuated by the joint media statement (Joint Media Press Statement by National Media Commission et al., 2016). According to this report, aggrieved individuals, political party supporters, and some security agency personnel are among the key perpetrators of these violence and attacks on media practitioners in Ghana. Similarly, 12 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) chronicled a number of incidents and cases as anecdotal evidence of the insurgence of attacks on media practitioners in Ghana. According to MFWA report (2016), 138 media practitioners have been victims of attack between 2005 and 2014. Out of 138 attacks in the period under review, one death case was recorded. The security agencies and political party supporters were recorded to have been the main perpetrators of these physical attacks. The basic argument is that the general populace appears to be using violence in addressing displeasure on media practitioners and the consistency, rapidity, and nature of these attacks have attracted stakeholder attention. It is a cause for worry if averagely, 14 media practitioners get violated in Ghana per year especially when the media industry has proven to be an estate of support for Ghana’s fledgling democracy and the mouth piece of the weak, voiceless, and vulnerable majority. Diedong (2016) submitted that in the past decade, physical attacks on journalist have been the most prevalent form of violations in Ghana. In another exploratory study by Nyarko and Akpojivi (2017), the degree of assaults and intimidation in the media landscape was cemented. These notwithstanding, a lot seem to have been said and done, as interventions and research on the physical attacks on media practitioners. It is lucid to argue that physical attacks in most cases may carry under its wings some psycho-social implications. For instance, the death of a journalist may have mammoth implications for the immediate colleagues, family, and friends as well as shape views about the industry. These recent forms of attack on media practitioners all have implications for the practitioner who becomes the victim of all these assaults from the public. Thus far, not much research attention has been given to the psycho-social consequences associated with the work of media practitioners in Ghana. Monteiro, Balogun, Oratile (2014) looked at emotion regulation and how university students manage stress. Even though they did well for considering emotion regulation, they failed to look at emotional labour as the main concept. Further, the outcome of emotional labour may is dependent on context (Grandey & 13 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Diamond, 2010). Rafaeli and Sutton (1989) also stated that societal, occupational and organizational norms impacts negatively on emotional labour outcomes. Due to the conceptual ambiguity and inconsistencies of findings, Ashforth and Humphrey (1993), suggested that multiple variables be studied from different context. The study therefore examines how social support, religiousity and coping- context specific variables interactively moderate the relationship between EL and psychological health. The outlook of media practitioners’ emotional experiences raises a number of research questions. What meaning(s) do media practitioners assign to emotional labour? What predisposes media practitioners to labour emotionally? What emotions do media practitioners express in their day to day operations? Is it likely the excessive emotional demands affects the psychological health of media practitioners and invariably affect total work outcomes? How do they cope with such emotional challenges? With these questions in view, the study was guided by the objectives stated in the next section. 1.2 General Objectives of the Study The present study used a mixed method research to examine the extent of relatedness of emotional labour on media practitioners’ psychological health. 1. To examine the relationship between Emotional Labour (EL) and Psychological Health (PH) of media practitioners 2. To explore emotional labour experiences among media practitioners. 1.2.1 Specific Objectives of the Study  To ascertain the relationship between emotional labour and psychological health.  To find out whether emotional dissonance, psychological effort and occupational emotional display culture will mediate the relationship between EL and PH.  To determine the moderating roles of religiosity, perceived social support, and coping strategy on employee’s psychological health. 14 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh  To find out Ghanaian media practitioners’ understanding of emotional labour and psychological health.  To explore any likely underpinnings and cultural traces of the sample as far as emotional labour and psychological health are concerned. 1.3 Research Questions • How do media practitioners explain emotional labour? • What factors predispose media practitioners to emotional labour experiences? • What emotions do media practitioners exhibit in carrying out their day to day roles? • How do these emotional labours affect them? • What coping strategies do media practitioners employ? 1.4 Significance of the Study In many countries, the utility of the media industry in ensuring democracy has been cemented. The important role of the media in Africa goes beyond good governance and accountability. The media has been viewed in Africa as a tool for educating the populace and creating awareness (McQuail, 2000). In a recent Ghana Psychological Association Annual Research Conference (2016), the Chairman of the National Media Commission of Ghana emphasized the critical role the media plays as a watchdog during elections in the African context. From the historical analysis of media practice in Ghana, it is not accidental that occupational health related concerns never popped up. Experiences of some active emergency rescue agents and journalists in the recent June 3rd 2015 fire-flood disaster in the capital of Ghana, Accra, cemented my resolve to pursue this research. As part of a counseling team to provide psychological services to affected victims, we came across a situation. Many journalists and rescue officers from the Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Police Service and National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) who were 15 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh at the incident site as support frontiers, had no option than to regulate their emotions as part of their work role. The Counseling Team’s interaction with over 2000 victims suggested that journalists and emergency workers are among the employees with enormous emotional labour experience. With this background, the study unveils to employees and organizational practitioners, particularly broadcast media practitioners, the concept of emotional labour, its meaning, its nature, and its effects on one’s psychological health. With the increasing numbers in human resource in the media industry, it is the goal of this research to suggest some road maps in carrying out some core functions in human resource practice such as recruitment, selection, placement, training and development. If media practitioners align well with ‘boundary spanners’ or ‘interaction frontiers’ as argued above and experience variance of emotional labour, it is contingent on Industrial and Organizational Psychologists or Human Resource (HR) practitioners to recruit and select individuals with the aptitude to carry out such roles. The present study therefore intend empowering HR practitioners in the media industry to hold constant the emotional labouring nature of the media work and hence the need to counteract its likely influences with the recruitment, selection, placement and training decisions they make. The present study will be of benefit to the chief stakeholders of the media industry, namely; Ministry of Communications (MOC), National Communications Authority (NCA), National Media Commission (NMC), Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), Ghana Journalist Association (GJA), Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ). It is hoped that this seminal psychological research with media practitioners will help the regulatory stakeholders of the Ghanaian media industry to formulate occupational health policies tailored to suit the needs of industry players. Even though, Ghana is yet to have a workable holistic health and safety policy (Agyemang, Nyanyofio & Gyamfi, 2014; Asumeng, Afful, Asamani & Agyemang, 2015), a fragment of occupational health policy fashioned for media practitioners will not be 16 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh out of place. The findings of the present study will augment such an initiative to protect the mental health of all media practitioners. At the preliminary stages of this research, initial contacts with prospective participants revealed that many managers/owners of media outlets have little or no idea about the personality related and emotional management considerations within the context of their operation. Organizing seminars for such managers, owners, and media consultants will avail them to understand the nature of emotional labour and the likely steps to predict and control its possible effects. To the extent of the researcher’s search, little or no attention has been given to emotional labour research in the Ghanaian context. Globally, to the best of the researcher’s knowledge, no study has been found yet addressing emotional labour concerns among media practitioners. The present is of value to future researchers. As one of the foremost in the Ghanaian context, the present study will be a pillar of literature for future researchers on emotion-related issues. 1.5 Organization of the Thesis The study is organized into five chapters. Chapter one covers the background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, rationale of the study, definitions of key terminologies and related concepts, history of media related activities in Ghana, and significance of the study. Chapter two presents a comprehensive review of relevant theoretical and empirical literature and develops a testable conceptual framework for the study. Chapter three discusses the methodology of the study. In this chapter, the researcher discusses the coherent processes taken in the conduct of the research. The research design, sampling techniques and procedures, methods of data collection (for both quantitative and qualitative), data handling and ethical considerations are consciously discussed. Chapter four and five present the results and discussions of quantitative and qualitative parts 17 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh respectively. Chapter six present general discussion of findings. In this chapter, the researcher complement explanations of the quantitative findings with the exploratory findings in an attempt to address objectives raised in chapter one. In addition, implications for theory and practice of the findings, limitations of the study, future research directions, and conclusions are discussed. 18 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Introduction This chapter presents a comprehensive review of theoretical and empirical literature on emotional labour and psychological health, build up hypotheses for the study, and concludes with the conceptual model for the study. This section highlights emotional labour and the two main dimensions of EL, and the theoretical evolvement of emotional labour as a concept. Furthermore, the chapter reviews some relevant empirical literature that touches on psychological health (psychological distress, exhaustion and general wellbeing), work-related outcomes (job satisfaction and turnover intentions) as well as mediating variables (emotional dissonance, psychological effort, and occupational display culture) and moderating variables (coping and perceived social support). Mediating variables such as emotional dissonance, psychological effort and occupational display culture as well as moderator variables (social support, coping mechanism, and religiosity) has been examined. Psychological health- measured from psychological distress, general wellbeing and exhaustion- perspective has been extensively discussed. More so, the chapter presents the rationale of the study, conceptual framework, and statement of hypotheses as well as operational definition of terms. 2.1 Conceptual Descriptions Before the introduction of the concept of emotional labour by Hochschild (1983), a number of constructs in the psychological literature had been proposed to explain emotional reactions of people and its related impacts on behavior (e.g., Cannon, 1927; Festinger, 1957). This section develops a conceptual understanding of the two key concepts – emotional labour and psychological health. This is to set a clear basis for which the theoretical underpinnings weave-in to strengthen the literature. The researcher attempts to discuss the evolvement of emotional labour as a concept (used as an independent measure) and psychological health as 19 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh a key consequence. 2.1.1. Emotions- The concept of emotion is implicated in many facets of human life. In everyday conversation and speech, the brief conscious experience of emotions become very apparent as an expression of a continuum of pleasure and displeasure (Schacter, 2011). From Schacter’s (2011) description of emotions, it is logical to deduce that emotions are intertwined with mood, temperament, and disposition and thus motivate individuals to behave in a particular way. Emotions are complex experiences that result in physical and psychological changes that influence behaviour (Cabanac, 2002; Schacter, 2011). From a psychological perspective, emotion typically includes a subjective experience characterized principally by psychophysiological expressions, mental states, and its invariable effects on social behaviour (Schwarz, 1990). Emotional experiences are defined by social norms, roles, settings, and specific circumstances (Russell, 1991). According to Lazarus (1991), an individual’s action is preceded by physiological changes as a result of some level of cognitive appraisal. Lazarus emphasized that the quality and intensity of an expression of emotions are controlled through cognitive process. In his view, the cognitive processes underline the coping strategies employed to deal with emotional reactions. Emotions have been predominantly categorized into two namely: positive and negative (Solomon & Stone, 2002). The different facets of emotional expressions of happiness, anger, disgust, fear, sadness, anticipation, trust and surprise are usually evident in our day to day life (Ekman, 1999; Plutchik, 2002). The work setting is another social landscape for the display of emotions. Depending on the nature of an employees work role, it is expected that a wheel of emotions be displayed in line with industry expectations (Plutchik, 2002). Not much is known of the experiences of media practitioners’ cognitive appraisal of emotions and how they manage their emotions as presented on the continuum of pleasant and unpleasant events. The present study dovetails on emotional labour and possible ramifications on media practitioners’ psychological health. 20 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.1.2 Emotional Dissonance- In most service-oriented jobs, employees are required to emotionally repress their real emotions to boost company image and maintain excellence in customer service as against the deserved or actual emotional reaction. By solicitation, many interactional frontiers change their mood (emotions) in an attempt to match the required emotional expression of the organization or industry. This process of adjustment is referred to as emotional dissonance (Glomb & Tews, 2004). Middleton (1989) explained emotional dissonance as the conflict between emotions genuinely felt and emotions to be displayed. Emotional dissonance occurs when there is a discrepancy between organizational (or industry) sanctioned emotions and actual emotions of employees (Zapf, Seifert, Schmutte, Mertini & Holz, 2001). The situation where an organization requires an employee at service front to demonstrate positive emotion to an angry or irate customer while this clashes with the real inner feelings of expressing reciprocal anger, exemplifies the meaning of emotional dissonance. The literature available demonstrates an aversive relationship between emotional dissonance and health problems, customer perceptions as well as employee performance (Abraham, 1999; Brotheridge & Lee, 1998; Grandey et al., 2000; Heuven & Baker, 2013). The extent of discrepancy between required emotions and naturally felt emotion ripples on the effect of the labouring experience on the employee. Moris and Feldmen (1999) opined that emotional dissonance is not being investigated in survey research study as an influential variable in explaining emotional labour. The reviewed works in this introduction shows that suppression of actual emotions and feelings have some varying detrimental effects on employee health and wellbeing. The researcher posits that emotional dissonance is a critical variable in explaining the possible effects of emotional labour and psychological health. What this means is that the discrepancy between the felt and displayed emotions of employees in itself can mediate the relationship between emotional labour and the dimensions of psychological health. The feelings of falseness, unease and in-authenticity is a crucial variable in appreciating the overriding effects of emotional labour on psychological health. 21 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.1.3 Emotional Labour According to Hochschild (1983), jobs involving regulated displays of emotions are laden with three main characteristics:  Face to face interaction with customers (the public) or by phone  Employees are thus required to produce an emotional reaction in the customer  There should be management control strategy by employees over interactions with customers. Communication is viewed in contemporary business operations as a critical tool for organizations aiming to have competitive advantage in the service industry (Kress, 2009; Varey, 2000). “Emotional labour therefore refers to the effort, planning and control needed to express organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions” (Hochschild, 1983, p. 987) It is logical to argue that in the 1980s when Hochschild developed her concept, per telephone conversations were not as popular and common as our time, yet she stressed on the role voice or facial contact with the public thus leads to emotional labouring experience. Depending on the circumstance of a service employee, one is required to manage well the emotional demands from customers. In an era where customers are highly regarded as kings and queens (Schiele, 2012; Sneed, 2004) and rights of clients continue on a crescendo pattern to be protected and enhanced, it is vital for an interaction frontier or boundary spanner to produce emotional state that appeal to customers and sends ‘come back next time’ message to them. According to Hochschild (1983), an employee can only ensure the best of a service only if emotions are ‘managed or controlled’. What make such a situation a labouring experience as so described by Hochschild? From Hochschild’s three-point descriptors of emotional display at work, many service sector organizations encourage employees to display emotions that reflects well on customers. What this means is that some industries have conventional 22 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh emotional displays or in some cases, reflected in the tenets or values of the organization, some emotional requirements deemed as satisfactory when viewed from the client’s perspective. However difficult and incongruent (emotional dissonance) such emotional displays may be, employees who want to keep their jobs in such context become destined to display the industry or organizationally sanctioned emotions to customers. Hochschild (1983) stressed that frequency of interaction likely increases the level of labouring experience. By implication, the more customers accept organizational goals of excellent employee behaviour and quality of service, at any material time of contact with clients, employees need to regulate displays of emotions to ensure compliance with organizational goals thus increasing emotional labouring experiences (Morris & Feldman, 1999). Even though frequency of interaction with clients is a critical factor, Rafaeli (1989) also argued that duration of interaction is important. Sutton and Rafaeli (1987) concluded that the shorter the interaction, the less labouring experience an employee encounter. Contrariwise, one can argue that the longer time a boundary spanner spends with a client, the greater the emotional labour required. In a sense, duration of interaction with clients dispose employees to a more or less emotional controls. Moris and Feldman (1999) explained why duration is an important factor in understanding emotional labour construct as longer interactions may become less scripted and hence may require greater attention, effort, and situational vigor. More so, the longer employees interact with clients, they tend to have more personal information about the customer, making it difficult for employees to avoid displaying real feelings that contravenes organizationally sanctioned norms of behaviour (James, 1989). Hochschild indicated in her seminal ethnographic study that employees exposed to emotional labour experiences trade off such emotion management in exchange for a wage. It means that emotional labour in itself have some economic worth. She expressed two main ways or processes employees manage their emotions in exchange for such wages, namely; surface acting and deep acting. 23 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh - Surface acting: Hochschild conceptualized the surface acting process as a “publicly observable display” (Hochschild, 1983, p.7) created in most cases by employees attempt to change their outward expression. In surface acting, employees display the expected emotions by controlling their external bodily display. Employees conform to such display rules in order to keep their jobs, win an award or attract more tips (Grandey, 2003). Employees who engage in surface acting internally work to “manage’ their feeling in order to put up a response that is in consonance with applicable display rules of the industry or work setting. The main point to note in surface acting is that there is always a conflict between felt emotions and expressed emotions leading to a situation described as emotional dissonance (Morris & Feldman, 1996). Illustratively, a boundary spanner may demonstrate the freeness to curse or insult (inwardly or internally) a customer who put up an unwelcomed attitude (say a rude behaviour) but outwardly, display responses such as respect, integrity, composed eye contact and smiles in line with occupational display rules and culture (Leidner, 1993). The occurrence of emotional dissonance tend to have more devastating consequences on such employees (Wharton, 1999). Continual engagement in deep acting elicits ostensible automatic desirable emotional expression (Humphrey, Pollack, & Hawver, 2008). - Deep acting: In deep acting, employees match their inner feelings with display norms in order for their emotions to appear genuine to customers (Mittal & Chhabra, 2011). Hochschild (1983) contrasted the second process of managing emotional demands in a given context with that of surface acting. In her view, when employees endeavor to change the felt emotional response (inwardly) together with the outward display, deep acting as a process of emotional labour has taken place. Using the same illustrative example in the immediate past paragraph, an interaction frontier may think differently 24 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of the same situation. Such an employee tries to assume that an irate customer may have had a bad day and hence displacing such bad moments on a safer target (the employee). With such appraisal in view, such an employee will cognitively redefine the situation and respond in line with the display rules of the occupation or work setting (Ashforth & Humphrey, 1993). The literature indicate that workers who resort to deep acting to conform to display rules experience less conflict (emotional dissonance), and more likely to engage in emotional responses that are in line with feeling rules (Leidner, 1993; Wharton, 1999). 2.1.4 Psychological Health A number of studies have reported that emotional labour can be linked to health related problems. For instance, emotional labour has been found to relate to psychological distress (Campbell & Ntobedzi, 2007), emotional exhaustion (Grandey, 2003), burnout (Al-serkal, 2006; Jafar, 2012), emotional dissonance (Lewig & Dollard, 2013), poor wellbeing (Yang, Ma, & Lee, 2014; Zapf, 2002), and work outcomes (Brown, 2010; Cheung & Tang, 2010). From her seminal exploratory study with flight attendants, Hochschild (1983), contended that emotional labour experiences related to employee alienation or estrangement from one’s natural feelings and eventually has harmful consequences for various psychological wellbeing. In narrating her experiences and observations that led to her seminal work on emotional labour, Hochschild (1983) recounted the plight of flight attendants and bill collectors as each moved through a day’s work. At the preface of the second edition of her book- The Managed Heart, Hochschild in her own description, drew appreciation for how “most workers try to preserve a sense of self by circumventing the feeling rules of work, how they limit their emotional offerings to surface displays of the ‘right’ feeling but suffer anyway from a sense 25 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of being ‘false’ or mechanical” (Hochschild, 2003, p. x). The rationale for quoting verbatim Hochschild’s words above is the stress laid on “suffer anyway from the sense of being false or mechanical”. This is an added impetus for this research. Hochschild, right from the onset, emphasized the overriding effect of emotional labour on employees. The greater part of existing research predominantly from developed countries on emotional labour focusses on the myriads of negative consequences on the psychological wellbeing of employees. Adelmann (1989) found a mixed support for the alienation findings of Hochschild. Aldemann (1989) found that workers who engage in higher levels of emotional labour reported lower job satisfaction, lower self-esteem, poorer health and more depressive symptoms. On the contrary, her follow-up study reavealed that emotional labour was not significantly related to psychological wellbeing of employees (Adelmann, 2016). Logically, the effects of emotional labour experiences may be the enormous negative consequences on employees’ wellbeing. The fact that there seem to be inconsistencies regarding the consequences of emotional labour present another opportunity for researchers to consider further research in the area. From World Health Organization’s (WHO) perspective, health basically is a state of complete physical, mental (mind) and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. What this means is that health is conceptualized as a tripartite composition. Even though in most African settings, we tend to view health from a biomedical perspective, of critical importance to this work is the mental aspect of the definition of health. Figure 1.0: A Diagrammatic Representation of WHO’s Conceptualization of Health (2014) 26 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In 2014, World Health Organization (WHO) updated its definition of mental health as a “state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community”. World Health Organization underscores the need for governments to pay attention to improving mental health as it could have devastating consequences on people’s lives. Of the three components of health, the mind or mental aspect is of critical importance worthy of protection as any breach adversely affects the other two. It is vital that organizational researchers especially pay attention to the psychological health of employees. Psychological health basically has to do with the question of how one is doing in any context. In a sense, psychological health generally differs from mental health in that psychological health addresses how ordinary people are doing in life. Life at work often presents the employee with extraordinary challenges, complexities, setbacks and privations. Psychological health concerns itself with how employee manage with challenges, how they are doing in response to a challenging situations, and whether they find such life to be interesting and enjoyable (WHO, 2014). Psychological health should not be limited to the absence of mental illness but should encompass subjective well-being, perceived self- efficacy, autonomy, competence, inter-generational dependence, and self-actualization of one's intellectual and emotional potential (WHO, 2014). One’s ability to respond to stress resourcefully and to recover from painful events without undue difficulty also indicate the psychological health of that individual (Witmer & Sweeny, 1992). The holistic wellbeing of employees is of paramount importance to mental health professionals. The present study therefore, investigated how electronic media practitioners manage emotional complexities tied to their jobs and any likely psychological health implications. 27 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.2 Theoretical Underpinnings To strengthen the conceptual description of this study, a number of theories are thoroughly examined and its unique linkages to the dependent measure exposed. This section discusses relatable theories such as Emotional Labour Theory (Grandey, 2000; Hochschild, 1983; Zapf, Vogt, Seifert, Mertini, & Isic, 1999), Conservation of Resource Theory (Hobfoll, 2001), Job Demand-Resource Theory by Demerouti, Schaufeli, Nachreiner et al. (2001), Socio- ecological theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), and Africultural Coping System’s Theory (Utsey, Adams, & Bolden, 2000). 2.2.1 Emotional Labour Theory (Grandey, 2000; Hochschild, 1983; Zapf et al., 1999) The Emotional Labour Theory underscores emotions which employees feel or pretend to feel in order to meet their job requirements, irrespective of whether or not they are different from their true emotions. Emotional labour is defined as the way of managing publicly perceptible emotional displays, that is, those mediated by some characteristics and body language (Zapf et al., 1999). Grandey (2003) presented that most EL conceptualizations suggest that to display appropriate emotions at work, individuals are required to hide or fake felt emotions or try to exhibit the desired emotion. This is because many occupations have the general expectation that positive emotions should be displayed, and Deep acting (DA) involves trying to experience positive emotions so that positive displays naturally follow. Surface Acting (SA) on the other hand usually involves faking positive emotions and usually require suppressing negative felt emotions, so that positive displays will follow. SA has been described as acting in bad faith and DA has been described as acting in good faith (Grandey, 2000) as the former involves going through the emotions and the latter involves trying to experience the emotions. Ashforth and Humphrey (1993) argued that focusing on only SA and DA ignores the possibility that employees can unexpectedly experience and display appropriate emotions. 28 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Surface acting and deep acting may be considered compensatory strategies that help individuals express emotions that do not come naturally. Brown (2010) from his qualitative research with nurses as research participants explained how she had to toughen herself for a particularly strenuous situation prior to each interaction in order to ensure a calm demeanor. Brown (2010) showed how nurses had to be very careful to ensure they have the right emotional space to approach issues surrounding death. The ability to be able to get “into the role” of a care giver, recognize and differentiate personal feelings and patients’ emotions has been found to work as a protective mechanism for nurses (Mackintosh, 2007). Emotional labour may however, affect employees’ somatic health, the continuous suppression of “real” emotions has been linked with negative impact on the immune system, sleeplessness, and fatigue (Ashkanasy, Hartel & Daus, 2002). Also emotional labour may affect employees’ performance resulting in low involvement, dissatisfaction and high withdrawal intentions are among the various outcomes of performing emotional tasks (Cigantesco, Picardi, Chiaia, Balbi, & Morosini, 2003). Ashforth and Humphrey (1993) again considered the expression of naturally felt emotions to constitute emotional labour in that individuals still may have to put forth sentient effort to ensure that their displays concur with the organization’s expectations. The proponents of emotional labour theory appear to have used a strict based customer service employees only. The media industry is also a contact industry like other customer service industries. However, media practitioners experiences a more intense emotional demands. Application of this theory to a semi-customer service industry like the media is applicable. Moreover, the samples used by all three proponents were of Western background. The dynamics of the research sample based on their orientations and context specific differences cannot be discounted (Rathi, Bhatnagar, & Mishra, 2015) and so applying this theory wholly to an African sample may have limitations. 29 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.2.2 Conservation of Resource (CoR) Theory (Hobfoll, 1989; 2001) Conservation of Resource (CoR) Theory was developed by Hobfoll, in the late 1980s. The CoR theory emerged from resource and psychosocial theories of stress, motivation, and wellbeing. Conservation of Resource (CoR) theory is a psychological theory that rests firstly on the basic tenet that individuals “strive to obtain, retain, protect, and foster valuable resources and maximize any threats of resource loss” (Hobfoll, 1989; 2001, cited in Brotheridge & Lee, 2002, p.58). Resources are entities that have intrinsic or instrumental value. One of the principles of the CoR theory is the idea of resource as an investment. Hobfoll (1989; 2001) proposed that as resources are acquired, they are invested to obtain additional resources. For example, as psychologist or mental health professional develop skills at work, those skills gained are invested into the performance of their service delivery in order to acquire other resources such as promotion and compensations. CoR theory also suggests that employees invest resources in ways that will not only maximize their tangible returns but also in a manner that is most fitting with the specific resource invested; thus, work resources are often reinvested in the workplace (Hobfoll, 2001). Therefore, those with excess work resources (e.g., those high in engagement or satisfaction) are likely to reinvest those resources back into work (Halbesleben & Wheeler, 2008; Hobfoll, 2001) by doing their jobs exceptionally well or performing Organizational Citizenship Behaviors (Saks, 2006). Hobfoll (2001) argued that individuals with more resources are less vulnerable to resource loss and more capable of orchestrating more resources to mitigate challenges. By application, employees may have varying personal resources or capabilities (e.g. level of psychological strength, perceived self-control) and social resources (e.g. coworker support, social support, and emotional support) which tend to cushion them against the negative impact of demanding and stressful work related challenges. Employees can gain or regain treasured resources, they need to resort to other resources (Shirom, 2003). If such an endeavor fails, individuals are more likely to be stressed out of the overwhelming emotional demands. According to Hobfoll 30 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh (1989), the balance ratio of an individual’s resources determines ones’ ability to shoulder the demands emanating from his job and hence a reduction in the psychological effects. Support from co-workers, management, family and friends are all avenues to build employee resources. Such supportive arrangements should reduce negative effects of emotional labour (Brotheridge & Lee, 2003). The CoR theory lends support to understanding the role of the individual in influencing the outcome of emotional labour. The present study posits that electronic media practitioners with fewer personal resource or capabilities and social resources are more likely to be vulnerable to resource loss and hence experience poorer psychological health. The use of CoR theory is arguably appropriate to understand the extent to which the presence or absence of key resources to deal with emotional labouring challenges affect media practitioner’s psychological health. The CoR theory is of relevance to this study. Resources may be available to every employee. However, the nature, frequency, and context-specific value of the resources were not clarified by Hobfoll (2001). The present unveils some context-specific resources valuable to employees that Hobfoll (1989; 2001) excluded in his explanations of resources. 2.2.3 Job Demand Resource Theory (JD-R) – (Demerouti et al., 2001) The Job Demand-Resource Model (JD-R) of Demerouti, Baker, Nachreiner and Schaufeli (2001). The JD-R model assumes that every job is associated with certain physiological or psychological costs or demands and also employee health and wellbeing results from balance between positive (resources) and negative (demands) job characteristics. By extension, employee psychological health or wellbeing is greatly influenced by demands on employees and their ability to adjust well with available resources. Job demand basically refer to “those physical, psychological, social or organizational aspects of the job that require sustained physical and/or psychological (cognitive and emotional) efforts or skills and are therefore associated with certain physiological and psychological cost (Bakker, Demerouti, Hakanen, 31 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh & Xanthopoulou, 2007). For instance, a high work pressure, unfavorable environment and emotionally demanding interactions with clients. Job resources on the other hand refers to those physical, psychological, social or organizational aspects of the job that are either/or (1) functional or influential in achieving work goals like salary; (2) reduced job demands and the associated psychological, physiological cost; (3) stimulate personal growth, learning and development (Bakker et al., 2005, p.170). Application of this theory in an emotional labour model shows that whiles you are emotional labouring, it is likely to have certain psychological effects on your wellbeing. Therefore when you have overwhelming demands on you as an individual, you tend to be emotionally exhausted. In the media setting, if the ratio of emotional labour demands on media practitioners are disproportionate to the available resources of the individual employees, their psychological health will likely be affected negatively or positively. A total lack of resources can lead to low employee output and mental withdrawal. Even though the JD-R model was developed with burnout and work demands in view (Demorouti et al., 2001), it has invaluable application to the present study in that emotional demands (e.g. emotional labour) can have rippling effects on employees psychological health (including exhaustion- a dimension of burnout). 2.2.4 Socio-ecological Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) The study is also underpinned by the socio-ecological theory which principally focusses on the mutual exchange influences among the different systems namely; the macro-system, exo- system, meso-system, and micro-system). By extension, the effect of emotional labour on the psychological health of media practitioners can be viewed as an interplay between the multiple levels of influences from the industry level to the personal level. The present study adapt the Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) socio-ecological framework to explain how media practitioners experience can be explained industry required demands (macro-level), employer/management demands (intrapersonal level), colleague employees/family and 32 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh friends level (interpersonal) and personal level (the individual practitioner). To better understand the emotional labour experiences of media practitioners, one need to consider hoe the industry itself induces emotional pressure on the practitioners. The media industry requires that employees behave in line with industry display culture (K. Rockson personal communication, October 18, 2014). In addition to this, managers or employers require their employees to engage in the different dimensions of labour so as to navigate well in dealing with clients. Practitioners ought to demonstrate maturity in handling challenging demands from their employers at the intrapersonal level. The next level of influence is the interpersonal level. The colleague employees, friends, and family constitute the members who tend to influence the media practitioner. The emotional labour challenges may be influenced or fueled by attitudes of employees, family, and friends. These members tend to offer social support to the practitioner when practicable. The three tier levels considered thus far, challenges the individual to shoulder the favorable and unfavorable demands that descends on him. At the personal level, the individual’s ability to handle the taxing demands sustain him to continue working even though some latent effects may be lurking. In summary, the adapted Bronfenbrenner’s socio-ecological model focuses on the interaction of the various actors of the socio-business environment. The interplay between macro-level, intrapersonal level, and interpersonal influences tend to impact greatly on the individual practitioner. According to de Graft Aikins (2014), such an interplay can have psychosocial implications on the individual. This is plausible as all the other level demands funnels toward the individual. The interconnection is pivoted at the individual actor within the ecosystem (Bronfenbrenner, 1995). The socio-ecological model offers explanations to the observed relationship between emotional labour and its outcomes on the individual. The applicability of the adapted socio-ecological model is thus exemplified with the mutual interaction between media practitioners and their immediate environment and wider community. Socio-ecological 33 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh model has been useful to a number of studies in the Ghanaian context and has contributed to valuable applications of research findings (de Graft Aikins, 2014; Oppong Asante, 2015; Ibrahim, 2015). The socio-ecological framework would therefore be utilized to discuss findings in subsequent chapters to follow. 2.2.5 Africultural Coping (Utsey, Adams & Bolden, 2000) Africultural Coping System’s Inventory was develop to provide a contextual outlook as far as coping with psychologically challenging situations are concerned (Utsey et al., 2000). Utsey et al. (2000) suggested a context-specific inventory on coping that is worthy of application in the present study. In their view, a number of people with African background resort to cognitive or emotional debriefing, collective coping, spiritual- centered coping and ritual-centered coping as a four pillared support when necessary. Utsey et al. (2000) suggested cognitive/emotional debriefing, spiritual-centered coping, collective coping, and ritual- centered coping as dimensions of coping behaviors among African American adults. Utsey et al.’s (2000) conceptualization presents a varied framework for coping with emotionally taxing situations. Unlike Hobfoll (2001), who predominantly looked at coping from a formalistic view, Utsey et al. (2000) widened the scope of coping to incorporate collectivistic ideals on the basis of cultural coping framework. The Ghanaian is appear to lean toward the suggestions offered by Utsey et al. (2000). An expounded application of Utsey et al.’s (2000) assumptions of Africultural Coping theory reflects on Ghanaians as many resort to several coping strategies to overcome seeming challenges. This has been well emphasized by some context-specific researches in Ghana (Anim, 2015; Oti-Boadi, 2015) who found religious and social coping as most common and efficacious forms of resources in dealing with challenges. Even though, Utsey et al. (2000) did well for providing a somewhat context-specific coping strategies, his use of African Americans limits its applicability. It is of interest to the researcher to find out the nature and extent to which religio-social coping help mitigate the 34 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh effects of emotional labour with African samples in an African work context. The present study, from both quantitative and qualitative perspective, captured the extent to which religio- social support served as a buffer to stabilize or improve psychological health of employees. The four main theories applied in this study are not comprehensive enough, singularly in explaining emotional labour from the Ghanaian context. Therefore, the resource theories, the Socio-ecological model and the Africultural coping theories are complementary in nature in expounding the phenomenon being studied and help to explain the extent of relationship between emotional labour and psychological health. 2.3 Review of Related Studies 2.3.1 Emotional Labour and Psychological Health Karim and Weisz (2010) investigated emotional labour, emotional intelligence and psychological distress among India respondents. They explored whether employees differing in emotional intelligence level would differ in their emotional labour styles, and whether these styles would mediate the impact of emotional labour on psychological distress. Karim and Weisz (2010) tested these relationships on employees of three public sector organizations in Quetta – Pakistan. Results indicated that emotional intelligence is positively and significantly related to deep acting (modification of internal feelings), while surface acting (faking or suppression of feelings) is positively and significantly related to psychological distress. However, neither surface acting nor deep acting mediated the relationship between emotional intelligence and psychological distress. Karim and Weisz’s (2010) study reveals that emotional labour, emotional intelligence and psychological distress are somewhat related. Yoon and Kim (2013) investigated job-related stress, emotional labour, and depressive symptoms among nurses. Using cross-sectional descriptive study, a convenience sample of 35 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 441 nurses were employed in five general hospitals in four provinces of Korea. Findings indicated that, about 38% or one-third of the nurses experience depressive symptoms, with young or single nurses in particular have higher levels of depressive symptoms. Again, Yoon and Kim (2013) found that marital status, surface acting, job insecurity and lack of reward was found to be strongly related to depressive symptoms as a result of job-related stress. The findings of Yoon and Kim (2013) suggest that it would be helpful to reduce emotional labour among employees so as to reduce psychological distress or depressive symptoms among employees. However, emotional labour in itself may be a double-edged sword having both negative as well as positive symptoms (Ashforth & Humphrey, 2016). Besides, employees of different sectors or cultural backgrounds may respond differently to emotional labour in diverse ways (Grandey, 2003). The present study peered into emotional labour and how it affects employees’ psychological health among Ghanaian media practitioners. Psychological health was measured from psychological distress, emotional exhaustion and general wellbeing perspectives. An attempt is made in this section to review some basic literature found in these areas of interest. Emotional Labour and Psychological Distress Campbell and Ntobedzi (2007) investigated emotional intelligence, coping and psychological distress among high school students. These researchers investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence, coping styles and the experience of psychological distress in adolescents as well as to find predictive models of psychological distress among adolescents. Campbell and Ntobedzi used 85 Australian samples. The result showed that there is no direct relationship between emotional intelligence and psychological distress. It was found that there is an indirect relationship with psychological distress being predicted by coping style and coping style predicted by emotional intelligence. Campbell and Ntobedzi’s (2007) study reveals that coping strategies indirectly affects a person’s experience of psychological 36 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh distress. However, the use of only 85 participants as research samples, challenges the extent of representativeness of the findings (Aron & Aron, 1999). Drawing meaningful conclusions from such a small sample could be erroneous to a large extent. Sliter, Withrow, and Sliter (2013) investigated whether older and people are emotionally smarter than younger ones. Methodologically, 519 participants aged 18 to 68 who work in a variety of service occupations, participated in the cross-sectional survey study. Using the structural equation model, Sliter et al. (2013) observed that age was related positively to deep acting but negatively to surface acting, relationships partially mediated by emotional intelligence. This means that age is related to choosing better emotional labour strategies, strategies that align with older individuals’ motivational goals and the goals of organizations (such as less burnout and possibly better customer service). Again, the emotional labour strategy, in turn, affect well-being of participants. Sliter et al.’s (2013) study involved the use of a large sample as well as people of varied occupational background and broad age group. It is possible to infer that practitioner’s level of experience and exposure to demanding situations may influence the extent to which emotional labour affect their health. Emotional Labour and Emotional Exhaustion Surface acting and deep acting has been found as determinants of emotional exhaustion and service delivery (Grandey, 2003). Objectives of the researcher were to investigate the relationship between emotional labour forms and job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, affective delivery and breaking character. In his research, 131 university administrative assistants were engaged. A self-developed scale was used to measure surface acting and deep acting while the Michigan Organizational Assessment Questionnaire was used to measure job satisfaction. More so, Grandey used Maslach burnout inventory to measure emotional exhaustion, secret shopper service rating scale (McLellan et al., 1998) to measure affective delivery and breaking character. Results indicated that more acting is performed when 37 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh employees are displeased with their jobs and surface acting in particular increases. Again, Grandey (2003) reported from the result of mediation analysis that, the relationship between job satisfaction and affective delivery demonstrated in customer service is fully mediated by acting. Perception of display rules also led to higher levels of deep acting. Grandey’s (2003) work on emotional labour reveals that in cases where employees perceive display rules, they feel inclined to use higher levels of deep acting, rather than surface acting. This actually is in line with the popular idea of Rafaeli and Sutton (1987) that deep acting aspect of emotional labour is used by employees as a function of work demands. For that matter, it could be said from this study that work demands or rules allows employees to engage in deep acting while work events or activities inclines workers towards the use of surface acting. In another study in England, Al-Serkal (2006) investigated stress and emotional labour among cabin crew. The researcher actually wanted to know if emotional labour influences the well- being and retention of cabin crew. The study consisted of three parts. The first part involved self-report questionnaire that measures emotional labour, well-being, and burnout were administered on 68 of them, but another aspect of the study involved qualitative methods to explore cabin crews’ actual views of emotional labour, stress and coping on 35 of them. A third part involved a longitudinal study using 330 crew members measuring their physical symptoms, mental well-being and turnover. Results indicated that cabin crew from individualistic cultures have greater difficulties adapting to their roles, as their expectations on peer support and autonomy and control are incongruent with their job demands. Furthermore, it was observed that, the longer that an individual stayed in their role, the more likely they were going to experience physical problems and greater amounts of stress. It was also found that, cabin crews’ expectations about emotional labour matched their experience on the job, but their views on organisational variables changed over time, and played a larger 38 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh role on an individual’s view of the job, primarily job satisfaction, as it lessened over time. An examination of crew member’s personality did not yield any significant results. The experience of emotional labour was also found to influence well-being in cabin crew, but it did not play a role in turnover intention. Al-Serkal’s (2006) study suggests that experience of emotional labour is unique among people of individualistic culture. Culture is so important in understanding most human concepts accounting for the various human diversities. Al-Serkal has reported that, emotional labour negatively affects the wellbeing of Cabin Crew personnel, yet it does not impact on their turnover intentions. It could be that, the Cabin crew engagement is a very special industry that does not allow a person to easily switch profession so these employees stick to it no matter the effect of emotional labour on them. Although, there is nothing like a society that is strictly individualistic or strictly collectivistic in all aspects of it as Al-Serkal depicted in the study of emotional labour, it could be said that people in the Ghanaian setting are to a greater extent collectivistic. Since Al-Serkal investigated the concept of emotional labour on Cabin Crew members from an individualistic culture, it would not be appropriate to generalize the findings to media practitioners in Ghana who work in an environment that is largely collectivistic. Jafar (2012) investigated the impact of emotional labour on burnout and tested four main hypotheses. Specifically, his study was aimed at (a) studying the level of emotional labour and burn out of the employees of selected hotels; (b) comparing the emotional labour and burnout on male and female employees; (c) comparing the emotional labour and burnout on demographic factors that is married or unmarried employees; and (d) establishing the association of emotional labour and burnout on psycho-demographic factors that is age and work experience. Using 120 staff who serve in hotels in India, the Dutch questionnaire and the Maslach burnout inventory was administered to measure emotional labour and burnout. 39 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The result of the study revealed that emotional labour and burnout level is high in the hotel industry among serving staff, however, Jafar observed no significant difference between level of emotional labour and burnout between male and female hotel employees as well as age comparisons. On the basis of marital status, significant difference was found in the level of emotional labour and burnout for married and unmarried hotel employees. The work of Jafar (2012) helps us to understand the role demographic variables such as age, gender and marital status play when it comes to emotional labour and burnout – a variable so closely linked with emotional labour – (Wright & Cropanzano, 1998). Wright and Cropanzano for that matter even referred to burnout as burnout emotional exhaustion. However, a variety of factors such as coping strategies, psychological effort, and social support could have influenced the relationship between emotional labour and burnout that Jafar investigated (Damerouti et al., 2001; Martinez-Inigo et al., 2007; Naqvi, 2013). The findings reported by Jafar about the relationship between emotional labour and burnout/emotional exhaustion as well as the differences in demographic variables could have been influenced by a number of unexplored variables. For that matter, these findings cannot be generalized to emotional labour among media practitioners in Ghana without empirical verification. Gopalan, Colbertson, and Leiva (2012) examined the influence of emotional labour, emotional exhaustion and life satisfaction in the United States. Objective of their study was to find whether emotional labour (surface and deep acting) can lead to emotional exhaustion, thereby reducing one’s overall life satisfaction. Internet survey was used to gather data from 241 staff employed at one university in central United States. Results revealed that the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion was stronger among people with lower perception of autonomy, which had an impact on overall life satisfaction. Again, surface acting was found to positively correlate with emotional exhaustion but negatively 40 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh with life satisfaction. However, Gopalan et al. (2012) found no significant relationship between deep acting and emotional exhaustion. Gopalan et al. (2012) reveals that some aspects of emotional labour are actually linked negatively to the employee’s wellbeing and job output. One reason for that could be that, when people engage in surface acting for instance, they are acting on an outward gentility, but inward crying. This mismatch therefore could have brought about the reasons why Gopalan et al. (2012) found those relationships between emotional labour and emotional exhaustion. Besides, the frequency of emotional labour encounter could have created this as different people experience common issues differently. The difference between males and females on emotional labour and exhaustion for that matter could have been examined. Another variable worth exploring is coping strategies. Lewig and Dollard (2013) investigated emotional dissonance, emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction among call centre workers, a study that was conducted in Australia. The focus of their study was to assess the importance of emotional dissonance in relation to other work demands pertaining to emotional and psychosocial aspects. In a cross-sectional survey, 98 call centre workers were used for the study. It was found that, emotional dissonance mediated the effect of emotional labour (positive emotions) on emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, emotional dissonance was found by these researchers to be equal in its capacity to explain variance in the outcomes compared to psychosocial demands. Lewig and Dollard (2013) also found emotional dissonance to exacerbate the level of emotional exhaustion at high levels of psychosocial demands. Lewig and Dollard (2013) suggest that it is essential to look at emotional labour and emotional dissonance in organizations so as to examine how it affects worker output and militate it. It is however worth highlighting that the sample size used by these researchers is too small to make generalizations to the sample population, left alone in Ghana. On this note, Saks and 41 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Allsop (2007) emphasized that, the sample size used for a study can show whether the findings are accurate and applicable to the population characteristics. They further highlighted that, the larger the sample size, the smaller the error will be in estimating the characteristics of the whole population. This is because a small number of participants makes a research tantamount to a Type II error where an effect/difference would not be obtained when there is actually an effect/difference. For that matter, using that small number (N = 98) for a nationwide study is arguably questionable. Yang, Ma, and Lee (2014) examined the moderating effects of theatrical components on the relationship between emotional labour and emotional exhaustion; a study that was carried out in the People’s Republic of China. From the dramaturgical perspective, Yang et al. (2014) examined how emotional labour influences emotional exhaustion and is moderated by four theatrical components; front-back stage division, job autonomy, customers’ positive feedback, and explicitness of service scripts. Two hundred and seventy one (271) frontline service employees of various organizations including departmental stores, banks, airlines, hospitals, restaurants, and hair salons were purposively sampled for the study. Measures used included the Discrete Emotions Emotional Labour scale, mini-scales to measure theatrical components, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory to measure emotional exhaustion. Results indicated that, front-back stage division and job autonomy have a weakly moderating effect while customers’ positive feedback and explicitness of service scripts at different levels also possessed a distinct effect on the relationship between emotional labour and emotional exhaustion. The findings of Yang, Ma and Lee (2014) suggests that, the way customers relate to employees have a dynamic but varying impact on their emotional labour experiences and exhaustion. But, the findings from this study can only be applicable to department stores, banks, airlines, hospitals, restaurants and hair salons, the groups from which the study took 42 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh place. Next critique stems from the sampling technique used by Yang, Ma and Lee (2014) – the purposive sampling. Atindanbila (2013) argued that, studies that use non-probability sampling techniques cannot generalize since there is a critical issue of representativeness. The present study however, resort to purposive and snowball sampling techniques to home in on target sample that are willing to participate in the study. Rathi, Bhatnagar and Mishra (2015) investigated the effect of emotional labour on emotional exhaustion and work attitudes among hospitality employees in India. Their research aimed at exploring the relationship between emotional labour strategies (i.e., surface and deep acting) with emotional exhaustion, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions among employees in the hospitality industry in India. Rathi et al. (2015) collected data from 204 frontline hotel employees representing different departments. Findings revealed that, surface acting is positively related with emotional exhaustion and turnover intentions but negatively related to affective organizational commitment. Moreover, deep acting was observed to have a negative influence on emotional exhaustion as well. Again, deep acting was observed to be positively related with affective organizational commitment and turnover intentions. Rathi, Bhatnagar and Mishra’s (2015) study indicate that emotional labour (including surface acting and deep acting) could have detrimental consequences on the wellbeing of employees as well as an impediment to grand organizational success. Despite the relevance of this research, more could be done on the subject matter. First, it would be essential to investigate the coping mechanisms used by these hotel frontline employees since the findings indicated that deep acting emotional labour raised the organizational commitment and at the same time raised the levels of turnover intentions. 43 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Emotional Labour and General Wellbeing Zapf (2002) investigated emotion work and wellbeing by reviewing literature in that regard. This theory was based on the action theory. Aspects of emotion work such as automatic emotion regulation, surface acting, and deep acting were researched from journal bases and analysed. The archival search and analyses by Zapf (2002) indicated that, emotion work is a double-edged sword; it has both positive (such as enhancing competencies, satisfaction and self-esteem) and negative effects (such as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and emotional dissonance) on the psychological wellbeing of the employee at work. Again, Zapf reported that, concepts related to the frequency of emotion expression and the requirement to be sensitive to the emotions of others have both positive and negative effects on the psychological wellbeing of the employee at work as well. Furthermore, control of social situations at work and support was found to moderate relations between emotion work variables such as deep acting, surface acting, emotional dissonance and job satisfaction. More so, it was found that the co-occurrence of emotion work and organizational problems leads to high levels of burnout among employees. Zapf (2002) reveals that emotional labour could be a double edged sword, that is, having both positive (such as enhancing competencies, satisfaction and self-esteem) and negative effects (such as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and emotional dissonance) on the psychological wellbeing of the employees at work. However, it must be highlighted that, inasmuch as archival studies are useful in helping to make decisions about growing trends and direction of research studies, it involves a great sense of subjectivity and may have a limitation of external validity. The conclusion of Zapf (2002) suggest that the findings in terms of outputs may vary across cultures and study populations. The inconsistency in findings on emotional labour research is thus deepened. It may be arguable but plausible that the socio-economic context of study participants may influence their evaluation and overall 44 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh effect of emotional labour experiences. Conducting a research on media practitioners in a Ghanaian context will likely add some contextual meanings to the suppressive or enhancement attitudes of employees. Holman, Chissick, and Totterdell (2002) researched on the effects of performance monitoring on emotional labour and well-being in call centres. Holman, Chissick, and Totterdell (2002) examined three aspects of performance monitoring, namely, performance-related, its beneficial-purpose, and its perceived intensity. Three hundred and forty seven (347) customer service agents in two United Kingdom call centres (mortgage call and loan call) were purposively sampled to complete performance monitoring scale, emotional labour scale, job context scale, and psychological wellbeing. Using regression analyses Holman, Chissick, and Totterdell (2002) reported that, performance-related content and the beneficial-purpose of monitoring were positively related to well-being of employees in the call centres, while perceived intensity had a strong negative association with well-being. Results also showed that, emotional labour did not mediate the relationship between monitoring and well-being, although it was related to these two factors. Again, work context (job control, problem solving demand, supervisory support) did not mediate the relationship between monitoring and well- being, but job control and supervisory support did moderate the relationship between perceived intensity and well-being. Holman, Chissick, and Totterdell’s (2002) work indicate that emotional labour has a negative impact on well-being of employees in call centres. However, it must be identified that, since this study is cross-sectional a direction of causality cannot be established. Besides, the common method variance used could be a source of invalidity when the self-report and subjective interpretative nature of this study is considered. This could have introduced biases into the study which would in effect limit the validity of this current study. 45 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Cheung and Tang (2010) investigated the effects of age, gender, and emotional labour strategies on job outcomes. Objective of this study was to examine the role of age on the selection of emotional labour strategies, and how emotional labour strategies mediate the association between age/gender and job satisfaction. Another objective was to examine the moderation role of gender on age and emotional labour strategies. This study was based on the socio-emotional selectivity theory. Five organizations which involved 386 participants/employees in Hong Kong – China, were used for the study. Among the participants, 102 were call centre representatives, 57 retail shop supervisors, 45 administrative staff, and 182 registered nurses (102 males and 284 females). More so, the mean age was 33.19 years with ages ranging from 19 – 62 and these have an average working experience of 8.93 years. Measures used included emotional labour, job satisfaction and psychological distress scales. A mail survey was used to carry out this study. Results indicated that, age is related to the use of deep acting and the expression of naturally felt emotions. A significant relationship was also found between age and job satisfaction as this was mediated by deep acting emotional labour among males and females. Older workers reported greater use of deep acting and more expression of naturally felt emotions in the workplace. Cheung and Tang (2010) demonstrated age differences in experiences and expressions of emotional labour. However, their reliance on self-report measures might affect the external validity of the study. Besides, the study of emotional labour often moves hand-in-hand with emotional dissonance (Bakker & Heuven, 2016; Lewig & Dollard, 2013), yet this essential construct in emotional labour studies was neglected. It would therefore be essential that in understanding emotional labour among media practitioners in Ghana, emotional dissonance be considered as well. Justifiably, most media practitioners may have to deal with the conflict of enhancing or suppressing their emotions as against the felt (natural) emotions. Their 46 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh inability to deal with such emotional discrepancy may lead to emotional dissonance and ultimately lead to poor psychological health. Brown (2010) investigated the effect of emotional labour on wellbeing among health sector employees in Australia. The study was in two sections, study one was made up of 21 nurses from three units (emergency unit, renal dialysis unit, and palliative care unit). These were compared to clerical staff to explore the levels and associations of emotional labour. According to Brown (2010), the second study used 325 employees from the same population so as to study and enable generalization. Results indicated that, (a) the management of natural emotion is a distinct and prominent emotional labour strategy, (b) the management of natural emotion and deep acting are preferable to surface acting due to more favourable well-being associations, (c) organizational sources of support are crucial for the well-being of employees engaged in emotional labour, (d) employees who perceive the emotional engagement in their role as high may be better prepared for emotional interactions and have better well-being outcomes. Brown’s (2010) study suggest that the management of emotions and its effect on work outcomes and employee wellbeing should be considered in every profession. It would be necessary to consider this phenomena in the media profession in Ghana as well. However, the small number of participants used initially by Brown (2010) indicates that generalising the findings should be done cautiously. In relation to this, Saks and Allsop (2007) highlighted that the accuracy required and the possible variation of the population characteristics is linked to the sample size. They further highlighted that, the smaller the sample size, the smaller the error will be in estimating the characteristics of the whole population. This is because; a small number of participants would make the research tantamount to a Type II error where an effect/difference would not be obtained when there is actually an effect/difference. In view of this, using a sample of 21 participants to generalize is highly problematic. 47 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Gelderen, Konijn and Bakker (2010) examined emotional labour among trainee police officers. This research focused on the role of positive emotions. Gelderen et al. (2010) tested the influence of the perceived display of positive emotions of 80 Dutch trainee police officers during an interaction with offenders on perceived authenticity and perceived performance success, incorporating the senders’ emotion regulation technique (i.e., deep acting and surface acting). These police officials were sampled purposively for the sake of the study where there were 41 females and 39 males with 27years being the mean age. Measures used included displayed positive emotions, authenticity, performance success, surface acting, deep acting, and positive affect. Using structural equation modelling, results indicated that perceived authenticity mediates the relationship between the perceived display of positive emotions and perceived performance success, while the specific senders’ emotion regulation technique was not related to perceived performance success. Another noteworthy result was the fact that perceived performance success mediated the relationship between the perceived display of positive emotions and senders’ felt positive emotions after the interaction; this was done by controlling for senders’ positive affect. Critical analysis of the work of Gelderen, Konijn, and Bakker (2010) on emotional labour among trainee police officers reveals that positive affect has a positive impact on emotional labour and wellbeing. However, Gelderen et al.’s (2010) study was conducted with police officers in perspective and for that matter has problems with generalization. Even with that, the sample used was trainee police officials who are not yet grounded; for that matter, the research may not even be representative of the general police force left alone media practitioners in Ghana. Erickson and Ritter (2011) investigated emotional labour, burnout, and inauthenticity among workers. Objective of this research was to investigate gender differences in emotional labour, burnout, and inauthenticity among workers. Five hundred and twenty two (522) workers 48 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh completed the survey to test the hypothesis. Women constituted 64% of the study and men were 36%. The emotional labour, burnout and inauthenticity at work scales were used. In the end, it was found that, women were more likely than men to hold jobs that require significant amounts of emotional labour, to spend more time with people, and to hide their feelings of agitation. However, the effects of these occupational characteristics on burnout and inauthenticity did not vary by gender. Erickson and Ritter (2011) revealed that females do better on emotional labour or jobs such as the media which requires a high degree of emotional labour than males. It is just quiet uncertain how Erickson and Ritter used emotional labour scale, burnout and inauthenticity at work scales, yet, they could determine gender differences in agitation. They also failed to investigate how these affect the psychological health of employees and workplace productivity. It must be admitted as Scott and Barnes (2011) recommended that, studies involving emotional labour must consider how it affects worker productivity, health as well as their coping mechanisms. For one thing, studies of emotional labour would mean nothing if it is not linked to the employees and the organization. Kinman, McFall, and Rodriguez (2011) investigated emotional labour and wellbeing among the clergy. Kinman et al. (2011) also aimed at examining the potential moderating effects of social support and training in counselling skills. Results indicated significant associations between emotional labour and both psychological distress and job satisfaction. Counselling training and a wider social network may protect clergy from the negative impact of emotional labour, but social network size may also be a risk factor for clergy’s wellbeing. Kinman, McFall, and Rodriguez’s (2011) study indicates the relatedness of emotional labour could affect a person’s performance at work. In that regard, it may have been necessary for the researchers to investigate the coping strategies to mitigate the effects of emotional labour. 49 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Karimi, Leggat, Donohue, Farrell and Couper (2013) also researched into the role of emotional intelligence and emotional labour on well-being and job-stress. Karimi et al. (2013) gathered data from three hundred and twelve (312) Australian community health nurses. Results indicate that both emotional labour and emotional intelligence have significant effects on nurses’ well-being and perceived job-stress. Again, emotional intelligence was found to have a moderating relationship in the experience of job-stress; this means that, in the event of high emotional labour, nurses with high emotional intelligence experience less job-stress (better wellbeing as a result). Karimi et al.’s (2013) study shows that emotional labour has a negative impact on community health nurses’ work outcomes and wellbeing. For one thing, a number of variables such as turnover intensions, exhaustion, psychological distress, psychological effort and organizational display culture as well as support systems could have been investigated in this regard. This is has been demonstrated throughout emotional labour literature to have dynamic moderating and mediating impacts on the employee and work outcomes (Fu, 2015; Hsu, 2012; Schutte & Malouff, 1999; Sliter et al., 2013). Despite the directional relationships between the emotional labour variables established by Karimi et al. (2013), it cannot be said that the findings apply to the media practitioners in Ghana because the focus of their study was about nurses who have different work environment and somewhat different work display culture. Wagner, Barnes, and Scott (2014) also examined emotional labour on the personal life of the employee at home. The main objective of their study was to examine how emotional labour affects the employee’s work-output as well as home life. 78 full-time employed bus drivers who work for a single transit company in the north-western United States were used for the study. Wagner, Barnes, and Scott (2014) measured surface acting emotional labour, state anxiety, work-to-family conflict, emotional exhaustion, insomnia, daily controls, and trait emotional stability. In the end, Wagner et al. (2014) found that surface acting emotional 50 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh labour led to a rise in state anxiety, work-to-family conflict, emotional exhaustion, and insomnia. A critical analyses of Wagner et al.’s (2014) study implies that, surface acting emotional labour affects employees’ emotional, social, and somatic outcomes. This therefore suggests that research on emotional labour in organizations is very essential. One organization in Ghana that truly requires that its workers put aside what they feel at heart for the interest of the organization and its clients is the media industry. But some limitations of Wagner et al.’s (2014) study cannot allow for generalization in Ghana. For instance, their study solely relied on self-report measures to arrive at these conclusions. In this regard, Creswell (2008) highlighted that, studies that relies on self-report measures are often at risk of being vulnerable to common method variance such as response tendencies and trait affectivity. Besides, all the participants for Wagner et al.’s (2014) study were drawn from a single occupation in a single organization – bus drivers – which is neither inclusive of media practitioners or representative of them in terms of likely emotional labour, work-output and psychological health. Adelmann (2016) investigated emotional labour and employee wellbeing; a study that was conducted in the United States. According to Adelmann, emotional labour is a manifestation or suppression of emotional expression or feeling and it is a requirement for most jobs in the United States. The researcher set out to examine (1) the relationship between emotional labour and psychological outcomes in a national sample of workers, and (2) to find out whether the type and amount of emotional labour is related to psychological outcomes. To achieve the objectives of the study, 1,352 national sample of workers were used for the first study to achieve the first objective and 91 subjects (table servants) for the second study to achieve the second objective. In study 1, results indicated that, workers in jobs requiring high amounts of emotional labour differed from those in low emotional labour jobs on seven of twelve 51 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh outcomes; they reported lower job satisfaction, job performance, self-esteem and happiness, more depressive symptoms, poorer health, and greater anomie. After adjusting for the effects of job complexity, control, and income, the difference between emotional labour and job satisfaction was insignificant. They also found no significant differences between gender in terms of emotional labour and related outcomes. However, in the second study, Adelmann (2016) found no significant relationship between emotional labour and psychological outcomes with control variables like income and job complexity; but a negative association was found between emotional labour and job commitment and health. After accounting for other job characteristics, the negative associations between emotional labour and job commitment and health disappeared. The link between expression and feeling on the job showed a weak link to psychological outcomes; workers with emotional harmony tended to have higher well-being than those with emotional dissonance. A critical analyses of the findings of Adelmann (2016) indicate that emotional labour is related to employee well-being. It also seems to suggest that emotional labour is linked to psychological distress, but the relationship between feeling and expression needs further exploration in other settings. Summary: Emotional Labour and Psychological Health Campbell and Ntobedzi (2007) reported that, there is an indirect relationship with psychological distress being predicted by coping style and coping style predicted by emotional intelligence. Their study revealed that coping strategies indirectly affects a person’s experience of psychological distress. Since Campbell and Ntobedzi failed to examine the individual components of emotional labour – surface acting and deep acting – on the constructs, Karim and Weisz (2010) who considered these variations found that neither surface acting nor deep acting mediated the relationship between emotional intelligence and psychological distress. Since their studies failed to look at some demographic and job-related 52 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh factors influencing psychological distress, Yoon and Kim (2013) factored these in a cross- sectional study only to find that, marital status, surface acting, job insecurity and lack of reward are strongly related to psychological distress as a result of job-related stress. Realizing that age is an important factor in emotional labour especially in the light of socio-emotional selectivity theory (Carstensen et al., 1999), Sliter et al. (2013) investigated whether older people are emotionally smarter. It was found that age is related to choosing better emotional labour strategies, strategies that align with older individuals’ motivational goals and the goals of organizations (such as less burnout and possibly better customer service). Again, the emotional labour strategy, in turn, affect well-being of participants. Despite these advances, Grandey (2003) found it useful to examine surface acting and deep acting as determinants of emotional exhaustion and service delivery. In the end, Grandey (2003) found that compared with deep acting, surface acting is significantly related to emotional exhaustion among employees. However, Al-Serkal (2006) found it worthwhile to investigate emotional labour and stress. This researcher found that, the longer that an individual stayed in their role, the more likely they were going to experience physical problems and greater amounts of stress. Due to problems with the sample focus of Al-Serkal and geographic limitations, Jafar (2012) examined the impact of emotional labour on burnout and reported a significant positive correlation between emotional labour and burnout, but no significant differences in gender although, married employees showed greater burnout than unmarried employees. Gopalan et al. (2012) and Lewig and Dollard (2013) after consideration of several variables in emotional labour research (emotional dissonance, emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction) reported that, emotional dissonance increases the level of emotional exhaustion at high levels of psychosocial demands. Gopalan et al. (2012) even found that, surface acting positively correlates with emotional exhaustion but negatively with life satisfaction. This is 53 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh supported by Rathi et al. (2015), but, addition, these found deep acting to have a positive correlation on employees’ organizational commitment and turnover intentions. However, Yang, Ma and Lee (2014) found that emotional exhaustion stems largely from employees relations to customers rather than with fellow employees or work demands. Most of these reviewed studies underscores that emotional labour to a large extent negatively affects employee’s general psychological health (Gopalan et al., 2012;Kinman et al., 2011; Karimi et al., 2013; Lewg & Dollard, 2013; Wagner et al., 2014; Zapf, 2002). However, unlike previous researchers, Gelderen et al. (2010) found that emotional labour instead impacted positively on general wellbeing and job performance because the experience does not actually degrade employees but teachers them resilience and fortitude. Similarly, Agyemang, Fawaz and Borley (2015) found no relationship between emotional labour and employee turnover and dissatisfaction with Ghanaian participants in the hospitality industry. Erickson and Ritter (2011) blamed Gelderen et al. (2010) for failing to account for differences in gender while reporting that women were more likely than men to hold jobs that require significant amounts of emotional labour, to spend more time with people, and to hide their feelings of agitation. Like Gelderen et al. (2010), Adelmann (2016) found no significant relationship between emotional labour and psychological outcomes. To this researcher, this can be clearly understood if researchers of emotional labour adjust for job characteristics and carry out emotional labour research in other cultural settings and work context. The present study therefore utilises media practitioners as research samples to unearth possible contextual nuances in findings on emotional labour. 54 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2.3.2 Emotional Labour and Work-Related Outcomes Emotional Labour and Job Satisfaction Hsu (2012) researched the effects of emotional labour on organizational performance in service industry. His main focus of this study was to investigate the effects of emotional labour on organizational performance, organizational commitment as well as the link between organizational commitment and organizational performance. Hsu (2012) used the Bullfight service industry as the research sample. With this group, 235 service employees were obtained. Results indicated that, emotional labour presents significantly direct effects on organizational performance; while organizational commitment remarkably had a direct effect on emotional labour; and organizational commitment also had direct effects on organizational performance. Again, it was found that most employees in the service industry often had turnover intensions, took long leaves, isolated themselves (depressive symptoms) and reduced contact time so as to reduce the effect of emotional labour on them. Critically analysing the work of Hsu (2012), it became evident that emotional labour has a direct impact on turnover intensions since such service workers see it as an option to coping with or remedy the effects of emotional wellbeing. This appears contrary to what Al-Serkal (2006) found that emotional labour had no relationship to turnover intentions. A critical analysis of this might presuppose that specific industries that does not allow a person to easily switch profession easily find their employees stick to the profession no matter the effect of emotional labour on them. This therefore might be unlike some service industries whereby employees could easily switch to other service centres, perhaps with the perception that work events such as emotional labour might be better off in those areas. However, since Hsu was interested in knowing about coping strategies, therefore, that phenomenon should have been investigated to know its direct impact perhaps through a qualitative measure. The present study submits meaningfully with how coping strategies moderate the relationship 55 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh between emotional labour and psychological health of employees. Kammeyer-Mueller et al. (2013) in a meta-analytic study examined dispositional affectivity and emotional labour. The principal objectives of this study was to clarify and compare results across a growing body of literature using a quantitative review along with a theoretically derived path of emotional labour constructs. Kammeyer-Mueller et al. (2013) did an extensive literature search and came up with 116 journal articles about dispositional affectivity and emotional labour. Evidence from their structural meta-analytic model revealed that, examining affective dispositions and emotional labour constructs and the pattern of positive and negative results helps to clarify and add specificity to the literature in that regard. Again, analyses revealed that, surface acting emotion regulation strategies have a pattern of negative relationships with work outcomes of job satisfaction and stress/exhaustion (but not with job performance), whereas deep acting emotion regulation strategies have a pattern of positive relationships with all of these work outcomes. Kammeyer-Mueller et al. (2013) used both cross-sectional and of particular interest, longitudinal studies which have been a limitation to most researches in emotional labour that relied on primary data collection from employees in various work sectors. In as much as Kammeyer-Mueller et al. (2013) found emotional labour to be a double-edged sword that can provide both negative and positive effects under different circumstances, the researchers remarked that, most of the literature used for their analyses were about customer service jobs that only require positive emotional displays. For that matter, there should be a caveat regarding this conclusion. To cite as an example, Morris and Feldman (1996) pointed that, “individuals higher in negative affectivity may find that they fit better into jobs requiring the presentation of negative emotions because to them, such behaviour would be perceived as not requiring much acting” (p.1002). This pre-supposes that, people who are high in negative affectivity should most probably experience less emotional dissonance in jobs with negative 56 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh display rules, than individuals higher in positive affect, who would also be better suited for jobs that require positive display rules. More so, a similar meta-analysis of emotional labour this time related to nurses only by Kim and Ham (2015) revealed that some variables have larger effect sizes when it comes to emotional labour. For example, they identified that variables such as work task, organization and individual characteristics affect the emotional labour of nurses in descending order. Furthermore, they realized that the sub-factors with the greatest effect size in the work task variable were emotional exhaustion and work commitment, while for organization variables, intention to change jobs. But, physical symptoms in terms of the individual factors showed the greatest effect size. In another study, Fu (2015) investigated the effect of emotional labour on job involvement in preschool teachers. The researcher did this by verifying the mediating effect of psychological capital in relation to emotional labour and job involvement. Fu (2015) used 385 preschool teachers as research participants. Measures included the use of Lee and Chen’s (2006) emotional labour scale, Lee’s (2009) psychological capital scale, and Kanungo’s (1982) job involvement scale. Findings pointed to the fact that deep acting aspect of emotional labour exerted the strongest influence on job involvement and that high psychological capital improved their emotional burden. Moreover, self-efficacy and optimism moderated the need for psychological satisfaction of work among samples. In addition, Fu (2015) found that optimism exerts a mediating effect on the relationship between emotional labour and job involvement in preschool teachers. Although, Fu (2015) found that deep acting aspect of emotional labour exerted the strongest influence on job involvement in the light of self-efficacy and optimism, there are a number of essential factors that really need to have been investigated if the concept of emotional labour among preschool teachers is to be understood. For example, preschool teachers would need to cope with some non-teaching aspects such as pre-schoolers being tired, hurt by others, 57 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh feeling the need to ease, or even experience elimination or bedwetting while in class that needs to be cared for. In such cases, it would be essential to also examine their coping strategies, social support and psychological effort and how these affect work outcomes and employees psychological health. The present study incorporate social support, psychological effort, and coping strategies in studying emotional labour in the Ghanaian context. Bogdan, Mairean, Avram and Stan (2016) did an empirical analysis of emotional labour, job satisfaction and job burnout in England. Their study examined the link between job satisfaction, emotional labour and job burnout. Again, they focused on the relationship between surface acting and deep acting forms of emotional labour and three dimensions of job burnout – emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. Bogdan et al. (2016) used one hundred and twenty-one (121) respondents (consisting of teachers, medical staff, and bank employees) with a mean age of 35.10, ranging from 22 to 60 years old. These participants were those who had previous and current experience of engaging with customer interaction as part of their job. These participants completed the emotional labour scale, Maslach burnout inventory, and Minnesota satisfaction questionnaire. Results of their study showed that a greater use of surface acting and deep acting emotional labour is associated with a higher level of emotional exhaustiveness and depersonalization, whereas a higher level of job satisfaction is associated with a lower level of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and more personal accomplishment. Again, regression analyses indicated that job satisfaction is a significant predictor for all forms of job burnout. A critical analyses of the work of Bogdan et al. (2016) suggest that there is a greater need to pay attention to not only the clients of an organization/business but also to the employees and job environment in order to harness the possible harmful effects of their work. Although this study did not link the findings to work output, anecdotal evidence and 58 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh rationalization may suggest that it would have a negative impact on work-related output. In as much as the findings of this study is helpful in understanding emotional labour and its negative consequences on the employees of an organization, there are some limitations that affect the reliability of these findings across cultures. It is worth noting that, using a sample of 121 across three different set of employees from different industries (teachers, medical staff, and bankers) from the view point of the researcher is analytically difficult as findings were not compared among the three set of employees. More so, emotional labour experiences among these three set of employees may vary in intensity, nature, and frequency. With the aforementioned challenges in view, the present study focused on emotional labour experiences of electronic media practitioners in Ghana as other members of boundary spanners. Emotional Labour and Turnover Intentions Scott and Barnes (2011) principally examined within-individual relationships among emotional labour (that is, surface acting and deep acting), negative and positive affective states, and work withdrawal, as well as the moderating role of gender. A sample of sixty-eight bus drivers were used by Scott and Barnes to complete two daily surveys over a 2-week period. Overall, they had 415 matched surveys from the use of these 68 bus drivers which consisted of 43 male bus drivers and 25 female bus drivers (Mean age = 48.4 years). Scott and Barnes (2011) found that emotional labour strategies vary within individuals as well as between individuals [since] a given employee may use surface acting at one time, but deep acting at another to regulate their affective states. Again, affective states deteriorated when employees engaged in surface acting but got better when they engaged in deep acting. Surface acting was positively associated with work withdrawal, and state negative affect mediated this relationship. Moreover, there was the moderating effects of gender; an analysis of within- individual relationships proved stronger for females than for males. 59 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh A critical consideration of the work of Scott and Barnes (2011) indicate that the surface acting aspect of emotional labour could produce turnover intentions among employees (bus drivers for that matter) which also could be an affront to their wellbeing. However, the deep acting aspect of emotional labour could have positive affect on the employee. However, their use of experience-sampling methodology could pose a constraint on the number of variables that was assessed especially in their study whereby bus drivers had to complete surveys at the end of work each day (Scollon, Kim-Prieto, & Diener, 2003). Again, some relevant variables in emotional labour research that could have been useful in understanding the bus drivers such as their level of emotional exhaustion, emotional dissonance, coping, perceived social support, and job satisfaction (Campbell & Ntobedzi, 2007; Gopalan, Culbertson, & Leiva, 2012; Kinman, Wray, & Strange, 2011; Rathi, Bhatnagnar, & Mishra, 2015) were not considered. More so, aside their use of a small sample size, their population focus (bus drivers – who usually have to focus on a few irate passengers and the road) would not allow the findings of Scott and Barnes to be generalized to media practitioners in Ghana. In Ghana, a casual view of public transport operators and their level of customer service may not on an evaluative scale place drivers on board as having emotional labour experiences. Summary: Emotion Labour and Work-Related Outcomes Hsu (2012) who researched the effects of emotional labour on organizational performance in service industry found that, emotional labour has a direct impact on turnover intensions since such service workers see it as an option to coping with or remedy the effects of emotional wellbeing. However, Kammeyer-Mueller et al. (2013) found something contrary. These reported that surface acting emotion regulation strategies have a pattern of negative relationships with work outcomes of job satisfaction and stress/exhaustion (but not with job performance), whereas deep acting emotion regulation strategies have a pattern of positive relationships with all of these work outcomes. This suggests that emotional labour could be 60 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh a double-edged sword – having both negative and positive impact – on work-related outcomes. Fu (2015) found that deep acting aspect of emotional labour exerted the strongest influence on job involvement in the light of self-efficacy and optimism. However, the researcher was critiqued for failing to examine coping strategies, social support and psychological effort in job involvement and job satisfaction. Bogdan et al. (2016) also found that, emotional labour leads to emotional exhaustion which in turn impedes work-output. Scott and Barnes (2011) also found that, surface acting aspect of emotional labour could produce turnover intentions among employees. It is arguable but clear that findings on emotional labour studies may vary across cultures and work context. 2.3.3 Emotional Labour, Mediating and Moderating Variables Emotional Labour and Emotional Dissonance Sawang, Brough, and Barbour (2009) did an investigation of emotional dissonance among police officers. As part of their objectives, they examined the association between emotional dissonance and perceived work resources among police officers; the link between work resources and psychological health among police officers; and the mediating role of work resources on emotional dissonance and psychological health. A total of 2,626 police officers were used for the study. Operational police officers among these were further screened leading to a scale-down to 1,542 police officers. Measures used included the use of emotional dissonance scale, general health questionnaire, job rewards questionnaire, social support questionnaire and job satisfaction. Results from Sawang et al.’s (2009) study indicated that emotional dissonance is negatively related to work resources, while work resources such as job rewards and social support are inversely linked to psychological health. Again, Sawang et al. (2009) reported that, work resources partially mediates the relationship between emotional dissonance and psychological health among operational police officers. 61 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Analysis of Sawang et al.’s (2009) study suggests that resources at work such as job rewards and social support at work could help employees who work in emotionally demanding setting to have an enhanced psychological wellbeing. Demerouti, Bakker, Stanley and Burrows (2001) for example previously emphasized that social support is essential in reducing the stresses that result from hectic work activities. However, unlike Sawang et al. (2009) who only explained social support from the job environment perspective, social support can also be obtained outside the work environment such as from the family of the employee as well. It is interesting that Sawang et al. (2009) titled their study, I smile when I’m angry …, the work of operational police officers in Ghana usually requires an affront with law-breakers or criminals while really does not require smiling but a strict face perhaps. This dynamics in culture might make a direct application of Sawang et al.’s (2009) findings now to media practitioners in Ghana a fallacy worth avoiding. This notwithstanding, Sawang et al.’s (2009) emphasis on work resources convinces the researcher that the application of Job Demand- Resources theory to this study is highly appropriate. Cheung and Cheung (2013) on the other hand investigated the effect of emotional dissonance on organizational citizenship behaviour. The main objective of these researchers were to examine the mediating effect of burnout between emotional dissonance and employee organizational citizenship behaviour. Two hundred and sixty four (264) fulltime school teachers were engaged to complete the study questionnaires. These participants were made to complete the emotional dissonance scale, organizational citizenship behaviour scale and burnout scale. Results indicated that, emotional dissonance is positively related to all three burnout dimensions including emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment. Emotional dissonance was also found to be negatively related to organizational citizenship behaviour toward individuals. So emotional dissonance first leads to burnout and then to lower organization citizenship behaviour. 62 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Although, Cheung and Cheung’s (2013) study highlight that emotional dissonance retrogressively affects the work-output of employees, their use of convenience sampling could make generalization problematic and thus have implications for representativeness (Atindanbila, 2013). The present study investigates emotional labour in the Ghanaian context using media practitioners utilising purposive sampling technique in selecting desired respondents who fit the purpose of the research. Heuven and Bakker (2013) investigated emotional dissonance and burnout among cabin attendants. Their main objectives of the researchers were to find out how (1) quantitative job demands influences cabin attendants levels of job control experience and burnout; and (2) emotional dissonance impacts emotional exhaustion and depersonalization among cabin attendants. The researchers employed 220 cabin attendants with a mean age of 31 years in a cross-sectional study to test their assumptions. Measures used to achieve the research aims included the demand-control variables scale, emotional dissonance scale, and burnout scale. Results indicated that emotional dissonance is a more important predictor of burnout among cabin attendants than quantitative job demands and job control. Emotional exhaustion was found to play an important mediating role between work characteristics and depersonalization. Results from exploratory qualitative analyses point to the importance of understanding emotion work as a dynamic process that is actively regulated by the human service worker on the basis of interaction, reciprocity, and learning. Although, Heuven and Bakker’s (2013) study helps us come to the realization that emotional dissolution could easily lead to burnout which could also affect job satisfaction and productivity steadily. Heuven and Baker (2013) are to be commended for their use of exploratory study. However, it might be necessary to do a culture-specific analysis of emotional dissonance and its impact on job satisfaction as well as other psychological related factors. Besides, the researchers failed to spell-out how emotional dissonance and burnout 63 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh affects the productivity of cabin attendants. It may have been some of these factors that propelled these researchers to consider in-role performance when it comes to emotional dissonance and burnout in 2016. The present study uses both qualitative and quantitative approach to understand the dynamic process of emotional labour. Bakker and Heuven (2016) investigated whether emotional job demands are related to burnout through their influence on emotional dissonance, and whether emotional dissonance is related to in-role performance through its influence on burnout. In-role performance of nurses (who usually have to provide injections, serving meals, and washing patients) and police officers (who usually provide street surveillance, arresting suspects and responding to alert calls by citizens) were examined. Using two studies, Bakker and Heuven (2016) used 108 nurses and 101 police officers to test their proposition that emotionally demanding interactions with recipients may result in emotional dissonance, which, in turn, may lead to job burnout and impaired performance. Results indicated that both police and nurses experienced emotional dissonance due to the enormous emotional demands in their jobs. These employees experienced emotional dissonance, which in turn leads to emotional exhaustion and cynicism. They also found that emotional exhaustion is mainly related to in- role performance through its relationship with emotional exhaustion and cynicism. Some of their demographic variables such as sex, age, educational background, marital status, and religious affiliation were not related to the model variables and did not modify the results of the model testing. Analyses of the work of Bakker and Heuven (2016) indicates that it is highly essential to investigate emotional dissonance in jobs that require client contacts so as to devise ways and means to maximize work output. It is especially good that Bakker and Heuven’s findings could actually be used to explain Schaufeli and Enzmann’s (2013) worry as to why most client-service oriented job employees were increasingly quitting their jobs. However, there 64 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh are no reports or researches in Ghana and largely Africa indicating that most client-service oriented job employees are quitting their jobs. Grandey (2000) emphasized that feeling rules which include emotional labour and dissonance strongly vary from culture to culture. For that matter, a study about emotional dissonance that was carried out only in the Netherland cannot be generalized to Ghana without empirical verification. Zapf and Holz (2015) investigated the positive and negative effects of emotion work in organizations in Germany. Using 184 service workers and another sample of 1158 service workers, participant background information such as gender, age, educational history, years of work experience, and occupation were taken. Samples mainly included call centre agents, hotel and bank employees, and kindergarten teachers. Measures used in this regard included the Frankfurt emotion work scales to measure emotional labour (subscales included positive emotions, negative emotions, sensitivity requirements, and emotional dissonance), Maslach burnout inventory and the five factor personality inventory to measure neuroticism. Result indicated that emotional dissonance was the most stressful aspect of emotion work, whereas the display of positive emotions and sensitivity requirements also had positive effects on personal accomplishment. The requirement to express negative emotions however had little effect on burnout. Furthermore, on the aspect of personality factor, neuroticism had little impact on the relations between emotion work and burnout. Zapf and Holz (2015) reveals that, random sampling technique used among service centres which is not common in this field of research can allow for representativeness to the populations studied (Creswell, 2008). Emotional labour has been found in this regard to relate to emotional exhaustion or burnout. However, the populations used was not general to cover media practitioners. For that matter, it is essential that media practitioners in Ghana be examined on emotional labour and the possible effect on their psychological wellbeing. 65 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Emotional Labour and Psychological Effort Psychological effort attempts to measure the amount of psychological strength exerted in any emotionally demanding situation. Even though this construct appears to be coined by the researcher after careful consideration of the work of Martinez-Inigo, Totterdell, Alcover, and Holman (2007), the inclusion of psychological effort was deemed vital from media practitioners’ perspective. Martinez-Inigo, Totterdell, Alcover, and Holman (2007) investigated interpersonal and intrapersonal mechanisms that affects emotional labour and emotional exhaustion among medical personnel who are required to pretend to have emotions that they do not really have. They examined how the use of different emotion regulation strategies with patients relates to doctors’ emotional exhaustion, as well as how interpersonal and intrapersonal mechanisms may explain these relationships. Using a cross-sectional survey, 345 (228 females – mean age = 41 years old) general medical practitioners in Spain were used for the study. Medical practitioners’ were tested on their use of automatic, surface and deep emotion regulation strategies as well as their emotional exhaustion. In this regard, psychological effort was tested as a potential intrapersonal mediator between these variables. Findings by use of regression analysis showed that, emotion regulation is negatively associated with general medical practitioners’ emotional exhaustion but shows a positive and neutral association in the face of surface and deep acting respectively. His attempt to measure effort served a mediating role as an intrapersonal factor between general medical practitioners’ emotion regulation strategies and their emotional exhaustion. More so, interpersonal mechanisms such as perceived feedback from clients/patients in the form of satisfaction with interaction with patients fully mediated the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion. Analysis of this research done by Martinez-Inigo et al. (2007) indicates that emotional labour could be bi-phasic; as described in the final works of Brotheridge and Lee (2002), it could be 66 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh simultaneously considered as an effortful process that drains mental resources or psychological efforts and as a process for recovering resources by contributing to the development of rewarding relationships. Thus, it could be said from this study that the overall; effect of emotional labour on emotional exhaustion depends on the interaction between intrapersonal factors and client/patient interactions. Martinez-Inigo et al. (2007) suggested that his attempt to measure effort be properly streamlined. The present study thus developed and measured psychological effort scale and incorporated other factors such as coping strategies and perceived social support as part of this study. Again, a limited focus on general medical practitioners would make generalization to media practitioners in Ghana an ill- advised endeavour. The researcher of the present study evaluated the need to weigh the amount of psychological effort into the model being tested. However, the use of two items and subsequent low reliability record (>.5) by Martinez-Inigo, Totterdell, Alcover, and Holman (2007) made it practically difficult to adopt that scale. A direct interaction with lead researcher for this research yielded viable options. It was suggested that the present researcher builds on the present scale and test its applicability to the Ghanaian setting. The researcher heeded the aforementioned suggestions and built on the scale with one more item after a careful consideration of literature and testing them via pilot study. Ashforth and Humphrey (2016) investigated emotional labour in service roles looking at the influence of identity. Ashforth and Humphrey (2016) used 180 service agent workers who were sampled by convenience to measure emotional labour and the extent to which it affects worker productivity. Results indicated that, emotional labour may facilitate task effectiveness and self-expression. They also found that, emotional labour could prime customer expectations that cannot be met and may trigger emotional dissonance and self-alienation among service agents. Using the social identity theory, these researchers found that, some 67 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh effects of emotional labour are moderated by a service agent’s social and personal identities and that, emotional labour stimulates pressures for the person to identify with the service role. Ashforth and Humphrey’s (2016) work on emotional labour among service workers indicates that emotional labour could have a positive role or side among service agents (perhaps one of the few studies finding such a link); for example, it could facilitate task effectiveness and self- expression of employees. It appears to present emotional labour as a “double-edged sword”, such that, it could have positive aspects to the employees such as task effectiveness and self- expression as well as negative aspects such as emotional dissonance and self-alienation. It can be argued that, perhaps high and low forms of emotional labour spells out these differences, yet, there is a need for empirical backing to make the argument valid. It is plausible that socio-economic context of respondents could play a role in establishing the ambivalence of findings. Carrying out emotional labour research in the Ghanaian context certainly will add support to the inconsistent findings on emotional labour research. Adelmann (2016) emphasized that complexity in one’s job may influence the work outcomes. Such a complexity may demand different mental efforts in navigating away from the effects of emotional labour. In the Ghanaian media industry for instance, multi-tasking is common. It is important to measure the extent to which psychological effort mediate the relationship between emotional labour and psychological health among Ghanaian media practitioners. Emotional Labour and Occupational Display Culture Some occupations have some job specific behavioural display patterns. The media industry like many other client-centred units, require that employees appear and behave in a particular way. Carrasco, Martinez-Tur, Moliner, Peiro, and Ramis (2014) investigated the link between emotional dissonance and service climate to wellbeing at work. Their primary aim of the researchers were to investigate the relationship between work-unit service climate, burnout, engagement and emotional dissonance. Using 60 hotels, 512 employees were obtained among 68 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh which 267 were receptionists while 245 were waiters (mean age = 33.6 years; 49% males). Measures administered to these hotel service employees include emotional dissonance scale (Zapf et al., 1999), global service climate scale (Schneider et al., 1998), the Spanish adapted version (Schaufeli et al., 2002) the Maslach-burnout inventory (Schaufeli et al., 1996), and the Spanish adapted version of the Utrecht work engagement scale. Results indicated that, burnout and engagement at the individual level is significantly predicted by both emotional dissonance and service climate, with the work-unit measure of service demand climate being the most important predictor of wellbeing at work. This means that emotional dissonance plays a significant role in predicting wellbeing at work; however, in the face of work-unit service demand climate, an additional variance is predicted. Analysis of Carrasco et al.’s (2014) study suggest that organizational or industry-related demand culture is a precursor of wellbeing in service works. For that matter, studies of emotional labour would have to take into consideration, organizational demands and display. Notwithstanding, investigation of receptionists and waitresses in hotels to arrive at these findings indicate that, generalizability to media practitioners is not possible. Allen, Diefendorff, and Ma (2014) examined the differences in emotional labour across cultures. Their main purpose of this study was to examine cross-cultural differences between U.S and Chinese service workers on the levels of display rule perceptions, emotion regulation, and burnout (that is, emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishments, and depersonalization) as well as the relationships among these variables. Allen et al. (2014) used 280 service workers in the US and 231 service workers in China. Results indicated that, a robust sequence of display rules, surface acting and burnout was observed in the U.S sample unlike the Chinese sample. Surface acting and burnout specifically had weaker significance among the Chinese sample. It was also observed that, display rules is negatively related to surface acting among the Chinese sample. Allen, Diefendorff, and Ma’s (2014) work on emotional labour 69 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh points to the fact that several relationships to emotional labour such as surface acting, deep acting, emotional exhaustion, and display rules, among others, vary from one cultural context to another. This suggests that, any study of emotional labour should consider cultural diversities among people. It is noteworthy in this regard that, most of the studies done on emotional labour were done in foreign countries predominantly in the West. The use of such studies therefore in relation to Allen et al.’s (2014) study point to the fact that they can at best be used for reviews and comparative purposes, but not to generalize. It’s just a limitation to Allen et al.’s study therefore that they failed to consider how these culturally diversified expressions of emotional labour affects the cultural groups with respect to psychological wellbeing and job satisfaction. Morris and Feldman (2016) examined the dimensions, antecedents, and consequences of emotional labour. Morris and Feldman (2016) examined four dimensions of emotional labour among service workers, namely, frequency of appropriate emotional display, attentiveness to required display rules, variety of emotions to be displayed, and emotional dissonance generated by having to express organizationally desired emotions not genuinely felt. Morris and Feldman (2016) also purposed to investigate how the job and individual characteristics serve as antecedents of each of these four dimensions. Five hundred (500) employees were sampled by convenience from two client-centred organizations and examined to test the hypothesis based on the objectives. It was reported that, the frequency of emotional display, attentiveness to display rules, variety of emotions to be displayed, and emotional dissonance leads to greater emotional exhaustion among employees. Again, it was reported that the frequency of emotional display, attentiveness to display rules, and variety of emotions to be displayed did not lead to lower job satisfaction. In each of these cases, they found that the characteristics of the job (such as organizational display culture) and that of the individual 70 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh (such as coping and social support) served as antecedents to the four dimensions of emotional labour. However, only emotional dissonance led to lower job satisfaction. Reflecting on the research done by Morris and Feldman (2016), two negative consequences of emotional labour, namely emotional exhaustion and emotional dissonance is of critical consideration. From this study also, we can draw out mediating and moderation variables such as occupational display culture, coping and social support when it comes to studies of emotional labour. The sampling technique used – convenience sampling – and population studied – two client-centred organizations would not allow for generalization of the above findings to the Ghanaian media practitioners population. Emotional Labour and Coping Strategy In another study, emotional dissonance in oncology care was examined to see how employees cope with emotion work and burnout (Kovacs, Kovacs & Hegedus, 2010). These researchers used 48 oncology health care workers and 151 non-oncology health care workers in a cross- sectional survey. Comparison of the oncology health workers and non-oncology health care workers revealed differences primarily in emotion work and coping. Emotional dissonance as stress factor in this regard was found to be more prevalent among oncology health care workers. Again, caregivers displayed negative emotions less frequently yet they frequently showed understanding and expressed sympathy to the patient. An examination of coping strategies indicated that humour is a potential resource in coping as it is used often by non- oncology health workers but less frequently among oncology health care workers. The findings by Kovacs et al. (2010) indicate that, coping is an essential variable in managing emotional dissonance. In this case, the researchers focused on humour as a coping strategy. It is quiet unpopular that these researchers considered “humour” as a coping strategy in a medical field that is tasked with the treatment of tumors, a deadly phenomenon that can lead 71 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh to paralysis and death if left untreated. For a better examination, the coping scale by Carver et al. (1989) could have been used to investigate distinct aspects of coping; such as problem focused coping (active coping planning, suppression of competing activities, restraint coping, seeking of instrumental social support) and emotion-focused coping (seeking of emotional social support, positive reinterpretation, acceptance, denial, turning to religion) as well as venting of emotions, behavioural disengagement and mental disengagement. The present study sought to understand how employees cope with the emotionally taxing challenges with open-mindedness. Emotional Labour and Social Support In a study that basically examined emotional labour, burnout and job satisfaction among teachers, Kinman, Wray, and Strange (2011) investigated the role of workplace social support on emotional labour, burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment) and job satisfaction. Results indicated significant relationship between emotional labour and all outcomes, with a positive relationship found between emotional labour and personal accomplishment. Again, Kinman et al. (2011) found that social support mitigates the negative impact of emotional demands on emotional exhaustion, feelings of personal accomplishment and job satisfaction. More so, teachers who have had much experience in teaching reported higher levels of emotional labour. Although, Kinman, Wray and Strange (2011) have widened our knowledge of emotional labour in the teaching field as well as its likely effect on teachers’ health and job satisfaction, it must be highlighted that, the cross-sectional nature of the study means causation cannot be established. It is also noteworthy that Kinman et al. (2011) acknowledged the fact that, measuring emotion-related constructs more objectively is somewhat problematic, for that reason, there could be the risk of common method variance. This notwithstanding, the role of 72 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh social support on the relationship between work-related emotional demands and work outcomes was emphasised. In a study of occupational stress, social support, and quality of life mental health nurses, Hamaideh (2012) purposed to measure levels of occupational stress and identify variables that are associated with occupational stress among Jordanian mental health nurses. Using 181 mental health nurses, a descriptive cross-sectional design was conducted. Aside demographic characteristics that were taken from participants, the mental health professional’s stress scale, the social support scale, and the short form health survey were administered as self-report measures to these mental health nurses. These a hundred and eighty one mental health nurses were recruited from all mental health settings. Results indicated that, mental health nurses have high levels of occupational stress regarding client-related difficulties, lack of resources, and workload. Again, the highest level of social support as indicated by these Jordanian mental health nurses was from a spouse/partner followed by colleagues. In terms of quality of life, Hamaideh (2012) reported that, physical health scores were higher than mental health scores. Similarly, occupational stress correlated significantly and negatively with quality of life -physical scores, quality of life - mental scores, and social support scores, and correlated positively with being physically assaulted, verbally assaulted, and the respondent having the intention to leave his or her current job. For predictors of occupational stress, Hamaideh (2012) found that, social support, quality of life - mental scores, verbal assault, ward type, and intention to leave the current job were the best predictors of occupational stress among Jordanian mental health nurses. Hamaideh’s (2012) study basically indicates that professionals whose work involve a measure of emotion work could be under significant occupational stress levels such that, it informs their quality of life and turnover intensions. Ghana with their communalistic outlook, may very likely relate to Hameideh’s findings where people draw support from close family 73 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh members. For one thing, Hamaideh (2012) failed to explicitly examine the nature of the support these Jordanian mental health nurses receives. This is very important since a study that aims to inform intervention should explore possible related factors which in this case should include coping strategies used. In relation to this present topic of interest in the area of emotional labour among media practitioners and its effects on their wellbeing, work output and turnover intentions, it must be highlighted that coping strategies will be examined by the researcher from both qualitative and quantitative angles. Naqvi (2013) investigated some moderators in emotional labour such as emotional exhaustion and perceived social support. Their primary objective of this study was to examine the emotional labour performed by employees in customer service roles working in the hospitality industry, as well as the role of self-monitoring and co-worker support on the relationship between emotional labour experience of hotel employees and emotional exhaustion. To investigate the consequences of performing emotional labour, namely, emotional exhaustion, and attempts to determine how self-monitoring and co-worker support can moderate the relationship between the emotional labour and job outcomes, Naqvi administered the emotional labour scale (Brotheridge & Lee, 1998), emotional exhaustion scale (Maslach & Jackson, 1981), self-monitoring questionnaire (Snyder & Gangestad, 1986), and co-worker support scale (Caplan et al., 1980) were used to collect data from 230 hotel employees who were purposively sampled in five-star chains of hotel industry; especially, those having direct customer interaction at work each day. At the end of the study, self- monitoring was found to be a moderator in the relationship between emotional labour and emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, the results showed that the positive association of self- monitoring, emotional labour, and emotional exhaustion was weakened when employees received higher support from co-workers. 74 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Naqvi (2013) study revealed that, self-monitoring of hotel employees and co-worker support significantly moderates the relationship between emotional labour and emotional exhaustion. However, it must be argued that by striving to achieve a purely homogeneous sample, that is, hotel employees who only work in five star hotels might produce consistently similar results among the participants which might not even reflect the actual reality of the hotel industry as Naqvi (2013) purposed. Again, the non-probability sampling of workers in just the hotel industry – five star – would make generalization of the findings very fallible (Pedhazur & Schmelkin, 1991). 2.3.4 Emotion-related Studies in Africa and Ghana Liebenberg (2011) also investigated the effect of social support on the relationship between emotional labour and wellbeing among call centre employees. They specifically examined different types of social support – emotional and instrumental- from different sources of social support (colleague and supervisor) as potential moderators of the relationship between emotional labour and psychological wellbeing and turnover intentions. In their methodological descriptions, a sample of one hundred and eighty four (184) who work as employees of call centers in financial institutions (or banking sector). In the end, Liebenberg reported significant main effects of each type and source of support on the dependent variables of psychological wellbeing and intention to leave. Concerning support as a potential moderator, Liebenberg reported that, both emotional and instrumental support from supervisors were found to have had moderating effects on the relationship between emotional labour and intention to leave the organization. Specifically speaking, social support from supervisors improved the direction of the relationship between emotional labour and intention to leave by reversing it to a positive value, suggesting that in the event of the experience of emotional labour, supervisor support increases the intention of the individual to leave the organisation. 75 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Liebenberg’s (2011) study shows shocking outcomes of emotional labour and social support. In fact, it is only natural and logical to believe that, in the event of adversities and emotional hardships, we become prone to seek and accept support. However, Liebenberg’s study suggests that, in the event of emotional labour, even support from supervisors hasten employees’ turnover intentions. The unexplained difficulty to theoretically explain findings about social support, emotional labour and turnover intentions reported by Liebenberg, the sample focus – call centre employees in financial institutions in Johannesburg – does not allow for generalization to media practitioners of Ghana. The findings of Liebenberg also deepens the inconsistencies of results on emotional labour research. It is possible that some socio-economic and contextual nuances may have led to such findings. Liebenberg’s work was done in Africa, and carrying out a similar work in Ghana, may add to literature to either accentuate or refute earlier findings from the continent. Chipumuro (2015) investigated emotional intelligence and performance effectiveness in Africa. The researcher considered gender differences in emotional labour among South African’s. This researcher was of the view that, in Africa, tests of IQ are not so predictive of the African’s effectiveness in the workplace especially when it comes to emotionally demanding issues. According to Chipumuro, emotional intelligence is the key to assessing the true worth of an African at the workplace. Objectives of the researcher was to investigate the link between emotional intelligence and effectiveness as well as a comparison of men and women in this regard. A second objective was to investigate if men or women in South Africa demonstrate differences in terms of performance effectiveness and to ascertain whether or not a link between emotional intelligence and overall performance effectiveness could explain the difference. Emotional and social competence inventory and job performance evaluation test were used to measure the variables of interests. Results indicated that, effectiveness and performance scores are directly affected by emotional intelligence. Again, a comparison of 76 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh males and females on emotional intelligence and job performance indicated no significant differences between males and females of South Africa in that regard. A critical analysis of this research indicates that, in South Africa, the studies done on emotions hovers around emotional intelligence. Chipumuro found no significant difference among males and females as far as emotional intelligence and work performance are concerned. This is in line with the general finding of Yoon and Kim (2013) who found no significant differences among gender on emotional labour, psychological distress and job-related stress among Chinese men and women. However, there are many variables such as job satisfaction, coping strategies and social support that affects work output in this regard which needed to have been investigated. Tagoe and Quarshie (2016) investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction among nurses in Accra. These researchers purposed to examine the correlation between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction; gender differences in emotional differences among nurses and gender differences in job satisfaction. The study took place among nurses in Ghana. Tagoe and Quarshie (2016) used a correlational design involving the sample of 120 registered nurses in Ghana comprising 83 females and 37 males. Measures used by these researchers included the Schutte Self-report Emotional intelligence inventory and the job satisfaction survey. Results from their study indicated that, a significant positive correlation exists between emotional intelligence and job satisfaction among nurses. However, there was no significant differences in emotional intelligence and job satisfaction based on gender. The two studies in relation to emotional intelligence and job performance in South Africa and Ghana indicate that there is no significant differences between gender when it comes to those constructs (Chipumuro, 2015; Tagoe & Quarshie, 2016). This finding is similar to that of 77 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh western literature that found no significant differences in gender on emotions and performance (Jafar, 2012; Yoon & Kim, 2013). However, the Ghanaian literature only explored emotional intelligence without peering into emotional labour, emotional dissonance, emotional exhaustion, coping and social support that impacts on the relationship. The works of Dzokoto (2006; 2007; 2010) on emotions from an African (Ghanaian) perspective offers a strong backbone to the relevance of this work. Dzokoto in her successive studies examined emotional expressions among some Africans and cements the differences when compared to the West. In her foremost study, Dzokoto and Okazaki (2006) tried to explain the African experience of emotion lexica from two indigenous West African Languages- Fante and Dagbani. Her study leaned toward the social setting and related more to somatic referencing and emphasised the need to incorporate the concept of embodiment in theorising on emotion structure. Similarly, Dzokoto and Adams (2007) emphasised the differences in emotional expressions from African perspective as they examined emotions from African narratives. In 2010, Dzokoto stressed the differences in expressions of feelings among Africans and emphasised the role of psychologization in emotion differences across culture. Deductively, Dzokoto and colleagues research on emotions appear to be one of the few exposed psychological studies. Even though, their studies serves a pillar to build on likely contextual differences as far as emotional studies are concerned, their focus was different. They principally focused on studying emotions at the social level. The present study however, focuses on studying people’s emotions at the workplace. Even though the setting for the present study is different, it is plausible that emotional displays at work in the Ghanaian context may yield different findings when compared to the West. Summary of Reviewed Literature A critical examination of the literature clearly shows the link between emotional labour and psychological health of employees. When there is incongruity between the emotions 78 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh actually felt by the employee and the emotions displayed, a number of negative results ensue. Systematic review of literature have revealed that emotional labour causes an increase in levels of employee burnout (Basım & Begenirbaş, 2012; Brotheridge & Grandey, 2002; Brotheridge & Lee, 2003; Noor & Zainuddin, 2011), a decrease in job satisfaction (Yang & Chang, 2008) an increase in work-related stress (Pugliesi, 1999), an increase in health problems, sleep problems, and psychological problems such as anxiety and suicidal tendencies (Karim, 2009), and family conflict (Seery , Corrigall & Harpel, 2008). Majority of outcomes identified in the literature connect negative consequences with emotional labour. Negative outcomes that have been identified include emotional dissonance (Abraham, 1998; Kruml, 1999; Morris & Feldman, 1996), self- alienation (Ashforth & Humphrey, 1993), emotional exhaustion (Abraham, 1998; Kruml & Geddes, 2000; Morris & Feldman, 1997; Spratt, 1996), an increase in health symptoms (Schaubroeck & Jones, 2000), decreased employee well-being (Morris & Feldman, 1996), job stress, depressive symptoms (Adelmann, 2016), and (Pugliesi, 1999; Spratt, 1996) The critical role of emotional dissonance in facilitating its related effect was revealed in Hochschild’s original work (1983). She maintained that the work of balancing the conflict between what is felt and what can be displayed in order to meet display rules can lead to emotional conflict and strain. Many other authors found emotional dissonance to be a significant factor in workers experiencing emotional labour (Abraham, 1998; Kruml, 1999; Morris & Feldman, 1996; Rafaeli & Sutton, 1987). The present study therefore envisions strongly, a possible mediation of emotional dissonance in the relationship between emotional labour and psychological health. 79 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh A careful consideration of the literature also reveals that psychological effort and the extent to which an employee adapt to occupational emotional display culture may be influential factors in mediating the relationship between emotional labour and psychological health (Matinez-inigo et al., 2007). The effort involved in emotion control uses resources that could be allocated to other forms of mental control (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000). It is therefore expected that the amount of psychological effort employees exert will ripple on their total health output. On another twist, when individuals are challenged with very stressful situations, many resort to the use multiple coping styles and resources. Coping styles may be personal or social depending on the source of the strength. Among these coping resources are religiosity and social support. The literature on emotional labour identifies moderators that, if present, can reduce the negative consequences of such work demands on employees. Some major variables such as perceived job autonomy and employee control over emotional expression (Abraham, 1998; Copp, 1998; Kruml, 1999; Morris & Feldman, 1997; Wharton, 1993) has been a logical finding, given Hochschild’s (1983) original assertion that employer control over emotional expression is one of three criteria that defines emotional labour. These studies (Abraham, 1998; Copp, 1998; Kruml, 1999; Morris & Feldman, 1997; Wharton, 1993) all found that greater job autonomy or control resulted in fewer negative outcomes related to the performance of emotional labour. Researchers identified less emotional exhaustion (Wharton, 1993), fewer feelings of inauthenticity (Bulan et al., 1997), and reduction in acute distress (Copp, 1998) for workers with greater job autonomy and control. Freedom over the expression of job-related emotions has been found to reduce emotional dissonance in positions where employees are required to manage emotions (Abraham, 1998; Kruml, 1999; Morris & Feldman, 1997). 80 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Social support has been one job-related factor well considered as a moderator for most emotional labour research (Abraham, 1998; Grandey, 2000). Social support thus the functions performed for the individuals by significant others, such as family, friends, and coworkers” (Thoits, 1995, p. 64). These significant others provide helpful, well informed emotional assistance to those in need. The importance of social support is usually manifested in the role peer support plays in helping workers maintain the appropriate emotional presentation (Abraham, 1998; Copp, 1998). Copp (1998) even concluded that emotion management fails in the absence of social support. While social support in itself is broad, within the work setting, co-worker support and management-based support may be influential in examining the impact, if any, between emotional labour and psychological health. Even though the buffering effect of religiosity and social support cannot be underestimated, the type of coping is also essential in dealing with any psychological effects. In considering antecedents of emotional labour, frequency, variety, intensity, and duration of emotional expression have been considered as a critical components in previous research (Brotheridge & Lee, 2003). Studies investigating these four variables have produced mixed results. For example, all four components have been found to have a positive relation to deep acting, and all except duration was positively related to surface acting (Brotheridge & Lee, 1998, 2003). Duration of emotional expression predicted deep acting in another study (Diefendorff et al., 2005), indicating that deep acting may be more prevalent in longer rather than shorter interactions. The present study will therefore examine the predictive value of some job-related and personal characteristics such as media practitioners unit of operation, tenure, gender, extent of interaction with clients on emotional labour. Even though the literature on the effect of emotional labour has been predominantly negative across occupations (Abraham, 1998; Kruml, 1999; Kruml & Geddes, 2000; Morris & Feldman, 1997; Schaubroeck & Jones, 2000; Spratt, 1996), there are however few exceptions. 81 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Emotional Labour has been found to facilitate task effectiveness (Ashforth & Humphrey, 1993), positively related to satisfaction on the job (Wharton, 1993), emotional rewards (Spratt, 1996), and significantly related to both job dissatisfaction and turnover intentions (Agyemang, Fawaz & Borley, 2015). These inconsistent findings made in emotional labour research findings has been described by Ashforth and Humphrey (1993) describe emotional labour as “a double-edge sword” (p.96). The present study also test outcome variables (turnover intentions and satisfaction) as part of the model. The reference to Dzokoto and Colleagues work on emotions in Ghana suggest to that some plausible contextual findings may be unearthed with Ghanaian employees as research samples. 2.4 Rationale for the Study The Ghanaian industry is currently being dominated by the service sector (Badu & Asumeng, 2013). Organizations within the service sector have the ultimate aim of satisfying its customers, generating enough revenue to ensure sustainability, remaining competitive and thus require their employees to perform up to the expectation of management. For over a decade, the Ghanaian media industry have been growing phenomenally and seem to be an avenue of employment for many. The early theoretical foundation of emotional labour emanated from qualitative studies involving flight attendants (Hochschild, 1983), waiters and fast-food employees (Leidner, 1993), supermarket cash attendants and cashiers (Rafaeli & Sutton, 1987). Recent researchers (Brotheridge & Lee, 2002; Grandey, 2000; Glomb & Tews, 2004; Morris & Feldman, 1996) have resorted to quantitative approach in conceptualizing emotional labour. These recent researchers widened the scope of emotional labour research to other occupations. Over three decades since the seminal work of Hochschild (1983), research on emotional labour depicts a trend with employees in the service sector as targets. Interestingly, the work of media 82 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh personnel which on a balance scale relates to that of cabin crew members and other service- oriented industries, to the best of the researcher’s knowledge, have not been an identified sample from psychological research records. The justification of this study is primarily methodological, theoretical and setting/sample defined. A content analysis of literature on emotional labour for the past three decades suggest to me that largely, quantitative approach is mostly utilized (Glomb & Tews, 2004). The proposed study is largely grounded on the application of a concurrent complementary mixed- method approach to studying concepts seemingly new (emotional labour), with a new research sample (media practitioners) as well as the introduction of some context specific variables to test their buffering or mediatory effect on the psychological health of media employees in an African setting (Ghana). Research affinities in psychology especially industrial and organizational, seem to be based on quantitative methods (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003). Emotional labour research has been predominantly quantitative with few exceptions (e.g., Brown, 2010; Hauven & Bakker, 2013; Hochschild, 1983). However, the use of mixed- method design will provide deeper explanations and understanding of the processes Ghanaian media practitioners go through to manage their emotions as they carry out their day to day activities. As a researcher in this area, one of my chief goals is to unravel the lived experiences of the Ghanaian media practitioners’ emotional labour and their psychological health phenomenologically to fish out likely job characteristics, demands and socio-contextual underpinnings to this trend. As at this time, it is unclear the underpinnings of emotional labour in power-distant cultures and economies challenged with socio-economic issues such as unemployment (Agyemang, Fawaz & Borley, 2015). The researcher thus introduces interpersonal and contextual variables in an attempt to add to the proposed theoretical explanations of the antecedents and consequences of emotional labour by Grandey (2000) and Zapf et al.(1999). The researcher anticipates well-grounded, rich descriptions and 83 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh explanations of processes in the identifiable contexts of Ghanaian media industry so as to generate or revise conceptual framework with the benchmark of Ghanaian setting. These aspects of emotional labour are well-documented in a variety of occupations, however, as far as the researchers search, no research has investigated emotional labour in the field of media profession. Emotional labour has not been explored in the context of media practice. To the best of the researcher’s knowledge and search, this study is one of the foremost in an African context to assess the impact of emotional labour and psychological health among media practitioners. The media industry as one of the strongest pillars of Ghana’s political and economic development, needs more than mere regulatory procedures. Most employees in the media industry expected to go out of their way to display emotions which may not necessarily be what they are really feeling at that particular time. The psychological demand of an employee to display untrue emotions makes it an inherently emotionally stressful profession coupled with long hours of work, complex customers and conflicting demands of customers. In the view of Newsome, Day and Catano (2000), studies on emotions remains inconclusive and there seem to be lack of agreement among emotionally-related construct researchers. An avenue for alternative research in emotionally-related construct in different settings is thus warranted (Newsome, Day & Catano, 2000). These are some of the reasons that motivated the researcher to undertake this study to understand emotional labour from a Ghanaian standpoint and its implications on occupational health of practitioners. Studies reviewed in the area of emotional labour so far indicate that emotional labour had a positive correlation with psychological distress (Campbell & Ntobedzi, 2007; Karim & Weisz, 2010). Yoon and Kim (2013) considered some demographics in this regard only to find that, marital status, surface acting, job insecurity and lack of reward are strongly related 84 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh to psychological distress as a result of job-related stress. However, age had been neglected in the previous researches. In the light of the socio-emotional selectivity theory therefore (Carstensen et al., 1999), and Sliter et al. (2013) investigated whether older people are emotionally smarter than younger ones. It was found that age is related to choosing better emotional labour strategies, strategies that align with older individuals’ motivational goals and the goals of organizations (such as less burnout and possibly better customer service) and wellbeing of participants. Despite these advances, Grandey (2003) researched and found that compared with deep acting, surface acting is significantly related to emotional exhaustion among employees. However, Al-Serkal (2006) found that the longer an individual stayed in their role, the more likely they were going to experience physical problems and greater amount of stress. Jafar (2012) further explained that, there is a significant positive correlation between emotional labour and burnout, but no significant differences in gender although, married employees showed greater burnout than unmarried employees. Gopalan et al. (2012) and Lewig and Dollard (2013) after further analysis realized that emotional dissonance rather increases the level of emotional exhaustion at high levels of psychosocial demands among employees. This further impedes satisfaction with life among employees (Rathi et al., 2015). But Rathi et al. (2015) also found deep acting to have a positive correlation on employees’ organizational commitment and turnover intentions. All these researches point to the fact that, emotional labour negatively affects employee’s general wellbeing including emotional exhaustion (Gopalan et al., 2012; Holman et al., 2002; Karimi et al., 2013; Kinman et al., 2011; Lewg & Dollard, 2013; Wagner et al., 2014; Zapf, 2002) and these even negatively affects job outcomes such as job satisfaction (Brown, 2010; Cheung & Tang, 2010). 85 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh However, unlike previous researchers Gelderen et al. (2010) found that emotional labour instead impacted positively on general wellbeing and job performance because the experience does not actually degrade employees but teaches them resilience and fortitude. Erickson and Ritter (2011) blamed Gelderen et al. (2010) for failing to account for differences in gender while reporting that women were more likely than men to hold jobs that require significant amounts of emotional labour, to spend more time with people, and to hide their feelings of agitation. Like Gelderen et al. (2010), Adelmann (2016) found no significant relationship between emotional labour and psychological outcomes. It also became clear that emotional labour impact on work-related outcomes. Researchers in this field also had contradictory findings. Hsu (2012) found that emotional labour had a direct impact on turnover intentions. This was supported by Bogdan et al. (2016) who found that, emotional labour leads to emotional exhaustion which in turn impedes work-output and according to Scott and Barnes (2011) leads to turnover intentions. However, Kammeyer- Mueller et al. (2013) reported that, surface acting emotion regulation strategies have a pattern of negative relationships with work outcomes of job satisfaction and stress/exhaustion (but not with job performance), whereas deep acting emotion regulation strategies have a pattern of positive relationships with all of these work outcomes. This suggests that emotional labour could be viewed as a double-edged sword – having both negative and positive impact – on work-related outcomes. A careful search was made about variables that mediate the above relationships such as emotional dissonance, psychological effort, and organizational display culture. Sawang et al. (2009) reported that resources at work such as job rewards and social support at work could help employees who work in emotionally demanding aspects of work to have an enhanced psychological wellbeing. To add to that, Cheung and Cheung (2013) reported that emotional dissonance first leads to burnout and then to lower organization citizenship behaviour and job 86 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh satisfaction (Heuven & Bakker, 2003). Zapf and Holz (2015) argued that there may be cultural differences in expressions of emotions and a study in that regard indicated that negative emotions had little effect on burnout. This therefore opens the way for indicating that based on cultural milieus, emotional labour could be bi-phasic – having negative and positive effects (Allen et al., 2014; Ashforth & Humphrey, 2016; Carrasco et al., 2014; Morris & Feldman, 2016). Mesquita and Walker (2003) said in this regard that emotions are biological and sociocultural in nature. From Mesquita and Walker’s (2003) argument, context and for that matter setting-specific characteristics can alter the extent of relationship and impact of emotional labour and other work related outcomes. Moreover, it was considered imperative to examine studies with respect to moderating variables in emotional labour studies so that parochial conclusions would not be made in the present study. Coping strategies and social support in this regard were examined. It was realized that even medical personnel have had to resort to humour as a coping mechanism to their emotionally tasking situations (Kovacs et al., 2010). With social support, contradictory results were found. Naqvi (2013) and Kinman et al. (2011) found that social support mitigates the negative impact of emotional demands on emotional exhaustion, feelings of personal accomplishment and job satisfaction. However, Liebenberg (2011) found that among call centre workers, social support from employers even increased their turnover intentions. From the above studies reviewed thus far, it can be said that virtually all the studies done in emotional labour as found in peer-reviewed journals were studied in several foreign countries such as the USA, Europe, and Asia with very little emphasis from Africa. Thus far, not much work has been done on emotions in general with Ghanaian samples. Besides, most of these researchers focused on mental health professionals, physicians, hotel employees, call centre workers, teachers, lawyers, bill collectors, clergy, and bankers. None of such studies – not even those who considered samples from multifarious sources engaged media practitioners. 87 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Previous researchers largely used one approach to studying emotional labour. The focus on many different samples and cross-comparisons have provided several contradictory results from demographic variables in emotional labour research, emotional labour and psychological distress, emotional exhaustion, and general wellbeing. More so, while most researchers think emotional labour affected job satisfaction negatively and encouraged turnover intentions, others found that it rather strengthens these in the positive direction. It has also been established that even moderating variables also act differently possibly due to context and other unknown factors (Kinman et al., 2011; Liebenberg, 2011; Naqvi, 2013). .It is important and plausible to acquiesce to Zapf and Holz’s (2015) and Mesquita and Walker’s (2003) recommendation that, culture plays a dynamic role in emotional labour studies. Considering the above discrepancies and inconsistency of findings in emotional labour research, it is considered imperative to examine emotional labour among media practitioners with respect to psychological distress, emotional exhaustion, general wellbeing, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, as well as the mediating roles of emotional dissonance, psychological effort, occupational display culture and the moderating role of coping and social support. 2.5 Statement of Hypotheses 1. There will be a significant relationship between Emotional Labour (Surface and Deep Acting) and Psychological Health (Psychological distress, Emotional exhaustion and general wellbeing) of media practitioners such that Surface Acting (SA) will relate significantly and account for more variance in predicting PH than employees who engage in Deep Acting (SA). 2. Emotional Dissonance, Psychological Effort and Occupational Display Culture will mediate the relationship between emotional labour and Psychological Health 88 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3. Religiosity, Coping, and Social Support will moderate the relationship between the Emotional Labour and Psychological Health. 4. EL will relate to turnover intentions and job dissatisfaction in the Ghanaian setting. Figure 2.0: Hypothesized Relationship among Variables of the Study The Figure 2.0 depicts the relationship among key variables (independent, mediators, moderators and dependent) of the study. The model indicates how emotional labour (surface and deep acting) directly will predict psychological health (psychological distress, emotional exhaustion, and general wellbeing) and how such a relationship is possibly mediated by emotional dissonance, psychological effort, and occupational display culture. The moderating roles of social support, religiosity, and coping strategies are also predicted. 2.6 Operational Definitions • Emotional Labour – engagement in emotional suppressions or enhancements measured on both Deep and Surface Acting experiences. 89 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh • Surface Acting: In line with Grandey (2000), surface acting refers to the display of emotion that is not felt or the constraint of felt emotion in order to conform to occupation or workplace display rules • Deep Acting: Refers to employees attempt to actually feel or match emotional expressions with the required emotional display • Psychological Health- Measured on Psychological Distress, Exhaustion and General Wellbeing. • Work Outcomes- Measured on Turnover Intentions and Job Satisfaction. • Social support: Support provided to a person by family, friends, and significant others. • Religiosity: Involvement in and active practice of religious faith and belief in and bond with a supernatural being or force. • Psychological Effort: The psychological strength exerted in any emotionally demanding situation 90 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY 3.0 Introduction Selecting proper methodology is very important part of the research study (Davis, 1996; Stevens, 2002). Chapter three presents the methodological approaches used by the researcher. The researcher in this chapter highlighted the philosophical orientation of the study. The researcher employed complementary concurrent (convergent parallel) mixed-method. The report is divided into two main parts. Part one highlights the quantitative part of the study while part two focuses on the qualitative part. In the first part, the researcher presents the specific methodological steps utilized to achieve the objectives set for the quantitative study. The research design, population, sample, sample size and sampling technique, inclusion and exclusion criteria, research instruments, pilot study report with a parallel sample, data collection procedure, and data analysis techniques employed are well expounded in part one. Part two of this chapter provides detailed methodological procedure employed by the researcher to test exploratory questions raised in chapter one of this study. The researcher also reports on the procedures used for the gathering of data from covert observations from the natural settings of media practitioners carrying out their assigned task. This chapter also encompasses the descriptions of observed ethical principles for this psychological study. The chapter concludes with a concise synthesis of these methodological designs. 3.1 Philosophical Assumptions of the Study In the 1950’s onward, studying any social endeavor was largely tilted toward the quantitative approach. The gradual emergence of qualitative approach which tend to excavate and project knowledge where little literature exist, was met with fierce opposition (Becker & Geer, 1957). This notwithstanding, there appears to be gradual integration and marriage between the qualitative and quantitative research paradigms for over two decades. In a sense, blending 91 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and converging findings from both qualitative and quantitative approaches seem to be a viable alternative to quantitative or qualitative approach on their own. Affinity toward industrial and organizational psychological research leans toward the quantitative, however, in the opinion of the researcher, adopting quantitative and qualitative approach to study emotional labouring experiences of Ghanaian media practitioners is one of a complementary options to fully understand the research picture. In line with Olsen (2004), using qualitative and quantitative approaches together throws light on seemingly new and developing social phenomena. In view of the above arguments on the two paradigms, specifically, the study employed mixed-method design. In the view of Tashakkori and Creswell (2007, p.4), in a mixed-method approach, the “investigator collects and analyses data, integrates the finding, and draws inferences using both qualitative and quantitative approaches or method in a single study or programme of inquiry”. The strength of using both quantitative and qualitative data has been well cemented in the literature. For instance, Creswell (2009) mentions that quantitative data in itself provides a baseline information and offers researchers the opportunity to appreciate the superficial statistical significance or otherwise of the data. On the other hand, the qualitative data aids in understanding a particular phenomenon and offer clarifications to the quantitative data. The present study employed convergent parallel (complementary concurrent) mixed method design (Creswell, 2009). Using the convergent parallel design implies that the researcher collects and analyses quantitative and qualitative data at the same time. In the present study, the researcher collected data from both the quantitative and qualitative sample simultaneously but independently. The rationale behind the use of simultaneous sequencing is to reduce the extent of interaction and helps avoid spill-over influences of one data source to another. The two methods were therefore viewed as having equal status and weight during data collection and analyses. In trying to appreciate the experiences of media practitioners in Ghana, the researcher found it more important to gather 92 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh quantitative data and qualitative data in order to compare and contrast analysed findings that lend support to the research insight. In the researcher’s view, findings from either the qualitative or quantitative source can better be enhanced when a second source data is incorporated (Creswell & Plano-Clark, 2007). In the present study for instance, the qualitative findings tend to use a small sample size, but offer a more detailed explanations with in-depth revelations. By application, the qualitative component unravels the lived experiences of the Ghanaian media practitioners and unearthed likely job characteristics, demands and socio- cultural underpinnings to this trend. The researcher of this study engaged in observation of some media practitioners while at post. Details of observational data are thus related and compared to qualitative and quantitative findings for onward interpretations and discussion. Figure 3.0 summarizes the research method and analytical process for this study. Figure 3.0: Research Path for Study One and Two Figure 3.0 depicts that the researcher for the present study triangulates findings of quantitative and qualitative (one-on-one interview- based findings and observations) to draw meaningful conclusions. Practically, the methodological pluralism used in this study, thus ensure that the researcher get access to diverse aspects of a common phenomenon under study (Mingers, 2001; Olsen, 93 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2004). Integrating findings from qualitative, quantitative and observational data, deepens insight into the social phenomena studied in this research process. 3.2 Data Sources for the Study This study uses data from three different sources. The present study employed a convergence parallel mixed-method approach, using a triangulation of quantitative and the two data sources of the qualitative approach interview- based and observational data), findings were converged. The study utilized a multi-level analytical framework allowing the researcher to study media practitioners as individuals and as a crew. Table 3.0 summarizes the data sources and analytical approach. Table 3.0: Data Sources and Type of Analysis Level Research Sampling Type of Analysis Approach Individual Qualitative 13 Participants Interpretative Phenomenological Approach Individual Quantitative 336 Respondents Descriptive Statistics 1. Recruitment data 336 Inferential Statistics - 2. Baseline data 400 (Correlation and Regression) Team Covert Media Practitioners Records of Observation level Naturalistic (Four different crew observed Code notations into behavioural Observation at different times. categories 3.3 Research Setting The mammoth role of the media in developing economies cannot be overlooked. In Ghana for instance, the growth of the media industry has deepened the democratic countenance of Ghana and tremendously contributed to employment creation. As at the fourth quarter of 2016 (October to December), the number of registered FM Stations in Ghana totaled 481. Out of 94 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh this, 354 are fully operational. Similarly, the total number of Television stations as at the end of the fourth quarter totaled 93 (NCA Report, 2016). Out of this, 51 of them are fully operational. A decade generational analysis indicates a growing industry with myriads of challenges of which the services of health professionals are worth incorporating. The media industry aligns well with the key indicators of emotional labouring work-related settings. Working hours of media practitioners archetypally include regular unsocial hours. Shift work is usual and many media practitioners start work early to cover regional news on breakfast radio and television shows or working mid-morning until evening for afternoon and evening bulletins. Weekend work is often required and most broadcasters do not take public holidays. The irony of the work demands of electronic media personnel is the fact that they need to adjust to the demands of their clients. This invariably requires them to suppress and/or enhance their emotions to shoulder their work role. For instance, a recent research indicate that majority of media practitioners witness traumatic events in their line of work (Dworznik, 2011). Research suggests that between 80-100% of journalists have been exposed to a work- related traumatic event (Newman et al., 2003). Media journalists come across automobile accidents, fire, defilement, murder, mass casualties, war, disaster, social injustices which invariably could affect their psychological wellbeing. Many Ghanaian media practitioners identify with these work-related traumas. In most cases, these media practitioners succumb to satisfying work requirement irrespective of their negative effects and consequences. In a nutshell, the media industry identifies with Ashforth and Humprey’s (1993) conception of boundary spanners as a key characteristic of emotional labouring industry. 3.4 Population of the Study The population of this study included all media practitioners within the research triangle of Ghana (principally Ashanti, Greater Accra and Western Regions) with an estimated 95 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh population of 700 media practitioners. Even though there are no known records as to the total number of employees within the electronic media fraternity in Ghana, records exist regarding the crescendo but steady growth of the media industry. As highlighted in Table 1.0 the steady growth of the media industry in Ghana has human resource implications. It is rather unfortunate that not much research attention has been given to psycho-social challenges that come along with the growth in the media industry. It is against this background that the researcher aimed at ferreting out the understanding and extent to which emotional labour affect media practitioners’ psychological health. The researcher was guided by the scope the population described above as a basis for gathering both qualitative and quantitative data. 3.5 Sampling Procedure The quantitative study employed a non- probability sampling technique in selecting study participants. The researcher specifically utilized a purposive (judgmental) sampling method to select study participants who engage in emotional labouring experiences (Patton, 2002). The use of purposive sampling technique allowed the researcher to home in on respondents whose opinions will be critical and of value to the research (Bowling, 2009). Purposive/judgmental sampling strategy was employed for the selection of participants for the study since the researcher was interested electronic media practitioners, participants were purposively selected for this research. Cresswell (2002), stated that in purposive sampling, researchers calculatedly select individuals and sites to learn or understand a particular phenomenon. Avoke (2005), also assert that purposive sampling enables researchers to handpick the cases to be included in the sample on the basis of their judgment and typicality. In this way, the researcher builds up a sample that is satisfactory to specific needs. The purposive sampling technique was also used because it can be used across, hence can provide the researchers with the justification to make generalization about the sample that is being studied. 96 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The media industry in Ghana, despite its tremendous growth and support to national gross domestic product, has been an “outlier” from psychological research perspective. Resorting to purposive sampling technique thus allow the researcher to include such outliers conventionally discounted by many researchers. The use of purposive sampling allowed the researcher to select specialized group of people among media practitioners whose job description fit the scope of the research. Especially in the case of the qualitative sample, purposive sampling technique helped the researcher to recruit those practitioners with “unique experiences that are informative” from the somewhat difficult to reach population (Newman, 2007, p. 143). The researcher also resorted to snowball sampling technique in gathering the qualitative study participants. Media practitioners who have five years or more work experience tend to be invaluable to their employers and often difficult to reach. From the onset of qualitative data gathering, the researcher requested that another media practitioner with over five years working experience be suggested (Faugier & Sargeant, 1997). Once this is done, details of the new leads are taken and contacted. This approach helped the researcher to follow-up on the hard-to-reach 5 years or more tenured media practitioners who handles emotionally charging cases. 3.6 Part One – Quantitative Study 3.6.1 Research Design The quantitative part of this study used a cross-sectional survey design to sample respondent’s opinions and feelings on emotional labour and its related psychological effects. Aron and Aron (1999) stipulated that cross-sectional surveys are viewed as snapshots of the source population for any research endeavor. The primary goal of the researcher for using this design, is to be able to gather data at a single point in time and compare many variables at the same 97 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh time (Smith & Davis, 2004). The perceptions and feelings of respondents were appropriately studied using cross-sectional survey. 3.6.2 Sample Size A sample of a study basically refers to a sub-unit of the population and being used as representative of that population (Bryman & Bell 2003). By taking an appropriate sub-set of the population, the population’s opinion, experiences, attitudes, behavioral patterns about a phenomenon is being researched (Kerlinger & Lee, 2000). The sample size of a study was carefully considered to uphold and ensure confidence that the findings from the sample are similar to those found among the rest of the category under investigation (Pal, 2009). In line with Field (1999) and Green’s (1991) recommendation for minimum sample size determination for a survey research, 336 media practitioners were engaged as study participants for the present study out of a target of 400 – representing an overall response rate of 84%. The response rate was encouraging in line with Babbie’s (1998) recommendation that a 60% response rate is deemed appropriate. Moreover, Field (1999) recommends that for a medium size effect size and high level statistical power of .80 for 6 (six) or less predictors, a sample size of 100 is deemed adequate. Since the researcher tested his framework with inferential statistics (correlation and standard multiple regression), it was vital to weigh the appropriateness of the sample size so as to produce reliable estimates from data gathered. For instance, Kline (2010) suggested that a very complex path model (usually with many constructs) needs a sample size of 200 or larger. Other researchers (e.g. Bagozzi & Yi, 2012; Gorsuch, 1983) were of the opinion that a sample of 100 or preferably 200 is recommended if a researcher want to test a comprehensive model. Utilizing a sample size of 336 is therefore deemed adequate for onward progression to data analysis. 98 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.6.3 Inclusion/ Exclusion Criteria for Study Participants For the quantitative part, media practitioners who are either fulltime or part-time employees with over one (1) year cumulative experience in an electronic (television or radio) media experience were included as study participants. Electronic media employees who were willing to share their information for research purposes were engaged. These media practitioners included broadcast journalist who shoulder the role of editing, reporting, presenting/news anchoring, producing, and serving as a correspondent as well as investigative journalist who dives beyond cases to unearth actualities. Being 18 years old or older was also considered another criterion for inclusion into the quantitative part of the study. The study was opened to both male and female employees within all age brackets. All national service personnel and internship workers were excluded from participating in the study. The rationale was that, as at the time of data gathering, service personnel however their journalistic school training were only few months old in terms of work experience. Service personnel are to work within one year per the National Service Act of 1980, Act 426 of Ghana. Similarly, internship workers usually are allowed to work for a duration of one (1) to six (6) months, hence their exclusion from the study. 3.6.4 Quantitative Survey Instrument Demographics: First, respondents’ personal information such as age, gender, tenure of work, unit of operation, type of media house, hours of work per day, and duration of interaction with clients. Emotional Labour: Perceptions of emotional labour was measured with an adapted fourteen item of Brotheridge and Lee’s (2003) emotional labour measure, using a five-point response format ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). This scale consist of deep acting and surface 99 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh acting. The scale has a reliability value of 0.68. A sample item include “I put on an act in order to deal with clients in an appropriate way” Organizational Support: Social Support was assessed using an adapted 17-item scale developed by Eisenberger and colleagues (1986). Respondents were asked to indicate how much their organization support them on a 7 point Likert Scale (α= 95) . The response format ranges from 1(very strongly disagree) to 5(very strongly agree). A sample item on the scale is “I can talk about my problems with my family”. Coping Scale of participants were made to respond to the Africultural Coping Systems Inventory (ACSI) developed by Utsey, Adam and Bolden (2000) with an internal validity of 0.80, of a 30-item scale. It will be measured on a four point Likert scale with the Likert response ranging from 0 to 3, with 0 indicating ‘do not use’ and 3 indicating ‘use a great deal’. The items in the scale were sub-grouped into four subscales; Cognitive/Emotional Debriefing (CED) subscale being item 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 15, 18, 20, 22, 27 and 29, Spiritual- Centered (SC); 1, 6, 10, 13, 16, 21 and 30, Collective mechanism (CC); 2, 3, 9, 14, 17, 19, 24, 26, and Ritual-Centered mechanism (RC); 23, 28, and 3. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the four subscales are .79 for CED, .82 for SC, .78 for CC, and .76 for RC. The ACSI was measured as a composite variable in this study. The higher one scores the more the use of coping mechanisms the lower the less the use of coping mechanism reported by participants. Psychological Health was measured using both psychological distress, general wellbeing and exhaustion scales. - Psychological Distress- Psychological Distress was measured using a 10 item scale of Kessler and Mroczek (1994) on a rating scale ranging from 1 (all the time) to 5 100 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh (none of the time). This scale has been used for organizational studies. An internal validity of .85 was recorded. A sample item on the scale include “Did you feel restless” - General Wellbeing: 6-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12; Goldberg, 1979, cited in De Witte et al., 2010) was used to assess wellbeing. This is a test developed for detection of non-psychiatric disorders, and has previously been used in work related outcome studies (De Witte et al., 2010). The GHQ-6 was also indicated to be useful in work setting; yielding α=.89. On a Likert type scale format, it is anchored with response alternatives depending on the item from 1 (better than usual or not at all or more so than usual) to 4 (much less than usual or much more than usual). Participants will be asked to indicate how often in recent times they have “Lost much sleep over worry”, “Felt capable of making decisions about things” and “Been feeling unhappy and depressed”. - Emotional Exhaustion was assessed by means of the 5 items of the MBI-GS (Maslach & Jackson, 1986). The items (“I feel emotionally drained from my work”, “I feel used up at the end of the workday”, “I feel tired when I get up in the morning and have to face another day on the job”, “Working all day is really a strain for me”, “I feel burned out at the end of the workday”) were rated on a 7-point scale ranging from “Never”, to “Every day”. A high score indicates greater experience of emotional exhaustion. The scale proved reliable with α =0.92. The researcher measured religiosity using Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS) by Huber and Huber (2012) is a measure of the centrality of religiosity with a Cronbach alpha value of .90. The CRS consists of 15 items divided into five subscales with three items per subscale. The five subscales are intellect, ideology, experience, private practice, and public practice. The response format ranges from 1(never) to 5(very often). 101 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Psychological effort was measured with a 3-item self-developed measure about the extent to which emotion regulation interferes with employees’ mental outlook. After sample testing and validation, the scale recorded a Cronbach alpha value of .71. A sample item included ‘‘Meeting emotional display rules impairs my performance on other tasks.’’ The measure was on a 5-point response scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). Appendix H is factor analysis details of the scale. Emotional Dissonance, Interaction control scale and Occupational Display Culture was measured using Zapf’s et al. (1999) FEWS multidimensional emotion work scale. Emotional Dissonance scale was made up 4 items measured on a five point rating format ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). The scale recorded a Cronbach alpha value of .6. Sample item include “How often in your job do you have to display emotions that do not agree with your true feelings” Interaction control was measured using an 8 item scale to find out the extent to which occupation related display rules interferes with employees work. A Cronbach alpha value of .51. A sample item include “How often are you assigned to specific deadlines by the company for your involvement with clients”. The 8 items were measured on a five point rating format ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). Occupational display culture scale consisted of three item scale. A Cronbach alpha value of .78 was recorded. The 3 items were measured on a five point rating format ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (very often). A sample item include “these rules were imparted in my professional training” Job Satisfaction was measured by a 5-item scale which was developed by Kofodimos (1993). Sample items ‘I feel challenged by my work.’ For this study, respondents indicated their level 102 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of satisfaction on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). Turnover Intentions was measured by Hom, Griffeth, and Sellaro’s (1984) (5) five item scale. The scale was measured on a five point scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). A sample item include ‘I will probably look for a new job in the next year’. 3.6.5 Pilot Study Report The researcher conducted a pilot study with a small sample prior to the use of the intended scales of measurement. The rationale for the pilot study is to ascertain the appropriateness of the measuring instruments to the Ghanaian context and an opportunity to seek feedback to inform any needed changes (Aron & Aron, 1999). The whole instrument for the study has 131 items measuring diverse variables. The instrument as a composite recorded a reliability (.76) on forty (41) parallel sample respondents (Fink, 2003). However, the reliability for the sub- sections of the instrument varied; some reporting high reliability (>.7) and others reporting moderate reliability (<.7 but >.4). The details of the reliability for the sub-sections are presented in Table 3.1. 103 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 3.1: Summary of Pilot Study Report (Cronbach’s Alpha) for Scales (N = 41) Scale ɑ No. of Items 1. Frequency of Emotional Display .78 12 2. Interaction Control Scale .49 3 3. Emotional Labour Scale .53 6 4. Occupational Display Culture Scale .79 8 5. Religiosity .92 15 6. Emotional Dissonance .59 4 7. Psychological Effort Scale .71 3 8. Psychosocial Distress Scale .84 10 9. General Wellbeing .59 6 10. Emotional Exhaustion .83 5 11. Coping Mechanism .84 30 12. Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support .92 12 13. Turnover Intentions .86 5 14. Job Satisfaction .83 5 Source: Field Pilot Study of Media Practitioners (2015) The next section of this segment offers explanations of necessary revisions after the pilot study. 4 of the 14 scales piloted required careful revision and before final questionnaire administration support. The researcher modified and reworded some items in four of the scales namely; interaction control scale, emotional labour, emotional dissonance, and general wellbeing scales. This was partly informed by the feedbacks from pilot respondents and the low reliabilities recorded. Some respondents did not get the meaning of some items in these scales and therefore should be explained in the final data collection process or these questions needed to be reworded. The researcher was also of the opinion that given a higher sample size, the actual reliabilities of the measuring instruments will be established. The pilot study for this research was an invaluable way of determining clarity of instructions to respondents, the difficulty of some items on the measuring scale and the duration of the study (Goodwin, 2008). 104 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.6.6 Quantitative Data Collection Procedure Quantitative data for the study was collected through the use of standardized questionnaires that were designed for that purpose. A total of 600 questionnaires were administered and the researcher retrieved 336 well filled questionnaires. The researcher together with his trained research assistant embarked on the data collection exercise for a period of ten (10) weeks. Foremost, introductory letters were sent to various media houses in Ashanti, Western and Greater Accra Regions. Once permission was granted, the researcher provide the prospective research participants with the consent forms to read about the research and decide whether or not they are willing and ready to participate in the study. Only those who express readiness and willingness to participate were given the research questionnaires to complete. The researcher allowed ample time for each participant to complete the questionnaire. An average time of 30 minutes was each spent on a questionnaire. All the completed questionnaires were assembled together for the purposes of initial screening, coding, entry, and data analyses. 3.6.7 Analyzing Quantitative Data Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study employed both descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. The descriptive part of the analysis was used to capture the demographic and employment characteristics of respondents. Specifically, correlation and standard multiple regression was used to test the hypothesized model for the study variables. The correlation test was used to test the relationship between variables of the study. The Standard multiple regression was used to test the predictive strength of some variables of the study. Specifically, the Sobel test which is basically a specialized t test that provides a method to determine whether the reduction in the effect of the independent variable (EL), after including the mediator in the model, is a significant 105 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh reduction and therefore whether the mediation effect is statistically significant was used for the mediation analysis. Following the recommended steps, Hayes process theory of moderation was used to test the indirect effect of the moderators of the study. 3.7 Part Two- Qualitative Study Part two of this section addresses the qualitative part of the study. In qualitative research the researcher endeavor to pay attention to setting (organizational context for this research) and process, lived experiences and to local nuances that are of relevance to understanding psychological constructs. In a sense, qualitative research principally focuses on in-depth and all-inclusive understanding of events so as to explain complex social and organizational phenomenon (Punch, 2005). Qualitative approaches explore the viewpoint and meaning of experiences, try to find insight and identify the social structures or processes that explain people’s behavioral meaning (Mays & Pope, 2000). Qualitative research approach depends on extensive interaction with study participants, and often allows researchers to unearth unforeseen or unanticipated details, which is not possible in the quantitative methods. The use of qualitative research design is of essence to cross-cultural understanding of employees work behaviour in a given situation and context. 3.7.1 Justification for the Qualitative Study The use of quantitative study at best principally demonstrate the extent of relationships among variables of interest from a quantifiable perspective. The quantitative study is inadequate in unearthing the many contextual meanings, underpinning ideals, perceptions, views, and opportunity to hear the built-up concerns of the Ghanaian samples. Some researchers (e.g. Hammersley, 1992; Pope & Mays, 1995) posits that qualitative research makes it possible to study some aspects of a social phenomenon that are not viable with quantitative research. Qualitative research is invaluable for uncovering issues that are unanticipated and often 106 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh overlooked by most quantitative researchers (Kitzinger, 1995). Furthermore qualitative design was chosen for this part of the study because the phenomenon of emotional labour and emotion study in general among media practitioners in Ghana is comparatively a new area of study. Thus, researching on this phenomena will help understand the lived-experiences of media practitioners and potentially address psychological health related issues. The parallel use of the qualitative study along with the quantitative study was principally driven by three main reasons. The first was to exhume other context-specific details which from the extensive literature search for this study, to the best of the researcher’s knowledge, may be the first in the Ghanaian context and possibly Africa. A deep reflection on the second main aim of the study which is to understand the lived-experiences of media practitioners as far as emotional labour is concerned, it is most appropriate for the researcher to employ qualitative method. The second reason is that emotional labour is considered as a double edged sword (Ashforth & Humphrey, 1996) and thus can be said to be a complex behaviour which may occur with different outlook from different cultural context. The overdependence on quantitative methodological approach in understanding a construct (emotional labour) largely inconsistent in the literature as far as its nature and dynamics are concerned is quite elusive (Gerisch, 2002). For instance, the extent of relationship between emotional labour and psychological health from the quantitative data was somewhat minimal and inadequate in providing holistic appraisal of the nature, dynamics, push factors, and psychological health effects of the construct. The third reason was that social scientist, especially psychologists, has not paid attention to the lived-experiences of media practitioners. Thus far, to the best of the researcher’s search, no studies has endeavoured to look at the emotional labour and other related challenges faced 107 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh by media practitioners. When the researcher introduced himself as a psychologist interested in exploring the emotional side of their work, the most experienced participant of the present study with 33 years in management position could only acknowledge; …It’s the first time I’m seeing it and I’m still like wow, you see it happen when you go on courses abroad, when it’s coming to the end, that’s the debriefing session, they want to find out a couple things. I went for a course in the University of Minessota and the first time I entered there was a brief, they like to do these and when you are leaving they want your second opinion, from the outside looking inside, that is how they want to take, measure some of the social grievances and find out but it is a first time I have come across a social researcher and the first time I saw someone pay attention to social issue…(R6, Male manager with 33 years’ experience) Another participant with 14years of experience in the public sector also affirmed the newness of this research to the media industry and said: …I have had several interviews but I have to admit that this is totally different, I have had people come to interview me ….. but I have never ever encountered anybody who wants to find out how do you feel after, during and doing a story? How do you handle the pressure that comes from society? No, I have never, this is the first time errr such an interview, even though it’s got to do with my work but it’s got to do with my work in relation not just to my person but to my inner person, the emotions that are aroused as I go about doing my job, this is my first time… (R7, Male Broadcast Journalist with 14 years’ experience). Similar views were expressed by other 11 participants about the seeming neglect of their work related quandary as far as research is concerned. From participant 6 and 7’s viewpoint, it can be deduced that the not much is known of psycho-social challenges of media practitioners in Ghana. Their innermost expressions about the newness of this research from its exploratory nature and depth cements the less scope of operation as far as psychological services are concerned. Since the study made use of in-depth interviews and observation for qualitative data gathering, the suggestion by Denzin and Lincoln (1998) who views qualitative research as “multi method in focus, involving an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter by studying things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret 108 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh phenomena in terms of meanings people bring to them” (p. 43) has been predominantly matched. The researcher systematically collected data and analysed the subjective narrative data in structured and intuitive manner so as to identify the peculiar characteristics and nuances of media practitioners experiences (Holloway, 2005). In Ghana, eliciting information about one’s emotions is somewhat viewed as sensitive and it takes a skillful researcher to use qualitative approach to draw-out ideas and experiences that would provide greater insight, understanding, and unveil some context-specific details from research samples (Creswell, 2008; 2009). In short, the qualitative approach enabled the researcher to generate Ghanaian samples’ lived experiences of emotional labour and adequately paints a lively and reflective picture of media participants’ real life work experiences. In a sense, the unique experiences of media practitioners in Ghana has been adequately explored and thus provides a reconstructive reality of the research sample. 3.7.2 Sample Size for Study Two Even though the researcher planned using more media practitioners for the qualitative study, only 13 participants who had more than five years’ experience and had reported and dealt with emotionally charged cases or experience were finally engaged. The researcher resorted to purposive and snowball sampling technique to home-in on the practitioners with the right exposure which satisfy the inclusion criteria. This notwithstanding, 13 practitioners who were available and willing took part in the qualitative study. Table 3.5 detail out the demographic characteristics of the qualitative study participants. The participants were made up of both males and females with varying years of experience and positional roles ranging from news reporting to news anchoring. 109 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.7.3 Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria Media practitioners who have been in the practice continuously for at least five years or more and had experience of handling emotionally charging and demanding cases constituted the qualitative sample. In line with Reid, Flowers and Larkin (2005), with five years or more experience of having worked on emotionally charging cases and stories, such practitioners could have some lived-experiences to share as part of the contextual knowledge generation process. Further, Al-sarkal (2016) also mentioned that, the longer employees’ stays on a job role, the more likely they will experience physical and psychological problems. Just like the quantitative inclusion criteria, being 18 years old and above was also considered another criterion for inclusion into the qualitative part of the study. There was no discrimination in terms of one’s sex, hence the study was opened to both male and female employees within all age brackets. Since all national service personnel and internship workers work for less than a year in most cases, they were excluded from participating in the qualitative study. 3.7.4 Qualitative Data Collection and Procedure At the individual level, in-depth interviews allow the researcher to engage a small number of participants to unearth their understanding on a particular social issue (Boyce & Neale, 2006). Qualitative interviews were conducted with thirteen (13) respondents with not less than five years’ experience in media practice. Informed consent was obtained before interview. A semi- structured interview guide was used to examine respondents’ perception of emotional labour and wellbeing (Creswell, 2009). The flexibility of the semi-structured interview allowed for a deep exploration into the social and personal worlds of the participants.The interviews lasted between 30 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes. Interviews were conducted in English (the official language) in Ghana. All interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Where possible follow up, thought-provoking and probing questions were asked to clarify or seek further information. Interviews were conducted at the work sites of individual media 110 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh practitioners. The researcher conducted the interviews himself with the support of a trained research assistant (engaged to take vital notes while interview was in session). The number of interviews was informed by the theoretical saturation point where no new information was added after conducting further interviews (Paton, 2002). Appendix B is an attachment of the interview guide used for the qualitative study. 3.7.5 Analyzing the Qualitative Interviews The researcher used a digital tape recorder to record the individual interviews to allow for accurate capturing of data. A trained research assistant also vital notes as a back-up and alternative option to facilitate data capturing accuracy. Audio-taped recordings were subsequently transcribed verbatim. The researcher read through each transcripts carefully several times so as to get the actual ingress of the gathered data. The researcher used one of the computer-assisted qualitative data analysis softwares (CAQDAS) in managing the qualitative data. Specifically, NVivo electronic software was used. This software allows for qualitative inquiry to travel beyond coding, sorting and retrieval of data. It helped in integrate coding with qualitative linking, shaping and modelling. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was principally used to look inside participants’ shared experiences. Interpretations were done in relation to existing theory and literature. The present study had two data sources for the qualitative part (interview and covert observations datum). The two set of data served as a reflection of media practitioners’ experiences on their emotion-side of work. In an attempt to understand the lived-experiences and pile of subjective knowledge about media practitioners’ emotional labouring ideals, the researcher resorted to using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). In his single participant study on perception of renal dialysis, Smith (1996) ended up with the development of IPA. In Smith’s view, a researcher can make sense of a person’s personal and social reality. 111 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh IPA traces its roots to two fields of inquiry namely; phenomenology and symbolic interactionism (Brocki & Wearden, 2006). The basic assumption of phenomenology and symbolic interactionism is the view that humans (employees) are active personas with biographical stories or experiences worthy of interpretation and understanding. IPA therefore dovetails on this premise and endeavor to explore participants’ experiences, beliefs, understanding, perceptions, views and work-life stories (Reid, Flowers, & Larkin, 2005). IPA is principally triangular in focus. The first leg of IPA is pillared on phenomenology. This aspect is concerned with individuals’ subjective experiences rather than the formulation of objective accounts (Flowers, Hart, & Marriot, 1999). In a sense, this aspect of IPA endeavours to unearth what the experiences of the participants are like (Laverty, 2003). The phenomenological side of the IPA for this research explores what emotional labour really mean for media practitioners within the Ghanaian context. The researcher carefully engaged the participants, listened attentively, took relevant notes in addition to audio-taped recordings, and probed further for deeper thoughts and clarifications on media practitioners’ work-life realities (Smith et al., 2009). The researcher was patient during the interview process, had the interview engagement at a comfortable climate, and built healthy rapport with participants. These conscientious efforts made participants more comfortable to share their lived- experiences wholeheartedly with the researcher. The second undergirding wing of IPA is the hermeneutics, which principally emphasizes on the art of interpreting the shared experiences or work-life stories (Laverty, 2003). The depth of qualitative study rest on the meanings gleaned from shared data. In the view of Biggerstaff and Thompson (2008), such depth of meanings can be achieved or sapped through an interpretative process. Following a two way approach, the participants and the skilled researcher had to play a key role in the interpretation process. The researcher endeavoured to use thought provoking and elicitation questions as a probe technique to ensure that the 112 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh participants contribute significantly in the sense-making process. In addition, the researcher epitomised main points at the end of the interview process and gave participants the opportunity to fill in or add any further details they wish to share. The researcher furthered the rigour of the interpretation process through careful transcription of data, careful reading and re-reading of scripts, resorted to field notes where necessary, and matched responses to questions asked. The double hermeneutics strategy (Smith et al., 2009) deepened the quality of meanings gleaned. In the view of the researcher, IPA offers democratic ideals to the conduct of research. This co-operative process ensures that conceptions of the participants and the skilled researcher are factored into the interpretative process. The third triangular wing of IPA is concerned with ‘the particular’ (Smith et al., 2009). This is also referred to as the ideography. For the present study, the researcher aimed at concentrating on emotional labour (as against other emotion related conditions). In a sense, a particular phenomenon (emotional labour) was the issue that required detailed understanding. The researcher also placed much efforts into gathering data from different viewpoints. For instance, some practitioners were from private sector while others worked for the public sector, some were broadcast (investigative) journalist while others were just editors, producers, presenters, host, and news anchors. These dynamics presented some peculiarities and added to the unique context requiring some levels of idiographic skill to be able to adequately engage each group without missing relevant meaning from those varying shed experiences on the phenomenon. A careful literature search from 1996 to 2015 reveals that the sample size recommendation for use of IPA ranges from 1- 40 participants. Brocki and Wearden (2006) alluded to the same point in their review of 52 different works that employed IPA. The researcher in the present study engaged 13 participants on the topic of interest. The use of 13 participants is relatively larger than some classical works like Smith (1999), Swift et al. (2002), and 113 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Warwick et al. (2004), who used 3, 5, and 8 participants respectively. Since all 13 engagements were done at the individual level, it is within range that micro-textual IPA was used for this part of the study. Although 13 participants was quite a large sample for IPA, of utmost importance was the depth, facial expressions, verbal and non-verbal expressions, prosonic sounds, and contents of shared experiences. In summary, the strength of IPA is the fact that it revolves on the resultant analytic accounts or experiences of both the participant and the skilled researcher. IPA immensely contributes to enriching the understanding we make in the psychology of an individual’s life-world. The self-reflective nature makes IPA appropriate for health related research like the present study geared toward understanding emotional labour and media practitioners’ psychological health. 3.7.5.1 IPA Steps for Analyzing Study Two The researcher collected data by engaging participants and recorded using electronic tape recorders, took careful notes as a back-up, and careful observations notes from media crew at work. Of utmost interest was the audio-taped data. This narrative data was transcribed verbatim as narrated by participants. A number of steps were subsequently taken in the analysis process. 1. Transcribed data was numbered with dummy codes (such as Respondent 1 {P1} with other relevant demographic characteristics). 2. Answers were carefully matched with questions raised for each of the participants. 3. Transcript of each participant was then read through several times to grasp the import of the experiences shared. 4. Two data management strategies were employed, namely; the use of NVivo electronic data management technique and traditional/painstaking manual data management. These data management techniques helped to establish similarities and differences in 114 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh responses for all participants. (The outputs of the NVivo electronic data analysis is found at Appendix G) 5. Organizing codes were then generated and words, phrases, and statements used by participants to describe constructs were clustered into categories or themes. Manually, important recurrent words, phrases, and statements were noted as fact-finding or exploratory notes in the respective micro-text. 6. Related themes were further collapsed or merged into definable themes and subsequently named. 7. With the aid of NVivo electronic software and well-read exposure to data, the researcher illustrated the group level themes with relevant quotes from participants’ shared work-life experiences. Each quote had some demographic identification which tended to deepen the appreciative feelings of a particular respondent’s shed experience. 8. At the sense-making (hermeneutics/interpretation) stage, data was revisited several times to carefully look inside the expressions and shed experiences of participants to ensure that meanings significantly reflected their narratives. 9. A concise summary and logical analytical connections among group level themes were then established and storyline report generated. 3.7.6 Reliability and Validity of Interview Data Validity and reliability has corollaries for decision making (Goodwin, 2008). Hence, the researcher took steps to ensure that data gathered were valid and capable of assuming reliability. Reliability enables a researcher to have some confidence that the measure taken is close to and reflects the true measure (Goodwin, 2008). Reliability refers to the degree of consistency to which instances are assigned to the same category by different observers or by the same observer but on different occasions (Hammersley, 1992). To ensure proper and 115 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh accurate documentation, the interviews were audio-taped to capture exactly what the study participants said. To be sure of the accuracy of the data collected and increase the reliability of data gathered, a trained research assistant also took notes of vital and salient points during one-on-one interview sessions. Cross-examination of these audio-taped and hand-written notes ensured that experiences shared by study participants were recorded as accurately as presented. Secondly, the researcher resorted to respondent validation. By this, researcher went back to the study participants after preliminary data analysis to verify the legitimacy of the interim research findings. Respondents’ feedbacks to emerging was invaluable to refining few areas of the findings (May & Pope, 2000). Many of the study participants endorsed the analysed scripts as succinct encapsulation of their experiences. The glimmer of hope for an authentic interview data was thus felt. Following a qualitative research paradigm implies pursuing truthfulness and adroitness. Such are the views of Silverman (2000) and Mayer and Frantz (2004) who are of the opinion that validation in qualitative research simply imply truth. Validity therefore refers to the degree to which data collected specify the true measurement or appearance of the social issue unraveled. Commenting on the validity, Creswell (2009) underscores that, validity determines the accuracy of the findings from the perspective of the researcher, the interviewees, and/or the readers of the narration. The present study utilized a semi structured interview as the main source of data collection. The interviewer maintained the flexibility of the interviewing process to make way for equally important issues of to emerge through the asking of follow-up and probing questions (Dawson, 2002). Accordingly, the current study ensured that proper procedural documentation of events was done to augment consistency, precision, replication and verification so as to adequately enhance the trustworthiness, genuineness, dependability and 116 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh transferability of the research findings. Table 3.2 summarizes various steps taken by researcher to ensure rigour of the qualitative part of the study. Table 3.2: Qualitative Research Paths Rigour Approach Issues Addressed Realistic Potential Purposive Bias Enhancing sample coverage and providing sampling a framework for analysis Data Data accuracy Ensuring that the experiences as shared by Comparisons study participants were captured Multiple coding Inter-rater reliability Refining interpretations or coding frameworks Triangulation Confirmation or refutation of Corroborating or refining of findings internal validity Multiple data sources Respondent Confirmation or refutation of validation interpretations Confirmation or refining of findings Source: Adapted from Barbour (2001) 3.8 Observation Data In an attempt to increase the ecological validity of the present study, the researcher resorted to covert observation to fully understand the total situation of electronic media practitioners’ spontaneous behavioral patterns while at post. The researcher as part of the qualitative data collection process, used his eyes and ears to evaluate actings and sayings of media practitioners on set. As an observer researcher, an event sampling approach was used to document all behavioral displays and placed into behavioral categories (Reis & Gable, 2000). The event sampling observational approach allowed the researcher to study ongoing experiences of media practitioners in their natural work setting. The researcher took into account two radio and two television crews on set. The two radio crews were both private media houses whilst the two television crews was made up of both private and public. Each encounter with media practitioners on set was well documented with emotional labour behavioral descriptors. The observation of study participants helped the researcher to capture in descriptive terms, the spontaneous emotional labouring behaviors put up by media 117 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh practitioners while working in their studios (natural setting). In a sense, the researcher was able to detect and capture the temporal and dynamic oscillations of behaviors of media practitioners. The use of observational study pattern was modelled after the seminal work of astute researchers such as Bandura (1971) on his study of children aggression and Ainsworth (1990) in her study of infantile behaviour when mothers are weaned away. Other researchers (e.g., Copp, 1998; Leidner; 1993), used observation approach in their emotional labour research. Unlike Ainsworth (1990) and Bandura (1971) who restricted study participants to a laboratory or controlled settings, the present study utilized observational approach to study participants in their natural work settings. The data gathered via observation was corroborative to the interview data gathered. In mimicry of Larkin and Griffiths (2002), IPA was used to succinctly draw meanings from observation notes of the researcher. Appendix F is an attached descriptive setting of the cockpits of media crew. 3.9 Ethical Considerations for Conduct of this Research From the perspective of Brewerton and Millward (2001), it is essential for organizational researchers to consider the ethical implications as part of the research process. Professional bodies such as the American Psychological Association, British Psychological Society, Ghana Psychological Association and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology all subscribe to set of principles and standards for the conduct of psychological research. Ethical regulations outlining professional guidelines for the conduct of research were strictly adhered to in this study. The researcher was subjected to a critical oral examinations of the research proposal at the Department of Psychology, University of Ghana. With approval of the Department of Psychology (Find attached departmental approval letter in Appendix C), the researcher submitted a comprehensive proposal to the University of Ghana Ethics Committee for Humanities. After a thorough review by the board, the study 118 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh was approved by the Ethics Committee for Humanities Board of the University of Ghana (Find attached Ethical Clearance Certificate in Appendix D). In the data gathering part, consent was obtained by writing a letter to the head of corporate affairs/human resource units of the earmarked media houses within the research triangle, who upon agreeing informed employees through a memo. Secondly, the questionnaires handed over to the participants were accompanied by introductory letters and inform consent forms. The introductory letters detailed out the purpose of the research, and expected duration for participation (Find attached copies of the informed consent form and introductory letter in Appendix E). This was meant to ensure that respondents fully understood the research and what information was required from them. All participants were given the opportunity to fill out informed consent form once they agreed to participate. Participants were made aware that information gathered would be used only for the purpose for which it was collected - to advance knowledge in research, organizational processes and behavior. In addition, the ethics of anonymity and confidentiality was respected in this study. The ethics of anonymity requires a researcher to avoid disclosure of the identity of research participants. The ethics of confidentiality also requires a researcher to avoid public disclosure of the data or information obtained from participants, especially when such data is tied to the person’s identity. Finally, the researcher upheld the ethics of beneficence. This ethical principle requires that the research being conducted should be beneficial to the participants or to society in general. This study is being used as an advocacy tool to create public awareness to the ills associated with emotional labouring in the Ghanaian context with media practitioners as a starting point. Policies and interventional measures will then be invited to address such ills, thereby improving the psychological wellbeing of the individual employees. 119 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh As characteristic of all research, it was important that participation was voluntary. Study participants were also instructed not to write anything that will make it easy to identify them. Generally, all aspects of the research was conducted in conformity to laid down regulations as enshrined in the American Psychological Association’s (APA) code of conduct (2010) and guidelines provided by Ghana Psychological Association. 120 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FOUR QUANTITATIVE RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.0 Introduction Generally, the study sought to examine how emotional labour (i.e. surface and deep acting) predict psychological health (i.e. psychological distress, general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion) of media practitioners in the Ghanaian media industry. It also sought to investigate the moderating and mediating roles of religiosity, perceived social support and coping strategy as well as emotional dissonance, psychological effort, and occupational display culture respectively on the relationship between emotional labour and psychological health. This chapter therefore, presents a summary of the results of the study beginning with the preliminary analysis on normality testing and the reliabilities of the scales used in the study. It continues with the descriptive statistics on the demographic characteristics of the respondents and ends with hypotheses testing. 4.1 Preliminary Analysis 4.1.1 Demographic Characteristics of Respondents In this section, the distribution of gender, age, education, media house, type of media, employment status, religion, hours of work, time with clients, length with clients, years in media, years with current employer and years in current role of the respondents in the selected media houses in Ghana are reported. The ages of the media practitioners sampled for the study ranged from 18 years to 65 years with an average age of 29 years suggesting that a lot of young people work in the media industry. Perhaps the demanding nature of the media work in contemporary business environment make it less attractive to the older generation. Besides, the media practitioners used in the study had years of working in the media ranging from 1 year to 28 years with an 121 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh average of 5 years working experience in the media, 3 years of work with current employer and 3 years of work in current role. Table 4.0 summarizes some of the demographic Characteristics of respondents. Table 4.0 Some Descriptive Statistics of Study Participants Variables Categories Frequency Percentage Mean SD Age 29.29 6.47 Years in Media Industry 5.27 4.72 Years with Current Employer 3.458 3.99 Years in Current Role 3.65 3.84 Gender Males 205 61 Females 131 39 Media House Private 291 86.6 Public 45 13.4 Type of Media Television 120 35.7 Radio 188 56 Both TV and Radio 28 8.3 Area of Work Broadcasting/reporting 141 42 Camera/Sound 54 16.1 Editing/Production 141 42 Employment Status: Full Time 238 70.8 Part-time 76 22.6 Casual 22 6.5 Education: SHS/O-A Level 19 5.7 Diploma 104 31 Degree 190 56.5 Post-Grad. Degree 23 6.9 Religion: Christians 311 92.6 Muslims 23 6.8 Others 2 0.6 Hours of Work: Less than 2hrs a day 10 3.0 Between 2-4hrs a day 23 6.8 Between 4-6hrs a day 48 14.3 Between 6-8hrs a day 117 34.8 More than 8hrs a day 138 41.1 Source: Field Survey (2016) The statistics in relation to the gender of the participants of the study show that of the 336 respondents, 205 (representing 61%) were males while 131 (representing 39 %) were females. The fact that 41.1 % spend more than 8 hours a day suggest that balancing work with family 122 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh can be challenging for females and that plausibly explains why females appear to be less on the gender distribution. In line with the national statistics on media type distribution (as indicated in Table 3.4), 291 (representing 86.6%) of the respondents work with private media houses while 45 (representing 13.4%) of the respondents work with public media institutions. This summary therefore suggests that the media landscape in Ghana is dominated by private media houses. From a careful count, most owners of private media houses are entrepreneurs with businesses and tend to use the media outlet to promote their business ideals. To such media owners, opening up a private radio or TV station promotes their businesses alongside journalistic practice of news coverage. From Table 4.0 above, 120 respondents (representing 35.7%) work with television stations; 188 (representing 56%) of the respondents work with radio stations whereas the remaining 8.3% which is made up of 28 respondents work with both television and radio stations. Ghanaians are increasingly becoming busy with time schedules. It appears people find it easier tuning in to radio than television. More so, there seem to be a spiralling avenue of reaching the hearts of many Ghanaians with radio stations that uses the local dialects of the community for which the frequency serves. It is also possible that the legal instrument in Ghana to charge television license fee from consumers reduces the patronage of television programmes by these consumers. These developments likely explains why Ghana appears to have more radio stations than television stations. It is observed from the Table 4.0 that majority of the respondents, that is 238 (representing 70.8%) were fulltime employees, 76 of the respondents (representing 22.6%) were part time whereas 22 (representing 6.5%) responded as casual workers in the media. This data shows that employment agreement in the media industry tend to be largely on full time basis. 123 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh However, the fact that almost 30% of respondents were temporary staff, accentuate the recent upsurge of engaging outsourced employees in many organizations in Ghana. Some likely practice media alongside other engagements. Observing from the Table 4.0, it is evident that majority of the media practitioners engaged have higher level qualifications. About 94.3 % had qualification above diploma. The media industry is a research driven industry. It requires some level of education to design projects, journalistic trips, programmes, and how to ask probing and eliciting questions. The structure of the Ghanaian tertiary education curriculum certainly equip the practitioners with the basic knowledge to carry on their work. With over 70 Universities in Ghana and a flexible study structure, it is not surprising that an overwhelming majority of the respondents (56.5%) had degree level qualifications. The results presented in table 4.0 shows that 23 respondents (representing 6.8%) are Muslims, 311 respondents (representing 92.6%) are Christians whereas the remaining 2 (representing 0.6%) are affiliated to other forms of religion. This religious dynamics are nothing different from religious trends in Ghana. The Ghana Population Census 2010 (Ghana Statistical Services, 2012) indicated that there are over 70% Christians in Ghana. It is therefore not surprising that the researcher had more respondents being Christians than Muslims. It is observed from the table that 10 respondents (representing 3%) spend less than 2 hours a day; 23 respondents (representing 6.8%) spend between 2 hours and 4 hours a day; 48 respondents (representing 14.4%) spend between 4 hours and 6 hours a day; 117 respondents (representing 34.8%) spend between 6 hours and 8 hours a day and the remaining 138 respondents (representing 41.1%) spend more than 8 hours a day at their various media houses. The summary of the results suggest that majority of the respondents spend more than 8 hours a day in their media work. This may possibly be due to work overload and associated 124 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh pressure. It is therefore expected that most of the respondents will score high on emotional labour which invariably affect their psychological health. The results showed that 141 (representing 42%) of the respondents work in the area of broadcasting and reporting; 54 (representing 16%) of them work as camera and sounds technicians whereas another 141 (representing 42%) of the respondents work in the area of editing and productions. The above revealed that majority of the respondents work in the area of broadcasting/reporting and editing/production, two areas where observing occupational display rules are most critical. 4.1.2 Descriptive Statistics of Variables This aspect of the quantitative analysis examines assumptions for use of parametric tests. It consists of normality test, reliability and descriptive statistics for the variables investigated. Table 4.1 is a summary of descriptive statistics of the study. 4.1.3 Test for Normality The normality assumption which is the extent to which the distribution of the sample data is consistent with a normal distribution (Field, 2009) was checked by inspecting the skewness and kurtosis values of all the variables. The results of this analysis is presented in Table 4.1. 125 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 4.1: Summary of the Means, Standard Deviation, Skewness, Kurtosis, and Reliabilities Variable Min Max Mean SD Skewness Kurtosis ɑ 1. Interaction Control 6 62 10.05 2.22 -.32 .30 .67 2. Emotional Labour 3 25 18.89 4.25 -.23 .30 .50 3. Occupational Display Culture 8 38 21.14 5.67 .11 -.52 .67 4. Religiosity 29 109 61.24 9.38 -.10 2.06 .72 5. Emotional Dissonance 6 30 13.37 4.02 5.30 -.06 .78 6. Psychological Effort 3 15 13.37 4.02 5.30 -.06 .73 7. Psychological Distress 12 50 37.32 6.83 -.53 .12 .71 8. General Wellbeing 6 29 18.85 3.21 -.47 .85 .85 9. Emotional Exhaustion 5 25 14.37 3.55 -.05 .65 .50 10. Coping 39 135 71.55 14.42 .55 1.43 .78 11. MMPSS 13 150 57.53 14.15 .58 5.43 .85 12. Turnover Intentions 5 25 13.53 4.53 .27 -.20 .80 13. Job Satisfaction 5 25 11.69 4.21 .62 .26 .82 14. Emotional Display Frequency 20 78 40.26 6.89 .94 6.90 .85 Source: Field Survey (2016) Table 4.1 shows results of the descriptive statistics and reliabilities for scales used. The skewness and kurtosis scores above shows that most of the scores fall within the acceptable range of +2 to -2 and +3 to -3 respectively which shows that they are normally distributed and thus satisfy the condition for the use of parametric tests (Doane & Seward, 2011; Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). These scores which fall within the acceptable range include Interaction Control, Emotional Labour, Occupational Display Culture, Religiosity, Psychological Effort, Psychological Distress, General Wellbeing, Emotional Exhaustion, Coping, Turnover Intentions and Job Satisfaction. Since these scores were observed to be 126 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh within the acceptable range they did not deviate from the normality required for hypotheses testing. However, the scores for Emotional Dissonance, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MMPSS), and Emotional Display Frequency were quite beyond the +3 to -3. However, according to Field (2009), the significance of the skewness and kurtosis values should be taken for granted in large samples such as 200 or more. Thus, Table 4.1 revealed relatively little violation of the normality assumption. Where violations exist as earlier highlighted, they are negligible due to the size of the sample (N = 336) and should not pose any serious threat in the course of the data analysis (Hair et al., 2010). This notwithstanding, its use in understanding emotional labour among media practitioners is deemed a limitation to the study. From Table 4.1 it can be observed that the reliability coefficients for most of the scales were .70 and beyond. This means that they are very high or good in reliability and for that matter can be used for testing the various hypotheses (Wells & Wollack, 2003). Furthermore, Wells and Wollack (2003) emphasized that a Cronbach’s alpha of between .40 and .70 is moderate and should be used with caution. In a essence, the Emotional Display Frequency, Interaction Control, Emotional Labour, and General Wellbeing are moderate in reliability. It must be emphasized therefore that their use in making analyses about media practitioners and emotional labour is used with discretion and for that matter would be highlighted as a limitation of this study (Tavakol & Dennick, 2011). The researcher however did not test the interaction control variable due to its low reliability value and as such it was not of critical importance to the model being tested. 4.1.4 Correlation Matrix The data was also checked for multi-collinearity, which is a situation where two variables strongly correlate (Field, 2009). In doing this, all the variables were correlated among themselves using Pearson’s r correlation and results are presented in Table 4.2. 127 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 4.2: Summary of Pearson Product Moment Correlation (Matrix) of Variables Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1 Interaction control - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2 Occupational -.08 - Display Culture 3 Religiosity .08 -.02 - 4 Emotional .13* -.02 .14** - dissonance 5 Psychological .02 .14** .02 .22** - effort 6 Psychological .08 -.03 .29** .05 -.22** - distress 7 General wellbeing -.03 -.10 .06 .03 -.02 .05 - 8 Emotional .05 .15** -.07 .11 .22** -.29** .19** - exhaustion 9 Coping .05 .05 .12* .10 .17** -.09 .14** .07 - 10 Social support -.06 .03 .21** -.04 .07 .11 .15** .08 .25** - 11 Turnover Intension -.04 -.04 -.03 -.04 -.05 -.14** .02 .17** -.02 -.10 - 12 Job Satisfaction .00 .05 -.17** -.05 -.02 -.22** -.03 .17** .05 -.11* .58** - 13 Surface Acting .34** .00 .08 .25** .17** -.03 -.15** .14* .12* -.08 .01 .08 - 14 Deep Acting .16** -.08 .17** .15** .04 .03 .05 .02 .27** .18** -.09 -.02 .26** - Note: n = 105; *p < .05; **p < .01. 128 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh From Table 4.2 it can be observed that surface acting, a dimension of emotional labour significantly correlated positively with two psychological health variables namely; emotional exhaustion (r= .14, p < .05) and general wellbeing (r=-.15, p <.01). However, the relationship between surface acting and psychological distress was not significant. Moreover, deep acting, another dimension of emotional labour did not significantly correlate with the psychological health variables, namely, psychological distress, general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion. An examination of the results in Table 4.2 also suggests that emotional labour does not relate to organizational work outcomes. For example, the relationship between surface acting and turnover Intentions as well as job satisfaction was not significant. Besides, there was no significant relationship between deep acting and job satisfaction as well as turnover intentions. 4.2 Hypothesis Testing The quantitative aspect of the study sought to test four (4) main hypotheses to establish the relationships among the study variables. The findings of the various hypotheses are presented below. Hypothesis One This hypothesis examined the predictive relationships between emotional labour dimensions (surface and deep acting) and the psychological health of media practitioners in Ghana. It was hypothesized that: H1: Surface acting will have a more significant positive relationship with psychological health (psychological distress, general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion) than deep acting. 129 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The Pearson correlation results in Table 4.2 revealed that psychological distress did not correlate significantly with all the two dimensions of emotional labour. Therefore, it was not further investigated in testing for the second hypothesis. However, emotional exhaustion and general wellbeing which correlated significantly were examined further in respect of the second hypothesis. Standard multiple regression was used to test the hypothesis and summary of the results are represented in below. Table 4.3.1: Summary Coefficients of Emotional Labour Dimensions and Emotional Exhaustion. Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardised T Sig Coefficient B Std. Error Beta 1 Constant 13.025 .885 - 14.720 .000 Surface Acting .185 .074 .142 2.518 .012* Deep Acting -.027 .075 -.020 -.363 .717 a. Dependent Variable: Emotional Exhaustion b. F value = 3.217, R2 = .019, ** p<.001, * p<.05 The Table 4.3.1 above indicate that the F (2,334) = 3.217, p < 0.05, indicates that the model is significantly fit. Besides, surface acting (β = .142, p < .05) significantly and positively predicted emotional exhaustion among media practitioners. However, deep acting dimension of emotional labour (β = -.020, p > 0.05) did not significantly predict emotional exhaustion. The analysis also indicates that the two dimensions of emotional labour (surface and deep acting) accounted for approximately 2% of the variance in the emotional exhaustion of the media practitioners. 130 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 4.3.2: Summary Coefficient of Emotional Labour Dimensions and General Wellbeing. Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardised T Sig. Coefficient B Std. Error Beta 1 Constant 19.444 .792 - 24.552 .000 Surface Acting -.207 .066 -.174 -3.115 .002** Deep Acting .118 .067 .098 1.760 .079 a. Dependent Variable: General Wellbeing b. F value = 5.331, R2 = .031, ** p<.001, * p<.05 From Table 4.4.2 above, it is evident that the model is statistically significant [F (2, 334) = 5.331, p < .01]. In terms of the predictors, surface acting (β = -.174, p < .01) significantly and negatively predicted general wellbeing whereas deep acting (β = .098, p > .05) did not predict general wellbeing significantly. The results also reveal that about 3% of the variance in the general wellbeing of the media practitioners is explained by the two emotional labour dimensions. The results partially support the research hypothesis [Surface acting will have a more significant relationship with psychological health (psychological distress, general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion) than deep acting] in that surface acting predicted emotional exhaustion and general wellbeing but not psychological distress. However, deep acting was not significantly related to all three variables of psychological health. 131 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Hypothesis Two This hypothesis sought to examine the mediation role of emotional dissonance, psychological effort and occupational display culture in the relationship between emotional labour and psychological health. The hypothesis was stated specifically as: H2: Emotional dissonance, psychological effort, and occupational display culture will mediate the relationship between emotional labour (surface and deep acting) and psychological health (psychological distress, emotional exhaustion and general wellbeing). Observing the correlation matrix in Table 4.3 above, it is evident emotional dissonance and occupational display culture did not relate significantly with both the independent variable (emotional labour) and the dependent variables (emotional exhaustion, general wellbeing and psychological distress). However, psychological effort significantly related with emotional labour, emotional exhaustion and psychological distress. To this end, only psychological efforts was used in the mediation analysis and the results are shown in the table below. Table 4.4 Mediation Results Relationships Unstandardized Coefficients t p-value IV & Mediator Mediator & DV B Std. Error B Std. Error SA – PE - PD .17 .05 -.22 .15 1.35 .18 SA - PE - EE .17 .05 .22 .08 2.08 .03* *p< .05; SA(Surface Acting);PE(Psychological Effort), PD(Psychological Distress);EE(Emotional Exhaustion) Table 4.4 shows the summary of the results of the Sobel test of mediation which confirms the expectation of this study. The mediation of psychological effort on surface acting and psychological distress relationship is not significant (t = 1.35, p = .18). However, psychological effort was found to significantly mediate the relationship between surface 132 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh acting and emotional exhaustion (t = 2.08, p < .05). There was a significant relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion. This suggest that psychological effort partially mediates the relation between surface acting and emotional exhaustion. Hypotheses Three This hypothesis sought to examine the moderating role of religiosity, coping strategies and social support in the relationship between emotional labour and psychological health. The hypothesis was stated specifically as: H3: Religiosity, coping, and social support will moderate the relationship between emotional labour (surface acting and deep acting) and psychological health (psychological distress, general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion). To test the hypothesis that religiosity, coping strategies and social support moderates the relationship between emotional labour (deep acting and surface acting) and psychological health (psychological distress, general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion), moderation analysis using conditional process by Hayes (2013) was conducted. The summary results of the interaction effects are presented in Tables 4.5.1 to 4.5.3 Table 4.5.1: Summary Results of the Moderation Analysis on the Relationship between Surface Acting and Psychological Distress Interaction Effects Β t P Surface acting * Religiosity -.13 -2.67 .00* Surface acting * Coping strategies .06 .82 .41 Surface acting * Social support -.07 -1.20 .23 Outcome variable: Psychological Distress, * p<.01, **p<.05 133 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 4.5.2: Summary Results of the Moderation Analysis on the Relationship between Surface Acting and General Wellbeing Interaction Effects β t P Surface acting * Religiosity -.04 -.50 .61 Surface acting * Coping strategies -.10 -1.16 .25 Surface acting * Social support -.06 -.91 .36 Outcome variable: General Wellbeing, * p<.01, **p<.05 Table 4.5.3: Summary Results of the Moderation Analysis on the Relationship between Surface Acting and Emotional Exhaustion Interaction Effects β t p Surface acting * religiosity .15 3.23 .00* Surface acting * coping -.02 -.32 .75 Surface acting * social support -.07 -.37 .17 Outcome variable: Emotional Exhaustion, * p<.01, **p<.05 Tables 4.5.1 to 4.5.3 shows that most of the moderation variables did not interact with emotional labour and the outcome variables. For instance, coping strategies did not significantly moderate the relationship between surface acting and the psychological health variables of psychological distress (β= .06, p > 0.05), general wellbeing (β=-.10, p > 0.05) and emotional exhaustion (β=-.02, p > 0.05). Similarly, there was no significant moderation of social support on the relationship between surface acting and the psychological variables of psychological distress (β=-.07, p > 0.05), general wellbeing (β=-.06, p > 0.05) and emotional exhaustion (β=-.07, p > 0.05). However, religiosity significantly moderated the 134 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh relationship between surface acting and psychological distress (β= -1.3, p < 0.01) as well as emotional exhaustion (β= .15, p <0.01) but not general wellbeing (β=-.04, p > 0.05). The significant moderation effect of religiosity on the relationship between surface acting and psychological distress as well as emotional exhaustion are depicted in Figure 4.1 and 4.2 below respectively. 0.6 0.4772 0.5 0.4 0.3155 0.3 0.2 0.1539 0.1 0.0463 0.0097 -0.0268 0 -0.1 1 2 3 -0.2 -0.2961 -0.3 -0.3846 -0.2076 -0.4 -0.5 Surface Acting Low Religiosity Normal Religiosity High religiosity Figure 4.1: Moderation Effect of Religiosity on the Relationship between SA and PD Examination of the interaction plot in Figure 4.1 shows a buffering effect that as surface acting and religiosity increased, psychological distress reduced. At low surface acting, psychological distress was higher for media practitioners who are more religious and lower for media practitioners who are less religious. Media practitioners with high level of religiosity who engage in more surface acting had a reduced psychological distress. 135 Psychological Distress University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 0.2 0.1528 0.102 0.0839 0.1093 0.1 -0.0107 0.0658 0 1 2 3 4 -0.1 -0.1308 -0.1054 -0.2 -0.3 -0.3635 -0.4 Surface Acting Low Religiosity Normal Religiosity High Religiosity Figure 4.2: Moderation Effect of Religiosity on the Relationship between SA and EE Figure 4.2 above depicts the moderation effect of religiosity on the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion (EE). At low surface acting, emotional exhaustion was greater for media practitioners with low religiosity and lesser for those who are more religious. However, when surface acting increases, emotional exhaustion drops for media practitioners with low religiosity and increases significantly for those with high levels of religiosity. Table 4.6.1: Summary Results of the Moderation Analysis on the Relationship between Deep Acting and Psychological Distress Interaction Effects β t p Deep Acting * Religiosity -.09 -1.31 .19 Deep Acting * Coping Strategies .08 1.74 .08 Deep Acting * Social Support -.04 -.55 .56 Outcome variable: Psychological Distress, * p<.01, **p<.05 136 Emotional Exhaustion University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 4.6.2: Summary Results of the Moderation Analysis on the Relationship between Deep Acting and General Wellbeing Interaction Effects β t p Deep Acting * Religiosity -.07 -.84 .40 Deep Acting * Coping Strategy -.12 -1.75 .08 Deep Acting * Social Support -.02 -.26 .79 Outcome variable: General Wellbeing, * p<.01, **p<.05 Table 4.6.3: Summary Results of the Moderation Analysis on the Relationship between Deep Acting and Emotional Exhaustion Interaction Effects β t p Deep Acting * Religiosity -.07 -.84 .40 Deep Acting * Coping Strategy .06 1.08 .28 Deep Acting * Social Support -.02 -.26 .79 Outcome variable: Emotional Exhaustion, * p<.01, **p<.05 Results shown in Tables 4.6.1, 4.6.2 and 4.6.3 indicate that the relationship between deep acting and psychological health (psychological distress, general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion) was not moderated. Specifically, religiosity did not significantly moderate the relationship between deep acting and psychological distress (β=-.09, p > 0.05), general wellbeing (β=-.07, p >0.05), Emotional exhaustion (β=-.07, p>0.05). Similarly, coping strategy did not significantly moderate the relationship between deep acting and psychological distress (β=.08, p >0.05), general wellbeing (β=-.12, p >0.05) and emotional exhaustion (β=.06, p > 0.05). Likewise, social support did not significantly moderate the relationship between deep acting and psychological distress (β=-.04, p>0.05), general wellbeing (β=-.02, p >0.05) and emotional exhaustion (β=-.02, p >0.05). 137 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Thus, the hypothesis was partially supported. Religiosity only moderated the relationship between surface acting and psychological distress and emotional exhaustion but not general wellbeing. However, none of the moderators was significant in the relationship between deep acting and the psychological distress, general wellbeing as well as emotional exhaustion. Hypothesis Four Hypothesis four investigated the relationship between emotional labour (surface acting and deep acting) and work outcomes, namely turnover intentions and job satisfaction. Thus, it was stated as: H4: Emotional labour will relate to turnover intentions and job satisfaction. From the correlation matrix in Table 4.2, there was no significant negative correlation between surface action and turnover intention (r= 0.1, p =.41) as well as job satisfaction (r=.08, p =.07). Similarly, there was no significant negative correlation between deep acting and turnover intention (r=-.09, p =.05) as well as job satisfaction (r=-.02, p =.36). The results therefore did not support the hypothesis. This result indicates that at least within the Ghanaian context, emotional labour does not affect the satisfaction level of media practitioners and their intention to quit their current jobs. Figure 4.3 is a revised model after testing predictors on outcome variables. 138 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh RELIGIOSITY PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS -.29 SURFACE .15 .14 EMOTIONAL A CTING EXHAUSTION -.19 PSYCHOLOGICAL GENERAL WELLBEING EFFORT Figure 4.3: Observed Model of Predictors and Outcome Variables Figure 4.3 is a diagrammatic representation of a revised model after subjecting the proposed framework to statistical test. From the observed model, surface acting directly predicted emotional exhaustion and indirectly through the mediator variable, psychological effort. There was a direct prediction of surface acting on general wellbeing. Religiosity moderated the relationship between emotional labour and emotional exhaustion and moderated emotional labour to predict psychological distress. 4.3 Summary of Study One Findings In this study, four main hypotheses were established to determine the relationship between emotional labour (surface and deep acting) and psychological health (psychological distress, general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion). 139 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh First, it was revealed that surface acting significantly predicted general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion but not psychological distress. However, deep acting did not significantly predict any of the psychological health variables, namely, psychological distress, emotional exhaustion and general wellbeing. Therefore, the first hypothesis was partially supported. Second, it was established that psychological effort indirectly mediates the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion. This means that media practitioners who surface act can directly experience emotional exhaustion and indirectly through psychological effort. However, the other mediators, emotional dissonance and occupational display culture, did not mediate the relationship between emotional labour (surface acting and deep acting) and psychological health (psychological distress, general wellbeing, and emotional exhaustion). Thus, the third hypothesis was not fully supported. Third, among the moderators (religiosity, coping, and social support) tested on the relationship between emotional labour (surface acting and deep acting) and psychological health (psychological distress, general wellbeing, and emotional exhaustion), only religiosity significantly moderated the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion as well as psychological distress. For surface acting and psychological distress, the relationship was not significant. However, with the interaction of religiosity and surface acting that relationship was found to be significant on Psychological distress. Analysis of the conditional effects revealed that, media practitioners who engage in more surface acting and are more religious tend to reduce their psychological distress. Moreover, religiosity interacted with surface acting to predict emotional exhaustion. An examination of the conditional effect suggests that, when surface acting is low, emotional exhaustion is worse for those media 140 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh practitioners who are less religious but better for those who are more religious. However, when surface acting is high, emotional exhaustion is better for media practitioners who are less religious but worse for those who are more religious. Hence the third hypothesis was also partially supported. Finally, it was found that both surface acting and deep acting were not significantly related to turnover intentions and job satisfaction. This suggests that work outcomes like job satisfaction and turnover intentions are not as a result of the experience of emotional labour within the Ghanaian context. Therefore, the fourth hypothesis was rejected. 4.4 Discussion of Quantitative Findings This part of the study discusses the main findings of the study with reference to theory and literature. In hypothesis one, the researcher tested the predictive strength of emotional labour dimensions (Surface and Deep Acting) on media practitioners psychological health (distress, exhaustion, and general wellbeing). First, it was revealed that surface acting significantly predicted general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion but not psychological distress. However, deep acting did not significantly predict any of the psychological health variables, namely, psychological distress, emotional exhaustion and general wellbeing. What this means is that hypothesis one was partially supported. The predictive strength of surface acting over deep acting suggest that employees in the media industry are more susceptible to the former dimension of emotional labour than the latter. Even though in both dimensions, display rules do not come spontaneously, the persona is required to manage how to behave outwardly in both cases. Among media practitioners, the present finding indicate that they surface act most of the time as they shoulder their work role. What this means is that media practitioners in 141 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Ghana usually do not modify their inner feelings but attempt to match their outward demeanour to professionally accepted displays. The maintenance of inner feelings and modification of display rules in the surface acting process by media practitioners experience an incongruence called emotional dissonance (Grandey, 2003). Such employees who surface act will experience an inner tension because of the divergence between the inner feelings (irritation) and outward expressions (let say smiles). Such behavioural display has been termed “faking in bad faith” by Rafaeli and Sutton (1987, p.32). The surface acting dimension of emotional labour predicted employee general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion. The more media practitioners engage in surface acting, the more it affects their general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion. This finding is consistent with some previous studies (Adelmann, 2016; Al-sarkal, 2006; Bogdan et al., 2016; Brotheridge & Grandey, 2002; Brown, 2010; Grandey, 2003; Erickson & Ritter, 2011; Jafar, 2012; Kinman et al., 2011; Liebenberg, 2011; Gopolan et al., 2012 , Naqvi, 2013; Rathi et al., 2015; Yang et al., 2014). With the exception of Adelmann, (2016), all the other researchers found surface acting to affect emotional exhaustion and general wellbeing of employees in other service sectors. The corroborative findings of the present study add to the available literature on emotional labour studies from the collectivistic settings. In the Ghanaian setting, media practitioners are held in high esteem and even considered as celebrities. Apart from this hero status, media practitioners may have been surface acting to appear optimally professional. One of the industries in Ghana with higher levels of poaching is the media industry. Media practitioners may continue to vigorously surface act so as to increase their chances of being poached or swung from one media house to another competitive one. Media practitioners in their quest to satisfy the expectations of employers and the general public, are faced with a lot of demands. These demands such as expressing varying emotions with varying intensity, 142 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh emotional regulation, smiling to angry client reactions, hiding or enhancing unacceptable and acceptable emotions, largely contribute to emotional labour experiences. These challenges invariably have some effects on an employee’s wellbeing and emotional exhaustion as revealed by this study. Gelderen et al. (2010) and Adelman (2016) found contradictory findings as far as emotional labour and employee wellbeing is concerned. In the case of Adelmann (2016), employees with emotional harmony had a better wellbeing even though they experienced surface acting. Adelmann’s (2016) finding suggests that employees’ available resources can alter the extent and nature of effect (Hobfoll, 2001). Consistent with Grandey (2003), Gopolan et al. (2010), and Fu (2015) deep acting did not predict any of the psychological health dimensions. In agreement with Grandey (2003), deep acting appear to be a response to work demands. This may be all the more so in the Ghanaian environment. Many Ghanaians decipher to go beyond their normal job descriptions for the common good of their colleague employee and organization (Agyemang & Asumeng, 2013). Deep acting therefore can be viewed as one of the deciphering efforts by Ghanaian employees to remain employed. It is plausible that the conceptualization of deep acting may be a setting specific description of emotional state. Deep acting appear to be more of a helpful work related behavior among Ghanaians. It is not surprising that it did not receive support in the Ghanaian context. In hypothesis two, it was postulated that emotional dissonance, psychological effort, and occupational display culture will mediate the relationship between emotional labour dimensions and psychological health dimensions. Apart from psychological effort, the other mediators, emotional dissonance and occupational display culture, did not mediate the 143 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh relationship between emotional labour (surface acting and deep acting) and psychological health (psychological distress, general wellbeing, and emotional exhaustion). Thus, the third hypothesis was not fully supported. It was established that psychological effort indirectly mediate the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion. This means that media practitioners who ‘surface act’ can directly experience emotional exhaustion and indirectly through psychological effort. Grandey (2003) and Matinez-inigo et al. (2007) captured in their research that effort in the labouring process should be critical to cementing the effect of emotional labour. However, they failed to fully develop this critical component. The present study repositioned the effort put in the emotional labouring process as psychological effort and tested it as a construct. This inherent amount of mental energies expensed in performing surface or deep acting affected employees’ emotional exhaustion. Psychological effort proved to be a better mediator than the already established emotional dissonance (Abraham, 1998; Baker & Heuven, 2016; Cheung & Cheung, 2013; Rafaeli & Sutton, 1987; Sawang et al., 2009) and occupational display culture or rules (Carrasco, 2014; Hochschild, 1983; Matinez-inigo et al., 2007). What this means is that the amount of psychological strength exerted in any emotionally demanding situation is stronger as a mediator of emotional labour than the person-role conflict (dissonance) experienced. The Ghanaian context and the sample considered in this study may have contributed to this addition to literature. Emotional labour could be viewed as a bi-phasic effortful process (Brotheridge & Lee, 2002). The emotional labouring experience is an effortful process that simultaneously drains mental resources and psychological and requires much mental strength to recover or regain other resources. Psychological effort is critical in each of these two scenarios in the emotional labouring process. The relevance of psychological effort in 144 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh emotional labour research can be pivoted to the basic assumptions of the CoR and JD-R theory (Hobfoll, 1989; 2001; Demerouti et al., 2001). The theory of CoR and JD-R acknowledge that the disparity between work demands and available resources has mammoth implications for employees’ overall health condition. Much psychological effort is thus required from employees to successfully stabilize themselves. Hypothesis three stated that “Religiosity, coping, and social support will moderate the relationship between emotional labour (surface acting and deep acting) and psychological health (psychological distress, general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion)”. Among the moderators (religiosity, coping, and social support) tested on the relationship between emotional labour (surface acting and deep acting) and psychological health (psychological distress, general wellbeing, and emotional exhaustion), only religiosity significantly moderated the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion as well as psychological distress. For surface acting and psychological distress, the relationship was not significant. However, with the interaction of religiosity and surface acting, that relationship was found to be significant on Psychological distress. Hence the third hypothesis was also partially supported. The role of the coping and social support when compared to literature is academically intriguing with its contradictory findings. Social support and coping did not directly or indirectly predict psychological health with Ghanaian media practitioners. Kovacs et al., (2010), Kinman et al. (2011), Liebenberg (2011), Hamaideh (2012), and Naqvi (2013) all found coping and social support to reduce the effects of emotional labour. The contradictory finding of the present study rather deepens the inconsistencies in emotional labour research. The findings of the qualitative study plausibly explain the rationale for the non-support of social support and coping among media practitioners in Ghana. The chapter five of this report offer explanations on this finding and is further discussed in chapter six. 145 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh As expected, religiosity moderated the relationship between surface acting and two of the three dimensions of psychological health – emotional exhaustion and psychological distress. This finding is in consonance with some past researches (e.g., Anim, 2015; Kovacs et al., 2010; Oti-Boadi, 2015). The interaction effect of religiosity on the relationship between surface acting and psychological health as put out by Hayes’ (2013) moderation analysis, rather present some interesting details. Analysis of the conditional effects revealed that media practitioners who engage in more surface acting and are more religious tend to have reduced levels of psychological distress (Figure 4.1). The devastating effects of surface acting has been well cemented in the literature (e.g., Abraham, 1999; Grandey, 2000, Hochschild, 1983). Most Ghanaians are committed to normative religious beliefs and worship of a deity (Assimeng, 2010; Gyekye, 1996). With about 90% of the Ghanaian population being of Christian and Muslim faith, it was expected that religiosity play a buffer role in reducing the effects of emotional labour among Ghanaian media practitioners. Resorting to such resource tend to give employees a sense of hope, resilience, and strength to continue on their work role. Most Ghanaian media practitioners may resort to firm religious practices as a way of reappraising the emotional demands they face in their day to day operations. The qualitative study findings illustrate and lend support to the religiously inclined nature of the study sample and how staying and engaging in religious practices tend to affect their demeanour and health outlook. It is therefore not surprising that given the taxing demands the more religious media practitioners become reduces their psychological distress. Religiosity also interacted with surface acting to predict emotional exhaustion (Figure 4.2). An examination of the conditional effect suggests that, when surface acting is low, emotional exhaustion is worse for those media practitioners who are less religious but better for those who are more religious. Even with low surface acting by media practitioners, the cumulative 146 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh effects could have a toll on psychological health. It is not surprising that lower levels of religiosity worsened the emotional exhaustion of media practitioners. The other side of the religious interaction appears strange when compared to literature. When surface acting is high, emotional exhaustion is better for media practitioners who are less religious but worse for those who are more religious. As to why high levels of surface acting worsen employees’ emotional exhaustion state with more religious inclinations, it is plausible to suggest that religiosity as a resource depending on the nature of practices and the amount of time invested can compound the demands descending on the individual employee. Reasonably, if majority of the 92.6% of Christian based faith respondents of the study were of the charismatic orientation, then very likely, over-investment of their limited time to religious activities in itself tend to become a stressor adding to the emotional demands. In addition, many Christian religious bodies engage in routine practices such as jumping continuously (as a way of spiritually stepping on the devil), caning (of the devil), and moving to and fro in a given space dedicated to prayers. Such religious routines and practices could be physically and mentally draining. Such over-time and physically rigorous religious practices may lead to resource losses which invariably hampers on their level of emotional exhaustion. It is also possible that some employees may devote so much time in religious activities but may not be fully immersed with the substance of applying the gems of hope and resilience religious affiliation offers. Conversely, since media practitioners on the average work more than 8 hours (as revealed by the qualitative study), it is possible that those who experience higher levels of emotional labour but are less religious may have other sources of resource such as psychological capital at the personal level that tend to strengthen them. It is also possible that even with those with less religious engagement applies the gems of religious support and hence tend to benefit 147 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh more leading to a reduction in emotional exhaustion levels. Overall, religiosity appears to have supported employees confronted with emotional demands, allowing them to strengthen their coping capabilities to prevent them from being overwhelmed with psychological distress and emotional exhaustion. Hypothesis four stated that “Emotional labour (surface and deep acting) will relate to turnover intentions and job satisfaction”. It was found that both surface acting and deep acting were not significantly related to turnover intentions and job satisfaction. This suggests that work outcomes like job satisfaction and turnover intentions are not as a result of the experience of emotional labour within the Ghanaian context. Therefore, the fourth hypothesis was rejected. What this finding means is that in the Ghanaian media industry, job satisfaction and turnover intentions are not determined by emotional labour demands. This finding contradicts a number of studies in the western literature. A number of studies (e.g., Abraham, 1999; Ashkanasy, Hartel & Daus, 2002; Botheridge & Lee, 2002; Cigantesco et al., 2003; Cote & Morgan, 2002; Grandey, 2000; Daus & Munz, 2005; Hsu, 2012; Kogovasek & Kogovsek, 2010; Scott & Barnes, 2011) have suggested that turnover intentions is an outcome of emotional labour. Grandey (2000) was of the view that managing emotion tend to increase the individual’s physiological arousal which invariably can lead to intensions to quit. Similarly, the work of Cote and Morgan also (2002) found that the suppression of unpleasant emotions decreases job satisfaction and hence increases intentions to leave the organization. Mahdi, Zin, Nor, Sakat and Naim, (2012) also proposed that when employees view their jobs as interesting though challenging, they are likely to experience a positive emotional state, get committed to their jobs thereby reduction in their intention to leave their organization. 148 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The present finding on work outcomes is well in line with Al-sarkal (2006) and Rathi et al. (2015) who also asserted that there is a negative relationship between turnover intentions and job satisfaction. From the collectivistic background of Al-sarkal (2006) and Rathi et al. (2015), it is plausible to argue that emotional labour appear to be unique to individualistic culture. The Ghanaian sample are collectivistic in nature. It is therefore not surprising that the findings of the present study corroborates well with other studies (Al-sarkal, 2006; Rathi et al., 2015). Furthermore, the contradiction in findings can plausibly be attributed to the socio-economic climate in Ghana. Ghana has been experiencing power outages as a results of energy generation challenges within the past decade. This development has led to many private organizations laying off workers due to the high cost of production. The public sector as part of the International Monitory Fund bailout support conditionalities has also activated freezing of employment. The steady increase in cost of living and the rate of unemployment especially among graduates is a deterrent for the already employed to think of quitting their job because of emotional labour. With over 70 tertiary institutions, the job market is currently full of unemployed graduates and this is an incentive enough for employees to rather decipher, stay and cope with challenging emotions rather than to quit. Such multiple socio-economic challenges make many Ghana employees develop and build tenacity to stay on a seemingly bad job while searching for a better option. Conclusion The quantitative study partially supported some of the hypotheses while others were not. The foremost result from the quantitative study was that surface acting significantly predicted general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion but not psychological distress. It was also found 149 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh that psychological effort indirectly mediates the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion. Third, religiosity significantly moderated the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion as well as psychological distress. No significant relationship was found between emotional labour and work outcomes (job satisfaction and turnover intentions). Even though the present findings have valuable additions to literature, from a contextual perspective, merely having statistical significance or not is inadequate in understanding emotional labour experiences of Ghanaians. Some of the findings of the quantitative studies (the interactive role of religiosity) were complemented with explorations of the qualitative studies. The concurrency of quantitative study with the qualitative one was deemed theoretically helpful to confirm, disconfirm or flesh-up findings of the quantitative study. Saliency analysis of the qualitative study also led to some surprising findings which are further discussed in chapter six of this report. 150 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FIVE QUALITATIVE RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 5.1 Introduction The main aim of the qualitative study was to explore the lived- experiences of electronic media practitioners on emotional labour. This chapter presents justification for carrying out the qualitative study, briefly highlights the analytical tool employed, and delve into the meanings media practitioners assign to emotional labour, why they engage in it, who are the influencing actors, psychological health/effects raised, and coping strategies usually employed. Using relevant meanings (quotes) expressed by participants, the main findings of the qualitative study has been underscored and discussed succinctly as the researcher endeavours to look inside participants’ shared experiences as well as observations from electronic media crew. To aid in identification of the source of quotations, relevant quotes or comments have been labeled with codes. The letter ‘P’ refers to the word ‘Participant’. The use of the letter ‘P’ is accompanied with figures ranging from 1 to 13. For instance, ‘P1’ refers to “Participant number 1”. The participant and number description are usually followed with some demographic descriptions which tend to add meaning to the persona who made those narrations. For instance ‘P6, Male manager with 33 years’ experience’ help explain from managerial expertise point of view, some behavioral patterns of subordinates as far as emotional challenges are concerned. 5.2 Results The main themes obtained from analyzing the 13 interview data are presented with illustrative narratives of the participants themselves. The above results is pillared against the set 151 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh objectives of the qualitative part of the study. The findings from the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis results are presented in two different ways. Foremost, the researcher shares IPA findings from micro-textual interview data and succinctly unveil results from the structured covert observation data. 5.2.1 Relevant Demographics of Participants The qualitative part of this study engaged 13 participants on a one-on-one basis. The participants reflected varying viewpoints worthy of consideration. Table 5.0 provide details of participants’ demographics. 152 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 5.0 Relevant Demographics of Participants Resp. Sex Age Marital Religion Position Job Title Years of Employment ID Status Media Practice Sector P1 M 38 yrs. Married Christian Non-Manager Producer 8 yrs. Public P2 M 55 yrs. Married Moslem Non-Manager Reporter 20 yrs. Public P3 M 29 yrs. Single Christian Non-Manager News Anchor/Report 6 yrs. Public P4 M 35 yrs . Single Christian Non-Manager Editor/Anchor 9 yrs. Public P5 F 32 yrs . Married Christian Manager Host/Editor/ Bro. Jour. 9 yrs. Public P6 M 57 yrs . Married Christian Manager Dep. Director TV/Editor 33yrs. Public P7 M 40 yrs . Married Moslem Manager Editor & Broadcast Jour. 14 yrs. Public P8 M 42 yrs . Married Christian Non-Manager Presenter/Producer 19 yrs. Private P9 M 53 yrs . Married Christian Manager Producer/Programmer 12 yrs. Private P10 F 32 yrs . Married Christian Manager Broadcast Journalist 14 yrs. Private P11 F 34 yrs . Single Christian Non-Manager News Anchor/Broadcast J. 8 yrs. Private P12 F 28 yrs . Single Christian Non-Manager News Anchor/Producer 6 yrs. Private P13 M 33 yrs . Married Christian Non-Manager News Anchor/Reporter 9 yrs. Private N= 13 * Codes: ‘P’ means Participant; ‘M’ refers to Male participant & ‘F’ refers to Female participant 153 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Out of the 13 participants, 7 of them were from the Public sector and 6 from the private sector. This trend of almost an average representation in the data gathered is not surprising. Not until about three decades ago, media practice was deemed a public-centered work role. With the switch from military rule and adoption of true democracy and the birth of the 1992 constitution of Ghana, freedom of speech and press freedom led to the establishment of Radio Eye- the first unofficial private radio station- in Ghana in 1994. This background arguably explains well why the most experienced participant (P6, with 33 years’ experience) is from the public sector. Connectedly, it is plausible why all 6 participants from the private sector had work experience within two decades (the least being 6 years and the highest being 19 years). All 13 participants had some level of religious attachment with 2 of them being Muslims and 11 being Christians. This is not surprising as Ghana is known to be one of the most religious countries in the world with those professing Christian faith totaling 71.2% and Muslims faith totaling 17.6% (Ghana Statistical Service, 2012). Majority of Ghanaians enjoy an atmosphere characterized by religious activities. It may be arguable but evident that churches or mosques (religious locations) be found within a reasonable radius of about 500 meters in some parts of Ghana (Rockson, 2014). Religious practice is deemed part and parcel of the life of the average Ghanaian. For instance, both churches and Muslims make noise usually above required decibel units either as part of worship (singing and praying) or as a call to worship duty (an amplified shout to announce time for prayer) near residential facilities or even hospitals, yet deemed normal in Ghana. In the view of Assimeng (1999), the religious environment shapes and influence the attitudes and value system of Ghanaians. There appears to be peaceful co-existence and harmony between all religious practitioners in Ghana. It is not surprising that this is amply reflected in the media industry of Ghana. 154 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Interestingly, the present study engaged only 4 females as against 9 males. This trend may have been the situation as the study aimed at sampling those with not less than 5 years’ work experience. Not until recently, the demands of media practice were deemed a male dominated job. Many women in their attempt to balance work with family avoided the media work as one may have to work for an unstructured time period usually in the range of 8 to 12 hours. This was exemplified by one respondent who has been in the media industry for almost four decades when he said: ….so an outfit that has female dominated, it is the first time that has female dominated, I can’t explain. When I came to GBC and I joined there were only 3 women in the news room and because of the demands of the job women normally don’t last…. most of them are very young, they are now becoming mothers so you can understand the pressure that comes with first mothers, professionals, balancing, not coming to work early and so you begin to ask whether at the end to the day why the dynamics and changes in demography, characteristics of our working population, because there are more women than men, there are going to be more women in the workforce…(P6, manager with 33 years in media practice). A female participant who is also a mother with over 9 years working experience realistically shared her lived-experience which corroborated the expressions of the most experienced participant (P6, manager with 33 years in media practice) and said: …I lost someone who was very dear to me, I lost a mother-in-law. This was somebody who had cancer errr of the brain and we were a family and myself, myself especially I’m a woman, I go to the hospital, I would bath her, clean her, give her her drugs and I was combining that with my family and work, that was one of the most terrible moments of my life … sometimes I would cry in my car, wipe my face, make-up, then I remember that I have a visitor, a guest for my show at 4.... so for me on an average if I take 24 hours maybe I would just take my 8hours of sleep out and maybe three or four hours for cooking and bathing the rest are for work, maybe more than 15 hours a day , it’s always all about the job (P5, mother, wife, & a care- giver with 9 years’ work experience). The shared practical experience by the above female practitioner (P5, mother, wife, & a care- giver with 9 years’ work experience) on work-life integration challenges they face is a clear manifestation as to why there seem to be very few female experienced hands in media practice 155 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh in Ghana. Notwithstanding these challenges, it is intriguing to note that of the five managers engaged, two of them were enduring females with an average of about eleven and a half years in media practice. 5.2.2 Main Findings of the Micro-textual Interview Data This section of the study addresses five main objectives set for the qualitative study. In presenting findings, the researcher exemplifies the meanings media practitioners assign to emotional labour from the Ghanaian context, elaborate on predisposing factors of emotional labouring experiences, the various emotions they exhibit, psychological effects of emotional labour, and coping strategies they adopt. Relevant illustrative narratives from the respondents are used to buttress main themes. The researcher adopted a psycho-sociological model in presenting results gleaned from the study. In effect, where practicable, the researcher molds his explanations of findings from the structural level (industry level- media industry), group level (sector/organizational level), inter-personal level (within group- colleagues, family and friends, and relevant others), and personal level (the self - employees). Of utmost importance and emphasis is how the three tier parts of the model culminate at the personal level where the individual becomes an active ingredient. 5.2.2.1 Meanings of Emotional Labour The concept of emotional labour appears to be an unknown construct from the Ghanaian context. For instance, of the five different conferences and colloquium presentations done on the topic, many Ghanaian conference attendees indicated the newness of emotional labour as a concept. With this in view, the foremost goal of the researcher was to find out meanings Ghanaian samples assign to emotional labour. McGuire (2002) orated that ‘meanings’ connotes the interpretation of situations, event or a phenomena in terms of some wider frame 156 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of reference. The reference here mentioned could imply the socio-cultural context, sample under consideration as well as the depth of varying experiences by participants with common strands of lived-experience. From the perspectives of the 13 participants, emotional labour was conceived to have a generic meaning which permeates all levels of the psycho-sociological model and two facets of emotional labour. The next section discusses the main theme and subthemes of the meanings assigned to emotional labour. Generic Level Meaning The researcher identified three key variants which reflect participants’ understanding of what emotional labour is when viewed at the structural (media industry) level. Participants conceived emotional labour to mean (a) “faking” and was principally defined as pretense and “living a lie”. The meanings assigned to emotional labour by participants hover around the same viewpoint. From the perspectives of broadcast journalist (who normally report emotionally charging stories and appear to be frontlines to incidents) (n = 4), emotional labour from media industry outlook, basically reflects ‘faking’. From an insider perspective, the participants themselves appear to flesh the meaning of faking with variant epithets -‘pretending’ (pretense) or ‘living a lie’. For instance, one public sector female practitioner with 9 years’ experience lamented: ….ooh yes, yes, faking is our life, I think it’s because there are times when you have serious problems even with your colleagues you are working with. I had a scenario where I was about to go off air and I asked the guest to rap-up then the one in charge, the director started playing a bumper or something so it was making noise whiles I was talking. I was visibly upset but I didn’t show that I was upset, I kept raising my voice above what he was doing… (P5, Female broadcast journalist with 9 years’ experience). 157 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh On another note, a private male media practitioner with 9 years’ in media practice alluded similarly and emphasized the extent to which faking was exemplified as a fulcrum of media practice when he said: …Yes, from a scale of 1-10. I will rate faking as 7, or probably even 8. Because if you are angry the viewer expects nothing than you coming in to give him or her the news. Whatever that happens in the back room, handle it. Even if it take 30 seconds to switch from an angry mode to a joyous mode, you need to navigate. I was on set reading the news at 6pm on …….. when I had the call that my father has passed. I had to compose myself and finish reading the news for one hour 6pm to 7pm before I had to go to the morgue and see his corpse. So when the story is playing, I will cry bit, come back and they polish me up. So after every story I was being made up because the tears couldn’t stop… (P13, Male Reporter/Host and News Anchor). Grieving the loss of a loved one in Ghana appears to be central and part of our social inheritance system of Ghana (Agyemang & Otoo, 2013) and tend to invariably affect the demeanor of the afflicted. One of the participants, a broadcast journalist with 14 years’ experience, explained how he had to behave in the middle of a television show when the death of a closest person was communicated to him by saying: …I was faking it, I was keeping up appearances that’s why I was saying I was calling on all my other exciting emotions to come and said be a man, I was constantly telling myself but inwardly I was praying, please, please clock move, move, let, when the text message came we had only done 15 minutes of the 1 hour show so I had 45 minutes to sit in through that trauma … I had to keep up a certain face but inwardly I was struggling. … it broke me down emotionally but I had to be strong for my audience (P7, Male broadcast journalist with 14 years’ experience). It is obvious from participant 7’s experience that emotional labour appears to be the order of the day. He alluded to the fact that he had to ‘keep up a certain face’ (acceptable face viewers and listeners endorse) for a period of 45 minutes. The persona even shares with us as a prelim, the woes of labouring emotionally when he uses phrases like ‘it was very traumatizing’ ‘Inwardly I was struggling’, and ‘it broke me down’. In effect, unexpected situations can on the spell of the moment impress upon a practitioner to emotionally labour to fulfil organizational or industry emotional behavioral display requirements. 158 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Defining Faking as ‘pretense’ From a careful analysis of participants viewpoints, emotional labour, conceptualized as faking was explained to mean ‘pretense’, and its variant forms ‘pretense blankets’, ‘keeping up appearances’, and ‘putting up performance’. The use of the variant forms ‘keeping up appearances’ and ‘putting up performance’ reflects the enhancement part of emotional labour theory. On a number of occasions, media practitioners deeply engage in pretense or pretends that all is well while on set or on the field so as to satisfy customer requirements. The self- expressive experiences of some participants vividly illustrates the extent to which faking (pretending) characterizes the work of media practitioners. One participant who is a news anchor and a broadcast journalist said ….so you pretend to be this person, so you do it and it is awkward and you are not yourself, so whenever you get nervous.... there was also a scenario that when I was in the morning team, I was told not to smile too much and not to laugh too much. So every day you are acting and you are never yourself. Because the job is full of pretends and stuffs. So every day you are finally pretending and maybe it might become like who you are. Because anytime that maybe I am like myself is when I am home and I am in my bedroom. Apart from that if I come out and it’s within 8-5pm then I am pretending... (P11, Female broadcast journalist with 8 years’ experience) Reflectively, the rationale for faking or pretending was revealed as a cradle requirement sanctioned at the macro (media industry) level. From an analytic point of view, some pretend to stay at post and prevent being relocated per the recommendations of some relevant others being it political adherents, management members, and/or owners of media houses. A female broadcast journalist had this to say: …but unfortunately the media houses that we operate are political in nature, you may have individuals but those individuals are politically connected and might want a certain disposition, so you can’t kowtow to that. But your boss want to maintain his or her job, you also want to continue what you do, so maybe take a step back a bit and see how it goes. So we are constantly not of ourselves and we are always pretending (P11, Female broadcast journalist with 8 years’ experience) 159 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Faking or pretending was perceived to be have been woven into the fabric of media practice to the point that most practitioners have come to live with it. By implication, pretending appears to be normal to many in the media practice. The youngest of the participants with 6 years’ work experience underscored this and said: ….My ability to adapt, I easily adapt, and well it comes from pretending for so long. Well you fake happiness, that happiness now becomes real even if it’s not…(P12, Female producer and presenter) Implicit in the P12’s quote above is the fact that even happiness is faked and the continuity of such pretense over time becomes normative consideration for most media practitioners. One can argue that faking happiness in itself may not be bad possibly in terms of its effects on viewers and listeners but the same participant complemented this argument by saying that: ….you have to pretend as if you are okay, because you can’t show your anger on set, it is not done. Because you are communicating to people and they don’t have to see you in that manner. You need to lie to yourself to appear well for your viewers and listeners…(P12, female presenter with 6 years’ experience) Inherent in the quote is the point that one need to keep switching between the good and the bad on an as and when basis usually within seconds. It is only by emotionally labouring this way can one shoulder his/her responsibility and appear well for viewers and listeners. Imbedded in this argument is the need to satisfy the customer. Every supplier of products or services endeavor to satisfy its customer. Media practitioners do same on an emotional level. Their skillful pretense of enhanced positively-viewed emotions or suppressed negatively- viewed emotions is a great manifestation of customer satisfaction. Defining Faking as ‘Living a lie’ What struck the researcher most is the definition of emotional labour as ‘faking’ explained as ‘living a lie’ or ‘pretense’ emerged from participants’ worldview. This was an epitomic description of how media practitioners ought to behave and live. From the viewpoint of these 160 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh practitioners, one cannot live for the ‘self’ but rather ‘the assumed self’ to satisfy job requirements and demands of perceived professional media practice. A media person’s ‘assumed self”- the media persona- is preferred and mirrored as the highest level of professionalism. A number of scenarios and word-picture illustrations were used by a majority of participants (n = 11) to home-in this point. Self-expressive quotes from participants 4, 5, 7, and 12 exemplifies and advances this argument when they said: So there are times you will not be yourself, if even you don’t take care you will go bankrupt because you have to live a certain life; you live in lie because you stand on TV and all your colleagues drive cars, if you don’t take care you will go and take a loan and go and buy a car or you decide that every day I will sit in ‘dropping’ (hired taxi- more expensive- as against public bus) and come. By the time you realize that it is your resources that are going …(P4, Male participant with 9 years’ experience) ……..media personnel portray a certain perfection so people see you as an icon and excited to see you, they see your story and they like it , …….they see you and they are happy to greet you but probably you are in a hurry to go to the market , I am doing my own thing am not allowed to express my own emotions, you are supposed to be this smiling TV personality all the time ….now the appearance and how you have to present yourself on air also puts extra pressure on your pocket. Say if you didn’t have a car and I remember when I didn’t have a car, you sit in a trotro and you could hear people whispering behind you but you know you are not ready to buy a car. So you find a lot of people, media people being pressured into just presenting what everybody wants to see (P5, Female manager with 9 years’ of experience). like the day my car was faulty and I thought well, I don’t have enough money to go ‘chattering’ (hiring) a taxi so why don’t I go for a trotro (public transport –mini bus) and ended up at circle (biggest transport station in the national capital) and there was a queue around 5:30 and I joined the queue, the same people I was in the queue with walked to me and said “enye wo na woy3 adwuma w) Ghana Television (GTV) no?, wo nso wo be y3 den w) ha”[speaking in twi- a local commercial dialect spoken by about 70% of Ghanaian] (are you not the man who works at GTV, you too what are you doing here?) as if okay, am I more human than you, are you less human than I am …..and then the conversation started, he is the one, talking about me and nobody had referred to me then, just talking about me, “eye onoa”, he is the one, he is not the one, oh he is the one who does this show, I saw him even yesterday but why is he sitting in a trotro… (P7, Male broadcast journalist with 14 years’ experience). …It’s nothing but the perception that we are materially ok has influenced us. And it affects us personally. But me I see that is worrying because we tend to live some lifestyle that we can’t afford….yeah, for instance with my salary, I am not getting GHS 2000.00 (about $450 per month) but every time I buy new cloths, buy new 161 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh shoes, to live by a particular standard and if I don’t have money of course I will try and do other things just to be able live like that…because you are communicating to people and they don’t have to see you in that manner. You need to lie to yourself to appear well for your viewers and listeners. (P12, female news anchor with 6 years’ experience) Participants 4, 5, 7, and 12’s experiences is a concise description of three main things. Foremost is the fact that both male and female practitioners have the pressure to conform to a ‘certain expected lifestyle’. Second, their innermost shared experiences sheds light on the push factors for their emotional labour experiences woven around ‘living a lie’ the sake of viewers (the public) and the ideals of the media industry and ultimate satisfaction of what the organization requires. The fact that media practitioners conceives emotional labour as faking also suggest that to them, it is about surface acting. Grandey (2003) referred to surface acting as faking component of emotional labour. Similarly, Rafaeli and Sutton, (1987) conceived surface acting as acting in bad faith. The public perception and its strength of influencing the emotional labour patterns of practitioners cannot be discounted. Participants’ 11 and 12, both female practitioners, even alluded to the point that some (likely female practitioners) may likely give in to licentious lifestyle (‘go for money however they will’ [P11] and ‘doing other things’ [P12]) in their attempt to match-up the competitive and conformitive lifestyle of the few well remunerated practitioners. Conclusively, media personnel seem to be influenced by the principle of self-fulfilling prophecy” (Pygamilion or Rosenthal effect) (Rosenthal, 2003). The beliefs of media practitioners about their profession appears to be reinforced by the actions of others (public and organization managers) and this tend to influence their actions and behavioral demeanor toward others. Such actions from media practitioners have the tendency to impact on the others (public and organizational managers) beliefs of these practitioners. Tersely, the 162 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh positive and negative feedback between media practitioners’ belief of their profession and viewer/listener acceptance behaviour shapes the way they live and behave. 5.2.2.1.1 Dimensions of Emotional Labour – Enhancement and Suppression The meanings of emotional labour as a two strand display pattern. Majority of the participants (n=12) seem to agree to having engaged in an enhancing or suppressive aspect of emotional labour. These two major aspects of emotional labour was summarized by the participant 4 when he said: “Sometimes you have to hide your emotions, sometimes you have to enhance it by wearing a smile, on an aggregate if this continues for a considerable number of time it can affect you in anyway .Yes, it will make me to always pretend. Sometimes I want to be me but I can’t… (P4, Male news anchor with 9 years’ of experience) Interestingly, many of the qualitative participants used word-pictures in capturing these dimensions of emotional labour. These word-pictures in themselves underscores the rationale for engaging in an aspect of emotional labour. 5.2.2.1.1.1 Enhancement Enhancement as a dimension of emotional labour emerged to basically mean ‘keeping up an appearance’, ‘holding oneself’, ‘living up to viewer/listener expected emotions’, ‘keep up a certain face’, and ‘putting up a brave face or performance’. A common thread in most of these descriptors of enhancement is the idea of ‘lifting up one’s emotions’ to portray largely positive and comfortable emotions and behavioral displays to clients. A number of quotes from some participants actually flesh-up these meanings assigned to the enhancement dimension of emotional labour. Participant 8 had this to say: …should I insult the person back, you see it’s a reality check, you are on air, my image is at stake, he is done, he is gone, he doesn’t care, he is a politician so I have to remember that I’m marketing myself so I need to hold myself, this is not like I am in my bedroom with a brother, a spouse or a friend, I’m on air, 1000s of people 163 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh might be listening, some self-discipline, some self-control has to be there, you don’t have control…what the person did probably, ordinarily could have driven me to also talk back or say something or even cast insinuations or insult but if you are able to hold yourself and say well, it’s unfortunate (P8, Male presenter with 19 years’ experience). Another female participant, (P12), emphasized that to stay afloat and appear competitive as a media practitioner, you need to keep lifting up your emotions. She made allusion to the fact that such enhancements is industry required when she said: In the media industry, you need to learn how to pretend and put up appearances. There is high sense of competition too (P12, Female news anchor) A public television host with fourteen years’ work experience clearly indicated the challenges of managing your emotional demands on the spare of the moment and illustrated when enhancement of emotions are much needed when he said: I was on air conducting an interview, live interview, then I belong to a WhatsApp group, then a message comes in, I won’t mention the name, that ABC is dead, close friend of mine, it just hit me like that but I couldn’t show my sorrow, I couldn’t cry…. I was keeping up appearances that’s why I was saying I was calling on all my other exciting emotions to come and said be a man, I was constantly telling myself but inwardly I was praying, please, please clock move, move, let, when the text message came we had only done 15 minutes of the 1 hour show so I had 45 minutes to sit in through that trauma so for 45 minutes all that was going through my mind was let the time go, let the time go and the 45 minutes appeared to me like 1 year, because it was very traumatizing, I had, you know, I had to keep up a certain face but inwardly I was struggling…. (P7, Host with over 14 years work experience). From the above shed experiences, media practitioners largely enhances their emotions to satisfy their job requirements and as a demonstration of higher level of professionalism in the media industry. 5.2.2.1.1.2 Suppression Suppression as a dimension of emotional labour was illustrated by participants as a contrast to enhancement. By suppression, participants try to ‘hide’ predominantly negative or 164 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh uncomfortable emotions or behavioral displays and endeavor to elicit viewer/listener accepted demeanor. Media practitioners in a picturesque gesture, presses down the unwanted behavioral displays. These efforts to suppress unwanted behavioral displays were summarized by participants 2, 3, and 13. ..what happened last year June 3rd (fire-flood disaster which claimed over 150 lives in the national capital), there was a story that I covered with my colleagues at the Mobil Fuel Station, in fact I tried hard to restrain myself from crying, seriously. This was a situation a woman nearly lost her baby to the flood because the room in which they were was flooded almost to the roof ….at that moment I cried but restrained my tears from coming out (P2, Male reporter with 20 years’ experience) Then I should be able to be strong and withstand challenges because if I’m weak, the carrier of the message is weak then who is going to send the information? Because the work of journalism is keep hiding in yourself and it’s going to continue to be so (P2, Male reporter with 20 years’ experience). I restrain the tears because the tears will be a physical appearance of weakness on my part so I told myself no, don’t let me expose this weakness to a woman who needs consolation, who needs people to empathize with her so I have to restrain myself (P2, Male reporter). The job does not allow you to have an opinion, in journalism your opinion as a journalist does not matter, you report the facts as they are and so you have to tame your emotions in your reporting ….you have to just keep it in. There are times I can be quarrelling with someone in the studio but when I see the camera coming I stop quarrelling and then I start reading (laughs) (P3, Male news anchor with 6 years’ experience). The previous example I cited about witnessing an accident would be a very perfect one. The emotions you are allowed to exhibit are those that are more of an empathetic ones to a situation. That is more of a social and human centered, the ones that you supposed to inhibit are those that will make you appear partial and biased towards a particular situation (P13, Male news anchor and host) The use of phrases such as ‘tame’, ‘inhibit’, ‘restrain’, ‘keep hiding’, and ‘keep it in’ to describe the suppressive part of emotional labour underscores the amount of psychological effort required to attain the right behavioral demeanor to please customers. One participant 165 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh endorsed the rationale for suppressing some emotions for the customer-desired one when he said: Anger? You can’t come on air and display anger, some presenters do it but it is not professional, it is not ethical, it is a difficult job so anger is one. Also, impatience, you see. Being on air is like becoming a god or some sort, it ought to be perfect because you become an exemplary figure, everybody looks at you, listen to you, what you say is almost like law on air (P8, Male presenter with 19 years’ experience). As illustrated by Participant 8, the “superlative figure’ one assumes once on set and/or on air, exert another sense of ethical pressure to act against the naturally desired emotional response. It is plausible that the extent and amount of effort dispensed in the suppressive process thus reflect negatively on media practitioners’ health. Figure 5.0 epitomizes the meanings’ structure as gleaned from participants of what emotional labour is. Figure 5.0 Meanings Assigned to Emotional Labour Figure 5.0 depicts the meaning Ghanaians assign to emotional labour. Faking explained as ‘living a lie’ or ‘pretense’ had two manifestations namely; enhancement and suppression. 166 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.2.2.2 Predisposing Factors Two superordinate themes emerged as predisposing factors that kept spurring media practitioners on with emotional labouring experiences. ‘Occupational Display Culture’ (ODC) and ‘Feedback/Pressure from the public’ emerged as the two main predisposing factors. These two main themes elaborate the rationale for the continual display of work- related behavioral displays. ‘Occupational Display Culture’ The major predisposing factor for engaging in emotional labouring experiences is the need to satisfy industry required behaviour as a means of meeting clientele (mostly viewers/listeners) expectations. Occupational display Culture basically refers to the tendency of media practitioners to act consistently to meet the behavioral portrayal demands of the media industry. The journalism profession sets its boundary of approved or acceptable behaviors and unacceptable ones. These abstract standards of professionalism is inherent in their training and thus reflected in who get recognized in their professional reward system. Participant 7 and 13 had this to say regarding these professional standards: “we are told that as journalists we don’t get involved in the situation, we don’t get so much involved in whatever is happening, you don’t get emotionally involved in whatever is happening” (P7, Male 14 years’ experience) Generally we are supposed to be non-emotional about. We are not supposed to show emotions, but then after reviewing media practices, there was a realization that you cannot have a media person not showing emotions about something that is obviously emotional when you are relating with the viewer (P13, Male news anchor and host) The experiences of participants 7 and 13 indicates that at the macro-level, media practitioners are required to act in conformity with industry sanctioned behaviors. Participant 8 complemented this view when he remarked: 167 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh “I cannot cry on air, that is not, I cannot cry, you just must not cry on air….. I mean it’s a no go area altogether, you cannot go there. Errrm, and even if you the presenter wanted to show the sad mood, other crew can but not yourself crying, you can’t show that you are sad “ (P8, Male Presenter with 19 years’ experience) Even though the media industry is prescriptive in what behavioral displays are deemed acceptable or not, there seem to be ponderous shift depending on the host’s experience and kind of story being done. This viewpoint was expressed by a news anchor and host with 9 years’ experience when he said: There are ethics of journalism that guides or the guidelines of journalism that we are taught… Previously we were supposed to be “straight-jacket”, stick to the script. Don’t even show emotions, don’t even smile but now I think with the media houses involved and we the media practitioners have been allowed to relax. The relax mode of the presentation on both radio and television tends to make the viewer relate to what you are doing a lot more easily. So if you do a story about a comedian, say Agya Koo, and after the story plays, the story is so funny and yet you keep a straight- jacket face, but if the viewer is laughing and the presenter is not laughing, there is a disconnect so you are allowed to laugh, but not so much in excess that will make the viewer to say you doing too much (P13, Male news anchor and host). Clearly, media practitioners in their bid to demonstrate industry conventions of professionalism, kowtow to occupationally acceptable standards of behaviors. “Feedback/Pressure from the Public” The interplay of public, organization, fellow employees, and even family and friends certainly add weight to predisposing factors of media practitioners’ emotional labouring experiences. Media practitioners endeavor to yield to the pressure (which usually comes as positive or largely negative feedbacks) emanating from their management/owners, colleague employees, public (especially social media active players and relevant others such as politicians) and family and friends. To remain competitive in the media industry therefore requires that they keep enhancing or suppressing their emotional displays in response to 168 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh feedbacks from the public, management members and/or colleagues as well as some relevant others. This trend was aptly described by participants 7, 10, and 11 when they said: …..when I came back from Somalia, I risk my live and went to Somalia (in a soft voice), a senior person sees me and says I didn’t know you are such a fool, as if he was joking. Let me say it the way he said it, “you I no know say you fool like wey you go mess up your life in Somalia” (P7, Male BJ reported on Somalia, Syria & Kuwait) There are several occasions that your boss sees something wrong when it comes to emotions, you know ours is television, it’s not like radio where you can even be emotional and nobody sees you but this one is television, you can understand (P10, Female broadcast journalist). Some of my colleagues. I remember the day I wanted to go and sleep at Sodom and Gomorrah (a popular slum in the national capital). So I decided to go and sleep there and look at how people lived their lives there. Now, a friend of mine, he is also my colleague said why would you want to go and do that, oh XYZ and we were two in the office doing these kinds of emotional stories, I’m sure you would know him, ABC, he is at Uganda now and he told me that XYZ paa, what are you going to sleep there for, that’s not necessary. I only laughed, I only kept quiet but I still went, did that story, it actually won me an award. So yes, there are times when people who live with you even discourage you (P11, Female broadcast journalist). At the interpersonal level, management members and colleague media practitioners add to the woes of respective practitioner and increases the extent of enhancing or suppressing some emotions. Majority of participants (n = 9) revealed that ‘social media’ a contemporary common pressure which seem to be penetrative and impactful on their disposition as media personnel. The double-edged nature of social media was clearly exemplified by participant 11 when she remarked: Firstly, your bosses will tell you that people send in messages on whether you did well or not. And now I think the biggest battle now is social media, where you are on TV and someone ask you why you fat, why is your stomach looks this way, why is she that, why does she talks the way she did, people constantly insults, they denigrate and just say horrible things to you. I don’t know they think you are not human beings that you don’t feel, they just go to your page and say bad stuffs about you. And instead of management being supportive they will rather use those comments against you. So I think there is a lot of ignorance, a lot of ignorance within the media circle…it hurts, because I am human. Especially when people make up stories that 169 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh are false, they just cook up stories to be able to sell their websites so you are there and you don’t have a voice (P11, Female broadcast journalist and news anchor). The experience of participant 11 indicates that largely, the feedbacks from the public via social media is largely negative and tend to exert pressure on the practitioner to keep labouring emotionally. The unobtrusiveness of social media commentators on the platforms of media practitioners make it easy for them to attack the personality and work-related behavioral deportment of practitioners. The extent to which social media shapes the behavioral posture of media practitioners was further elaborated by participants 10, 3, 4, and 7 when they said: “there are cases where my facial expressions have made people call my boss that on air XYZ looks so serious, she looked too emotional for that particular story she did…. people call and say you look too serious, next time be relaxed but this is a case when someone is frowning you have to laugh, it’s not funny” (P10, Female with 14 yrs experience) “… but for the fact that somebody from the outside can say that this one you smiled too much or this one you kept a straight face” (P3, Male with 6yrs experience) These days with this surging, social media, you are on serious platforms and someone just sees something on TV and starts talking and everybody just descends on you, as for you and your so called people you think like that. The person doesn’t know it affects other people so you won’t insult but you also take a stand in the group and they start going personal. There are times you have to just descend there and let them understand, then people will call you back door and say why did you reply, why did you do this, you should have allowed it but there are times that you see those comments coming but you don’t comment, you will be online but won’t comment (P4, Male news anchor). “Instead of congratulating me, people began putting on facebook “the fraudster interviewer has also won an award”. Emotionally, I was like these are people who don’t even know, they don’t have the benefit of the full interview, these are people who call me, they wrote several articles calling me the gullible..”(P7, Broadcast Journalist with 14 years’ of experience). Participant 13’s shared experience indicates that the feedback from the public via social media centers on what happen during and after a show as well as what happens in a practitioner’s private life. This was illustrated this way: 170 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Social media is instant media. Somebody can just take a picture or video and put it on facebook or twitter and it will be trending. The reason is that you are “a public figure” because you are in public domain whatever that comes out about you it is news. So if they had probably seen you got out of your car, taking your tie and jacket angry and you are ready to fight the person in traffic, people will talk. So it is always at the back of your mind. I remember an incident involving a popular host and presenter in Ghana, he was interviewing the Mayor of Accra, after they finished the interview the Mayor wanted to give him some “Noko fio”(token gift) little did he know that somebody was taking a video of it. And he was cautious of himself that somebody could be doing that. So he just took the money and tried to hide it and he was looking around and the video went viral. But under normal circumstances you could just take it and not think about anything. So social media also adds to the faking behavior (P13, Male news anchor and host). One participant (P11) shared her views on the realistic job demands of new entrants eying the media industry when she said: Now social media has even made it worse, where you are judge by even how you look, so in addition to the organizational appraisal social media appraisal is also added. And then employers are relying on social media to make decision for the organization. So it’s important that the new entrants are taken through that (P11, Female broadcast journalist and news anchor). While feedbacks from the public in itself may not have been bad, it appears they are largely negative and destructive to the persona and wellbeing of media practitioners. Relevant others such as public office holders (some politicians) and family members tend to add to the pressure to induce practitioners to labour emotionally. The experience of participant 10 illustrates this situation appositely: There are times where I try to interview politicians who are trying to debate about a particular issue and I think that they know exactly what I’m driving. For instance, there was a time I interviewed the minister of trade here, she got angry, she took the microphone off my face and started insulting me. I was very quiet, I looked at her to finish and I continued with my line of questioning. There are times that you will be very angry, there are times that you should be angry but decide just suppress how you actually feel (P10, Female broadcast journalist). I remember the one I crossed the rivers and I almost got drowned, my father called and said he was coming to my office and talk to my boss that I was going to quit the job. I told him you can’t come to my office, you would not do that, so you know, it’s not about me, not about my family, sometimes, it’s not even about my family, I think it’s more about the crave to want to give solutions to people that are struggling or suffering (P10, Female broadcast journalist). 171 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The dynamic nature of pressure-centered feedbacks from the public cannot be discounted from contemporary media practice. Even though feedback seeking has been a strategic tool in improving employee customer relations, it appears that among media practitioners, it is perceived to be more disparaging (Frayinternetmedia, 2017). As one participant put it, bosses subtly bully their employees as a results of unfavorable feedbacks: So that is your boss can decide to take you out anytime, you have no say at all (P11, Female broadcast journalist). 5.2.2.3 Emotions Displayed by Media Practitioners Participants of the present study revealed that both ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ emotions are exhibited depending on the situational experience. More than half of the participants (n=9) revealed displaying negative emotions while a near balanced number (n=8) overlap with positive emotions. Participants appear to navigate between both negative and positive emotions while shouldering their work role. Participants 2 and 13 illustrated this situation clearly when they said: The issue is that when you are presenting there are certain techniques that you will need prescribed by the job. For instance, if I’m reading a story that has to do with sadness, you need to be sad because there is something that is termed as “to lift the script” for the person to be connected to the story. So if it is a joyous mood, I will report that story laughing and laughing. So it is an occupational demand (P2, News anchor). Because even if you are angry the viewer expects nothing than you coming in to give him or her the news. Whatever that happens in the back room, handle it. Even if it take 30 seconds to switch from an angry mood to a joyous mood, you need to navigate… so those mixed emotional expressions comes up sometimes depending on the kind of story you are doing even though we are not supposed to show excessive emotions about it, there is a certain level of emotions that is allowed when you are in the process of interviewing (P13, Male host and news anchor). The likelihood of a practitioner expressing a positive or negative emotions is pendulum-like depending on the particular work experience on hand. 172 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ‘Negative Emotions’ ‘Negative emotions’ as a subtheme emerged in three variants namely; anger, fear, and sadness. Practitioners predominantly traverse these emotions depending on the content of the work and its emotional taxing nature. One participant exemplified aspects of negative emotions from three sceneries when he said: If my boss angers me, I just walked out of her presence. It is one of my personal principle, if I get angry about a situation I would rather walk out than and cool of a bit and come level headed and address the situation (P13, Male host and news anchor). I witnessed an accident on the Motor Way exactly last week Friday and the only person who survived was a three year old boy … So naturally I sounded emotional, and sorrowful in my voice, my expressions and the exclamations about what was happening….so sometimes you might sound angry or even appear angry (P13, Host and news anchor) A recent example was 2 weeks ago, I was reading the business news and had the earpiece in my ear, and I was supposed to be told count down. 1, 2, and 3, you are on air, I was trying to button my jacket when I realized I was on air, nobody had counted me down. So all I heard was, you are on! So composed myself finish reading then they went to first story. So when the second story came the anger made me frown, it was clear, so the third story they couldn’t take it. Because they realized I was emotionally dismount. I got calls from both inside and out the company including the managing news editor, they played back the tape to me and it wasn’t good, I was all frowned and people knows me to be always smiling (P13, Host and news anchor). The experiences of Participant 13 illustrate the variability of emotional display while at post as a practitioner. These emotions get demonstrated at the interpersonal and intrapersonal levels. Media Practitioners as part of their interaction with bosses, colleagues, and the general public may be required to put up some negative emotions. The third experience of Participant 13 clearly endorses the ‘faking’ propensity and accentuate the need to yield to industry or organizational display culture. Participant’s failure to suppress ‘fuming anger’ from work colleagues was deemed unacceptable from media managers’ perspective. 173 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh A sector manager with 33 years’ work experience explained what saddens and induces a sense of morbid fear among practitioners in the private sector and said: It is sad to know that you dare not complain in the private media houses. If you do, you will be sidelined. A big shot can ensure you don’t appear on your show and once such strings are pulled, you are off. You won’t get appearance anymore (P6, Male manager with 33 years’ experience). Another participant also indicated that even social setting situations can spur one to express some negative emotions. This is what he said when he found himself in a local transport station in the capital city: The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) people they don’t pay them well so they travel in ‘trotro’. So I mean I was there and they were talking about me, I didn’t know whether to feel angry, to feel sad or to go in and say no no no, please I have a car, I’m just here to do a research. Sometimes it’s not just the definition of your errr work, it’s also about how society perceives you and how you cannot fight against that perception in society. I used to go and buy koko (local porridge) just around my neighborhood and then everybody started talking about, well I got to hear about that later and how I’m “pepe”, you see, it’s not like I care about what people say but sometimes when society talks so much about something it gets to you so now even though I cherish that koko I don’t go for it (P7, Broadcast journalist and host) The magnitude and type of story greatly influence one’s emotional expressions. For instance, Participant 7 indicated that at the sudden demise of a sitting president of Ghana, the general atmosphere demanded expressing sadness to connect with the general feeling. To this effect he narrated: I remember in 2012, I had to cover the funeral of the late President Mills, okay. That was an occasion that all Ghanaians, I mean well-meaning Ghanaians were expected to be sad, I was on TV, you didn’t expect me not to be sad so I had to flow with or sometimes because it’s mourners, we have declared a state national mourning, 3 days of mourning for the late president. I work for the state media, the state broadcaster, even the mood was not out there it was my responsibility to create that mood of mourning so yes, I had to be emotional at that time, I was allowed to be emotional, let people know that I’m sad. So I presented a sad face and a sad voice and I interviewed people not in an exciting voice but in a sad tone, to lead them along, not one of the days that the black stars have won the African Cup of Nations, this is a day that we have lost a sitting president and so we were sad and we needed to show that, yes…..you can show sadness but you cannot cry, I mean it’s a no go area altogether, you cannot go there. Errrm, and even if you the presenter wanted to show the sad mood, you show other people crying and not yourself crying, you can show that you are sad (P7, Broadcast journalist and host). 174 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Participant 7 related that the posturing and demeanor of relevant others such as the politicians and some senior officers in society elicits some negative emotions on the part of the practitioners. Citing one case in point he said: As soon as I was done with the interview, a call comes, you are very biased, we have always suspected that you are against us and you have shown it, why do you give air time to this person and not to us? At that point I was both sad and angry (speaking with some passion). Sad because it was coming from somebody who I thought should know better, angry because I have tried to offer the opportunity (P7, Broadcast journalist and host). “Positive Emotions’ Even though media practitioners largely suppresses unacceptable emotions, they experience fulfilment from an impactful work. Majority of participants (n=7), expressed feeling happy and satisfied when they endeavor to tell the stories of others to augment social change and development. Participants’ 10, 5, 11, and 7 illustrated this when they said: To see the smiles on people’s faces, then my story has got a solution and to get to people like you who are into research to know that I have contributed to making research really work…..I think that the award that I win means that even if my organization doesn’t recognize me, other people recognize me and that really excites me… that keeps me, that wakes me up and wanting to come to work and all that (P10, Female broadcast journalist) it’s like the love I have, the love I have for social change is what comes before every other thing, because you would want to change society with the stories you do and because you see some change, you see some impact of my stories make me happy and that for me is the reason why I keep myself in the field otherwise at this critical time I am still contemplating in the field (P5, Female Host). It’s the passion like I said. The happiness feeling you get to be of help to someone, I feel like we are so powerful because of the medium we have. 26 million people and how radio and TV stations do we have in this country, but we get to tell their stories every day so for me that is fulfilling (P11, Female Broadcast Journalist) Having heard of such a girl, gotten the attention of such people, even did a story about her, got the attention of supportive agencies, then they went to the girl, made an offer to the girl, put her back to school and today she is an ICT teacher, for me that’s satisfaction and the first day she saw me in Bolga (one of the Northern regions 175 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of Ghana) she was crying, tears of joy, this is how I wish to help people and so it is people like that who moves me (P7, Broadcast Journalist and Host). It is clear that media practitioners who are intrinsically motivated with passion and love for their profession feels gratified when they achieve a milestones and cause a stir in how things are done. The specific examples cited by Participants 10 and 7 self-expressions vividly epitomize the joys of media practitioners when challenges get reveled and solutions get knitted together. Table 5.1 presents a summary of emerged themes for emotional expressions. Table 5.1: Summary of Themes on Emotional Expressions Table 5.1 summarizes the main emotions media practitioners’ exhibits in their day to day operations. Media practitioners navigate in the continuum of largely negative and positive emotions. Even though they express anger, fear and sadness most of the time, they become happy and fulfilled when they adequately out of their work represents the voiceless and vulnerable to bring about social change. 5.2.2.4 Psychological Health This superordinate theme addresses participants’ psychological states and discusses some surprising findings on behavioral responses to the emotional labour demands by media 176 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh practitioners. From the in-depth interviews, the researcher identified a number of psychological health concerns among media practitioners. 5.2.2.4.1 Psychological States This theme reports on participants psychological states. Eight of such subthemes are discussed in the following subsections. 5.2.2.4.1.1 Depressive Symptoms Few participants (n=4) shared experiences characteristic of depression. For instance, one said: ‘I mean my mood swings’ (P7, Male broadcast journalist). Participant 11 narrated similarly in a descriptive manner that: I am a loner, I live alone and I think maybe that is one thing that is also not good to be honest. I am a loner…. When I am like depressed, I just stand in front of the mirror and I will be talking (P11, Female broadcast journalist). From the narration of Participant 11, loneliness appears to be key to the description of the practitioner’s emotional state. The same participant shed light on what pushes her to depressive paths when she said: I will go and check my BP (blood pressure), and it will be so high... when I am home I never watch the news, I don’t read anything that is news related because it makes me depressed and it put me in a bad shape and easily get me irritated, because the work is irritating me….. the more I think about the negative issues, the more lower I am going to go and get depressed (P11, Female broadcast journalist) It can be deduced from the above quote (P11) that the unsolved and recurring psychosocial demands in the media industry is intricately linked to biomedical conditions such as high blood pressure levels. The effects of the emotional labour even ripples on one’s decisions at home (such as not watching or reading anything news related) 177 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The behavioral patterns and responses of some participants under the strain of emotional labour may have been so clear that some lay persons could offer suggestions to remedy the situation: ‘My boss realized that I was in a bad shape, depressed, recommended I should see a psychologist (P11, Female broadcast journalist). Certainly, depressive symptoms emerged as a key psychological health concern which invariably needs attention. 5.2.2.4.1.2 Stress Another common mental health disorder that emerged from the study was ‘stress’. More than half of the participants (n=8) indicated that stress was inextricably part of their work:‘this work is too tiring, too stressful for even we young ones (P12, a young female anchor with only 6 years’ experience). Another participant also said: I feel stressed out, I feel worthless, I feel like after somebody walks to you and says you fool like that, why you go mess up your life in Somalia like that? I feel stupid (P7, Male broadcast journalist who risked going to Somalia and Syria). Participant 7’s shared experiences indicate that the stress can be very enormous (possibly to a point of burnout) which invariably affect his mood and evaluations of ‘the self’ (I feel worthless) (P 7). Explaining one of the reasons why stress and excessive pressure is intricately linked to the work of media practitioners, a manager with 33 years’ work experience in the media industry said: When you start at 6 what time do you end? When you end you are preparing for the following day. In-between you are doing certain things and it all amounts to the stress. So you will see some people they are not old enough but when you see them you will think they are in their 50s but they are in the late 30s knocking into 40, stress already has played a role .Many are gentle on the outside but crying within (P6, Male Manager). The manager’s shared view links work overload to the development of stress. The number of hours practitioners’’ work is way above the required limits. A female broadcast journalist said ‘about 15 hours’ (P5, Female) is spent averagely on the work per day. From participant 6’s quote above, 178 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh premature ageing was mentioned as another evidential sign of stress and burnout (will think they are in their 50s but they are in the late 30s knocking into 40). Participant 7, with over a decade years of experience observe that actual turnover is as a result of the inability of some practitioners’ to manage the stress and related trauma: In the last one year I have counted not less than 7 key (with emphasis), I’m not saying 7 people, I’m emphasizing on the word ‘key people’ who have left here because they couldn’t stand the “trauma” any more. So if we keep on losing people because they cannot withstand the trauma, the emotional stress any longer (P7, Male). It was intriguing that some participants ‘tend to develop stress- related problems’ (P5, Female) from their job roles. One of such said: “as a producer there is so much stress on you to deliver and at Joy FM (a pioneer radio station) you the producer, you are the owner of the programme, you need to lay out everything for the presenter and there is a lot of pressure on you and I want to tell you that it is at Joy FM that I first discovered that I had BP, my blood pressure went up (P9, Male Producer) Some participants in their quest to manage the emotional turmoil, resort to poor coping strategies such as intemperance in social gathering which in most cases is inextricably linked with binge drinking, smoking and abuse of alcohol (The work is constantly stressful, when I am stressed, I go out, sit with guys, have fun and kill the stress (P3, Male). 5.2.2.4.1.3 Emotional Dissonance Some narrated having experienced conflicts of their own emotions and those required by the job. In a word-picture description, participants shed light on the emotional contestations to demonstrate the professionally acceptable emotions: I need to hold myself, this is not like I am in my bedroom with a brother, a spouse or a friend, I’m on air, 1000s of people might be listening, some self-discipline, some self-control has to be there, you don’t have control, you fight against your emotions to come out well. In some cases there is a bit of faking, you have to force it because if you are really alert, you know what you are about, you know the implication because if you say anything although it is the person’s fault I will be held responsible so sometimes you have to fake it, it hurts, it’s a bit uncomfortable on air (P8, 179 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh A female participant definably said of her conflicts: I am walking but afraid, especially when you get the news that somebody just dropped dead…Every day I am bubbling, laughing, smiling but nobody really knows what I am going through, my outward emotions doesn’t match how I feel within (P11) The interactive nature of media practice certainly influences the likelihood of emotional conflicts resulting in emotional dissonance. Emotional dissonance was aptly defined and summarized by participant 11 (my outward emotions doesn’t match how I feel within). 5.2.2.4.1.4 Suicidal Ideations Intriguingly, the researcher found a surprising result with some participants narrating how suicidal thoughts had ever crossed their minds as a result of the traumatic and emotional demands of their work. Two participants shared their views this way: The journalist who could have saved the child from dying but waited to take that beautiful picture and won awards, only to commit suicide alone because of the trauma he faced afterwards, that should tell you that it is practically impossible to divorce emotions from your work all the time. For me, the more you get involved in such stories, the more likely you begin think life is nothing (P7, Male broadcast journalist) I keep saying this, my lawyer and my doctor, I don’t lie to. And I have not actually seen a psychologist before, but I feel what they do for me is equally like a psychologist, even though I have been given treatments for instance last year I was at my lawyer’s, I was suicidal and I remember my boss was like I need to see somebody ( P11, Female broadcast journalist). Even though a number of psychological states were found among media practitioners, suicide ideation appears to be the acme of them. The intensity and severity of emotional labour demands makes some practitioners feel worthless and ‘begin to think life is nothing’. 180 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.2.2.4.1.5 Nightmares (Flashes of bad memories) and Insomnia A number of participants especially the broadcast journalist (n=4) recounted re-experiencing past traumatic scenes they have reported on in the past. Here are some typical illustrative quotes: No, no, for 2 days, for 2 days I couldn’t sleep, for 2 days I saw pictures in my mind, I saw dead bodies in my dream, for 2 days I couldn’t sleep… I felt comfortable at work compared to house because I was being haunted by the pictures I have seen… but in Somalia, deep in my sleep I could hear gun shots, I couldn’t sleep anymore…. On the Wednesday night that everything was calm I still couldn’t sleep, I still couldn’t sleep (P7, Male broadcast journalist) I remember the rape issue, it keeps coming, for some time I have done a story on defilement on a kid below 13 and that kept coming back to me, also the 6-year old whose mother took the issue very lightly, the girl has been defiled not ones, not twice, so that kept coming up, that makes me more emotional, makes me weak sometimes (P10, Female broadcast journalist) It was this accident last Friday, I have flashes of it. I will be driving and then I just have to sometimes slow down or sometimes I just park the car. So over the week it has been happening consistently, so I just park and try get it out of my head (P13, Male presenter) Deductively, there is a clear indication of intrusive memories of past traumatic experiences, nightmares, and insomnia, all classical symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD). The use of phrases like ‘I was being haunted’, ‘for 2 days I couldn’t sleep’, and ‘I have flashes’ clearly indicates the severity of these symptoms of PSTD. In order to avoid the overload effects of the intrusive memories and flashes of the traumatic experiences, participant 13 narrated urge to drive to road sideways and parking his vehicle. The psychological effects of these traumatic experiences is thus cemented by the sampled behavioral response of participant 13. 181 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.2.2.4.1.6 Work-Life Integration Challenges Work- life balance issues came to the fore from shared experiences of participants. This was commonly observed among the females who appear to have multiple roles. One male manager participant with over three decades of practice noted: When I came to GBC and I joined there were only 3 women in the news room and because of the demands of the job, women normally don’t last…. most of them are very young, they are now becoming mothers so you can understand the pressure that comes with first time mothers and professionals, balancing, not coming to work early… per our structure as Africans the pressure is on the woman to do a lot more so she must balance her career and the demand at home and that a lot of time is a pressure for them (P6, Male manager) The observations of participant 6 was illustratively buttressed by a female journalist, mother, care-giver and wife as she narrated: I lost someone who was very dear to me, I lost a mother-in-law. This was somebody who had cancer errr of the brain and we were a family and myself, myself especially I’m a woman, I go to the hospital, I would bath her, clean her, give her her drugs and I was combining that with my family and work, that was one of the most terrible moments of my life because I was not given time to go off and go and grieve so I would come to work alright, spend about 2 to 3 hours in my car, just sitting there thinking, thinking, thinking about what to do next, where money is going to come from to keep supporting this expensive things, then the emotional thing was also tolling on me (P5, Female manager) The work-life integration challenges in the media industry clearly underscores the rationale for having more males even for this study. The work-life interface appear to be worse in the media industry as work related policy on some welfare issues may be non-existing (‘I was not given time to go off and go and grieve’). 5.2.2.4.1.7 Turnover Intentions Almost all participants (n=11) gave indications of wanting to quit their present jobs or move away from the media industry and shared varying reasons for such foreseeable decisions. The following quotes from some participants illustrate media employees’ turnover intentions: 182 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh I see myself still being in media but not here, I see myself being in academia where I will want to teach or lecture on something related to the media (P9, Male Producer) In the next 10 years, maybe I will be doing part time but not full time (P13, Male news anchor) I won’t be here from 6 to10 years, no, no I won’t… For me 20 years is enough sacrifice because currently I see where I’m as sacrifice… The first thing you should notice is that this job, it doesn’t pay well. Apart from the fact that it doesn’t pay cash that much, it’s a thankless job, it’s a job that people do not walk to you and say thank you for the job that you have done because whatever story that you do it always goes against somebody… it’s a thankless job and I wouldn’t want to do a thankless job for the rest of my life (P7, Male broadcast journalist with 14 years’ experience). Clearly, some participants yearned for a change of organization while others opted for change of industry. Of the reasons given, poor remuneration, the lack of appreciation and the stressful nature was dominant (it doesn’t pay well. Apart from the fact that it doesn’t pay cash that much, it’s a thankless job) (P7). Few (n=3) also were of the opinion that part-timers are treated with décor and respect by employers and so may want to remain in the industry but only as part-timers: Yes, I do see myself in the industry but not this organization but as a part time employee. Not in full time, I don’t want to do full time in media, whether its radio, television or print (P11, Female) Some other participants (n=3) shared their intentions of quitting local media practice (in Ghana) for a number of reasons: If I want to stay in the media then I should be doing some international media may be working with Aljazeera, BBC, CNN or others but here in Ghana, no ooo , it gets dirty most of the times (P3, Male) I do see myself in the industry but perhaps not in Ghana…I see myself working with CNN very soon and I don’t see myself working in the Ghanaian industry in the next few years, I don’t see myself for instance, covering this election for a local television, no. It gets so nasty, the unnecessary accusations for being NDC or NPP, I’m not happy with it at all (P10, Female journalist) 183 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh It can be deduced from the quotes of participant 3 and 10 that the perceptions and accusations (and counter accusations) of the public and adherents of popular political parties, contributes to the emotional pressure making them contemplate moving beyond the Ghanaian borders to practice. 5.2.2.4.2 Behavioral Responses 5.2.2.4.2.1 Ventilation Most female participants (n= 3) resorted to crying, or sharing of their emotional challenges with others as a channel to vent their emotional stress. One female participant narrated: Sometimes I would cry in my car, wipe my face, make-up, then I remember I have a visitor, a guest for my show at 4pm (P5, Female Broadcast Journalist) Such a window allows the participants to manage the challenging emotional demands. It tend to increase the extent to which they can compose themselves for the job on hand. Another female broadcast journalist shared similar ventilation behaviour and said: Like that particular story in 2013, in didn’t see how I didn’t get any result for the teacher who travelled crossing two rivers before he gets to his school, I was just expecting the minister for education to just give the man some boats to cross these 2 rivers … gets me very emotional, you know, for the teacher, the people. There are times when I go on location I cry, I do cry because of the conditions of people (P10, Female Broadcast Journalist) It is evident that some participants (especially females) cry to regain strength before or after their story. In either case, maneuvering energies to be well composed is generated to allow the practitioners carry out assigned work role professionally. Another female broadcast journalist shared her views on the benefits of ventilation and said: It’s really hard and very difficult, sometimes you cry and cry and cry because you honestly don’t know what is going on….My mirror is my best friend. When I am like depressed, I just stand in front of the mirror and I will be talking to my mirror, I will cry and cry in front of my mirror and I will wake up and feel like am new and refreshed. So I think crying actually helps. So I think the crying is probably the 184 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh reason why I have either not gotten an attack or something because I cry a lot and I have realized it’s a big form of healing (P11, Female Broadcast Journalist) From the narration of Participant 11, ventilation is sometimes directed toward inanimate objects (I just stand in front of the mirror and I will be talking to my mirror, I will cry and cry in front of my mirror). Participant 11 emphasized the therapeutic nature of pouring ones heart out by talking or crying to an inanimate or animate being. Clearly, ventilation of any form is a healing wave to media practitioners. 5.2.2.4.2.2 Substance Use- Alcohol Intake and Smoking The use of alcohol and smoking was found to be prevalent among male participants. An experienced manager with 33 years in the media industry shared his experience on his subordinates’ behavioral responses to the emotional demands and said: The psychological health concerns are far richer than you can imagine. I will give you an example, in the course of doing this research find out how many media people (does a sign to signal drinking of alcohol) drink. Some believe that when they drink at the end of the day they can ease the stress. Hitherto when I joined a lot were smoking and drinking but now many have stopped smoking but they drink a lot (P6, A Male Manager with 33 years’ experience). The rationale from smoking and drinking can be deduced from the narrative of participant 6 (they drink at the end of the day they can ease the stress). Even though, smoking and drinking alcohol is a poor way of managing challenges of emotional labour, few out of desperation resort to it. 5.2.2.4.2.3 Intemperance in Social Activities Some media practitioners’ recourse to social events as a coping mechanism. One longtime manager shared his observation: They like social function because they think over there you can ease your stress (P6, Male Manager with 33 years’ experience) 185 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The motive for the overindulgence in social gatherings was also cemented by the narrative of participants 3 and 5when they said: The work is constantly stressful, when I am stressed, I go out, sit with guys, have fun and kill the stress (P3, Male News Anchor) Half of the journalists here will tell you that, when they leave the office they don’t want to listen to the news, they don’t want to hear anything news because they’ve had too much of it and they’ve not had the opportunity to deal with it emotionally so they will rather go away from it, find something else to occupy themselves, outing is common for many of us (P5, Female Broadcast Journalist with 8 years’ experience) The phrase “sit with guys” (a popular jargon in Ghana) as used by participant 3, connotes sitting around the table and drinking several bottles of alcohol with other male colleagues, usually from the same industry. This possibly leads to some other behavioral responses such as binge drinking and abuse of alcohol. Table 5.2 is a summary of emerged themes on psychological health of media employees. Table 5.2: Summary of Themes on Psychological Health Psychological Health States Behavioural States 1 Depressive Systems 1. Ventilation 2 Stress 2. Alcohol Intake & Smoking 3 Emotional Dissonance 3. Intemperance in social Activities 4 Suicidal Ideations 5 Nightmares/Insomnia 6 Work-life Balance Challenges 7 Turnover Intentions 8 Superior-subordinate Bullying Table 5.2 presents two superordinate themes and subthemes under them. Eight subthemes emerged under the psychological health states. Among the eight, the observation data revealed that superior-subordinate bullying is prevalent in the media industry. Alcohol intake and smoking as well as intemperance in social activities emerged as subthemes under employee behavioral response to emotional challenges they confront. 186 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.2.2.5 Coping and Management Strategies The one-on-one interview explored participants’ views on how they manage the emotional challenges that come their way as they shoulder work-related roles. Two major themes were identified, namely; Personal Resources and Religio-social Resources. Participants of this study narrated how these resources serve as a beanbag to keep them afloat on their jobs however the taxing the emotional demands may be. 5.2.2.5.1 Personal Resources This subtheme was further categorized into two – Psychological Capital and Post-Traumatic Growth It emphasizes the individuals’ ability to negotiate on his own and attempt to manage the emotional challenges thrown at them. 5.2.2.5.1.1 Psychological Capital Some participants (n=5) apparently indicated that their ability to deal with the challenging emotional pressure emanating from work role was a results of their inner strength, tenacity resilience, and hope. These cognitive and psychological descriptors constitute “Psychological Capital” as a form of personal resource to counteract and where possible counter-balance the excessive emotional demands. One participant explained how her tenacious upbringing contributes to her ability to withstand the emotional turmoil she experiences: let me tell you something, as a person, I grew up with a father, I didn’t grow up with a mother, we started from rural area before we came to Accra so sometimes I can identify the worse and challenging situations (P10, Female Broadcast Journalist). Another participant appraised herself and indicated that her inner strength and adaptability make her resilient to emotional challenges: 187 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh I think I am stronger than I actually give myself the credit for. Because sometimes I realized that the more I think about the negative issues, the more lower I am going to go and get depressed. I have the ability to adapt, I easily adapt, and well it comes from pretending for so long. Well you fake happiness, that happiness now becomes real even if it’s not but in the mind I have been build that in such a way (P11, Female Broadcast Journalist). Participant 8 also narrated similarly: I think I have inner strength, some people have told me that I am strong inside because I have been through a lot, I have been through situations, whether it is false or not, sometimes in meetings they will nail you, quite humiliating, I mean I have been through quite a number of work related challenges, so I think I have inner strength, I am a faith person, that’s another strength, that one can bet with me, it’s a gift. So it also helps me to draw inner strength (P8, Male Presenter with 19 years’ experience) Participant three was optimistic that with research driven policy, challenges in the industry can be adequately dealt with and said: “with the details I have shared with you, I’m kind of relieved and I have hope that something can be done about it with experts like you to change our conditions for the better”(P3, Male News Anchor with 6 years’ experience) It is not surprising that Participant 3, being one of the youngest media practitioners among the interview participants, sees strong hope as the gateway to survival in the media industry. It is obvious from the above quotes that, some personal characteristics typical of most Ghanaians like a tenacity, resilience, hopefulness and the inner strength help media practitioners to navigate their way to deal with both physical and psychological challenges so as to maintain their wellbeing. 5.2.2.5.1.1 Post-Traumatic Growth Few participants (n=4) also narrated how some of the traumatic and challenging situations experienced in the past have strengthened them to surge forward with their jobs: … I have seen someone going through that one before so I think that our experiences in the past will tell what we are supposed to do in life later, so that’s how I see it, may be my past experiences with my father, some of the hardship I have to go 188 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh through as a young girl and some of the things I had to do prepared me for harder times ahead in terms of my profession (P10, Female Broadcast Journalist). I think that experience, as we try to grow on the job we try to forget about bad things like these. When I was very young in the profession things like this could get me thinking for days and I will be down but I am growing on the job and personal experiences as a man, the challenges in my life, they make me strong. Some of these things don’t bother me anymore (P3, Male News Anchor) One female broadcast journalist explained why growing out of the traumatic experiences is vital in her work and said: I have also seen so many bad things that actually my emotions are gradually going away, I don’t get emotional anymore, the only thing I want to see the solutions…. What I think will happen is that the more I do these emotional stories, I will get to a point where may be at first I cried but I will no longer cry, I will rather want to get to the bottom of the matter (P10, Female Broadcast Journalist). Participant 10 thus acknowledges that growing beyond the emotional experiences of people actually help her to pursue her storyline to the finish line of providing or eliciting solutions from stakeholders involved. Some practitioners learns from the patterns of emotional challenges faced in the past. The result is that it leads to decreased reactivity as indicated by participant 10 (at first I cried but I will no longer cry). A male broadcast journalist who have witnessed traumatic experiences within and outside Ghana narrated similarly: I have faced several emotional challenges ooooo, several times, several several times. Look, I have had doors shut at my face, my camera ceased before, I have had people look into my face and tell me you “Pepeni”(derogatory insult used to describe some members of some ethnic decent in Ghana), I have had people errr who felt slighted by the stories I have done, approached me and warned me, sometimes not just warn but go to the extent of errr, threatening me so errr, yes, these are things that happen but over the years you become used to it so it doesn’t bother me as much as when I started this job. I overlook these threats and sadness just to get my job done (P7, Male Broadcast Journalist with 14 years’ experience). Clearly, one would have expected that practitioners who face such emotional demands give in to these negative experiences and throw in the towel by resigning or changing their jobs. However, the buttressing quotes actually indicate how irrespective of these challenges, some 189 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of these practitioners negotiate to look beyond the bitter side of their jobs. Instead of only concentrating on the negative side of these experiences, some media practitioners look at the benefits of enduring the emotional challenges of their jobs just to assume the voice of the vulnerable and get solutions to some basic social problems. The adaptive resources of such media practitioners allow them to still get their work done even though these traumatic experiences may remain constant as long as they remain media practitioners. 5.2.2.5.2 Religious and Social Resources Religion (or Spirituality) are central to many Africans and are viewed largely as part of their value system (Assimeng, 2010; Gyekye, 1996; Nukunya, 2003). The present study sieved- out Religious and Social Resources as another avenue of indigenized coping strategy among Ghanaian samples of the present study Two main subthemes were identified from for this major theme namely; Religion (or spirituality) and Social Insurance. Participants shared how these explored themes served as a buffer to counteract the high levels of emotional demands they experience. These explored views, cement the role of Africultural coping on work-life adjustment and healthcare. - ‘Religion/Spirituality’ The interview data revealed that participants had strong inclinations toward religion and were very committed to that course. Some participants (n= 6) mentioned religious routines such as prayer and use of religiously sacred tools such as going to the Church, reading of Bible and Quran, to buttress the pivotal role spirituality played as a work-life balancing strategy. One participant narrated: Tt’s true, religion plays a major role that no matter what the challenge may be today it will certainly come to an end one day, there is always hope (P3, Male News Anchor). 190 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh There is certain injunction in the Holy Quran telling us that when we encounter problems it emanates from God and if it is not from God they will return so if something is coming from God, who am I to have a certain influence. What is left for me is to pray to God to lessen the difficulties of that situation (P2, Male Reporter with 20 years’ experience) I have very good prayerful family (P11, Female Broadcast Journalist) From Participant 2 and 11’s quote, it can be gleaned that the reliance on spirituality as a coping strategy was identified to have a spill-over effect as families in general appeared to resort to religious routines such as prayer as an antidote to challenges faced in all facets of live. One participant actually described herself as: I think that for me I’m a church person so I spend a lot of time to pray, there are times where some of the issues I have, I take it to prayer and say God I can’t do much (P10, Female Broadcast Journalist). The expressions of Participant 10 depicts the extent of confidence some practitioners’ have in their supreme deity to change challenging situations and help them manage work-related trauma that come their way. Some believe that once you surrender your emotional challenges to God, they can be solved. -‘Social Insurance’ The social support base was identified as another buffer to media practitioners. Family and friends emerged as a pivotal Africultural coping outlet for majority of respondents (n=10). For instance one participant said “I have spoken to a friend about it (emotional challenges) and she calmed me down” (P13, Male News Anchor) and another also narrated: “sometimes, I get support from my family, especially my senior brothers and sisters. There are times they tell me it doesn’t matter, next time do it this way” (P4, Male News Anchor). Another participant proverbially said: 191 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh “the other factor that help me manage emotional demands is my colleagues, they give me support and we give each other support, as it is said in a proverb in my language that “one hand cannot clap” (P2, Male Reporter with 20 years’ experience). However, it was identified that mammoth support came from the family: “Friends sometimes call and say I wish you should have done it this way but it’s not often they do that” (P4, Male News Anchor). A female broadcast journalist emphasized how talking to mother and husband prove to be a ventilation for emotional challenges faced: When I come back and there is a story I felt emotional about, I can talk to mum about it, I talk to my husband about and we discuss the story, sometimes they tell me to detach my emotions and look at it from a certain perspective. So you know, I like to talk about it, that’s what helps me to let go some of the bottled up issues” (P10, Female Broadcast Journalist) Few participants (n=3) also mentioned receiving support from some work colleagues (but not the organization as a whole): I got some sort of comfort from what the CEO said even though, I can’t get answers to everything (P11, Female Broadcast Journalist). Another female broadcast journalist was rather ambivalent as to the extent to which friends and colleague workers really helped: “Your friends and colleague workers are also members of the public. Sometimes they are also harsh and they make life also very difficult for you, so you would find a lot of people in the media especially those known personalities don’t have too many friends“(P5, Female Broadcast Journalist). The fickle nature of some friends was well illustrated by another participant when he narrated: “There are 2 things I hear from friends, either I’m not normal or I’m very selfish” (P7, Male Broadcast Journalist). Media practitioners who periodically emotionally laboured were assured by their strong ties to their social networks usually constituted by some friends, family, and work colleagues. Friends, family and some colleague employees has thus been identified as the social 192 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh insurance for these practitioners. These cohorts stand by these practitioners and tend to provide options for survival and continuity in practical terms (such as praying together or offering encouragement). The narration of one participant clearly summarizes the complementary role of religion and social insurance as an Africultural coping strategy among media practitioners: I think that I have very good prayerful family, so whenever I am in trouble, I call my big brother, I never tell him what happening but onetime I couldn’t. I broke down and I called and he tells me, read the book of Psalms. I send him a message anytime I am in a trouble …. And I am not ashamed to admit once I open up, everything just comes up then I am at peace with myself even if it’s just for a short while. So I realized that I am healing a lot just by opening up (P11, Female Broadcast Journalist). Table 5.3 presents the two main themes that emerged as strategic coping resources by media practitioners. Table 5.3: Summary of Themes on Coping Resources Coping Resources Personal Resources Religious / Social Resources 1. Psychological Capital 1. Religion / Spirituality 2. Post-traumatic Growth 2. Social Insurance Table 5.3 depicts the coping resources employed by media practitioners to remain emotionally balanced on their jobs. Personal resources emerged as main theme with psychological capital and post-traumatic growth as subthemes. Religious and Social Resources emerged as another main coping resource with religion and social insurance as subthemes. The religious and social resources provide some cultural dimensional findings to the emotional labour literature (Grandey et al., 2005). 193 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.2.3 Results of Observation Data The researcher carried out 9 different visits to the studios of 4 main radio and television stations. Table 5.4 present a summary of some relevant demographic details captured from the observation. 194 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 5.4: Some Relevant Demographics of Observed Media Crew No. Sector Electronic Description of Role of Crew No. of No. of Sex Composition of Media Programme Leader Research Persons Per Crew Visits Crew Male Female MC1 Private Radio Social/Entertainment Presenter & Host 4 4 3 1 MC2 Private Radio Social/Educative Presenter & Host 2 3 3 0 MC3 Public Television Educative News Anchor & 2 6 4 2 Host MC4 Private Television Social/Educative News Anchor & 1 5 3 2 Host Total 9 18 13 5 * MC – Media Crew 195 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The demographics of the observation crew clearly indicate that males dominate (n=13) in the media industry. It appears the set-up of television media require more hands in producing a show. This notwithstanding, an average of 4 persons are required to produce a show being it radio or television. It is not surprising that more private crews (n=3) were observed compared to public (n=1), as there are more private radio and television stations in Ghana than public. In all, the researcher made six (6) visits to the radio stations and four (4) visits to the television station. All crew leaders had a common role of hosting programmes on set. 196 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 5.5: Electronic Media Crew’s Meanings of Emotional Labour from Observation Data Electronic Meaning Dominant EL Evidence of EL Moments of EL Push Factors of EL EL Reflexive Comments Media of EL Dimension demonstrated Related Related Adjustment via Displacements Displacements Period Radio Faking Enhancement Voice & vocal Musical Interlude Slowness of crew in  Male crew leaders Crew (Pretense) expressions working displaced their discomforts Averagely through insults and threats within 180 to crew member involved Commercial seconds advertisements Ringing of phones  The female leader resorted to excessive Excessive laughter / talking/shouting after the laughter of crew When programme as a way of member guests/discussants expressing displeasure are speaking Existence of superior- Feedback from subordinate bullying. listeners  There are more males in Television Faking Enhancement Vocal & facial Commercial Slowness/fastness of the media industry Crew (Pretense) and expressions advertising and crew in working compared to females. Suppression musical interludes Both colleagues (crew members) and the public Noise by a Crew contribute to EL After the experiences via their show/programme feedbacks Disruptions from producers via ear- piece microphones * EL – Emotional Labour 197 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 5.5 epitomizes the key findings from the observation data. The gleaned meanings of emotional labour from sampled events, took note of behavioral expressions during the labouring moments, when likely media practitioners will be moved to labour while on set and some behavioral responses that accompanied the labouring experience. All four crew leaders especially exhibited great composure to either suppress or enhance emotions. All four media presenters and host in most observed cases utilized commercial advert breaks and musical interlude moments to engage in emotional labour-related displacements. However, there were some observed differences between emotional labour-related displacements of discomforts. Television host usually resorted to greater levels of displacements on crew at the end of the entire show. However, radio presenters and host used brief moments when guest were speaking or sharing their views on questions raised to displace their discomfort on crew members. On the average, it took lead presenters and host between 20 to 180 seconds to switch from one mood (angry mood to happy or flat mood or vice versa) to another depending on the situation and how emotionally taxing the situation may be. Both radio and television crew leaders were pushed to engage in emotional labour-related displacements when crew members were slow in supporting the lead role or exhibited some level of noise that tend to disrupt the guest or interfere with proceedings on set or studio. Some variations were observed between the radio crew and the television crew. Among radio crew, push factors of emotional labour-related displacements were spearheaded by reactive feedbacks from listeners while feedback and comments by producers via the earpiece greatly spurred host to react, inducing them to labour emotionally while on set. Two captured moments among radio and television crews illustrate these challenges. 198 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Description of Sampled Event - Radio Crew - Sampled Event “Within the cockpit of the studio, the lead host was busily speaking on a social and entertainment subject. From the whisperings the researcher captured, the host’s experienced Disc Joker (DJ- Old DJ) had travelled on a religious pilgrimage and the current DJ (new DJ) was a replacement. By the nature of this show, music congruent with discussions were to be quickly selected and played along, interruptedly in between or after some sayings by the presenter/host. Since the ‘new DJ’ was still adjusting to the work pattern of the new host, he was on a number of occasions slow in selecting and changing the congruent music. The host expressed dissatisfaction angrily with threats of reassignments to other departments on five different occasions. Within the three-hour length of the programme, the host switched between complaining angrily, expressing of dissatisfaction, giving threats to some crew members and feigning laughter, smiles, and entertaining the listeners. The host’s complaining attitude and dissatisfaction with the crew member was heightened when a listener sent a feedback via the phone “today I am not feeling your music” (the host presents the tablet to the new DJ to read and say same to the lead producer as well),after the new DJ have read, the host said with conviction ‘wassah” (a local derogatory jargon in Ghana meaning- ‘you are incompetent’), more or less confirming his thoughts on the crew member’s competence and its impact on the show. After the entire show, the lead of the crew spoke at length for nearly 20 minutes to the entire crew and especially the new DJ to improve his work patterns the next day or risk being changed. The researcher could only be passive by nodding his head slowly and capturing events as they unfolded. I saw the 20 199 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh minutes after show speaking as a coaching and corrective segment (even though the presenter/host’s approach to it was wrong) from the experienced host to the entire crew, I had to maintain my composure to remain a researcher and not an organizational consultant. Description of Sampled Event - Television Crew While at the studio, the researcher noticed that the production of television shows is more demanding in terms of alertness, composure, and managing disruptions when compared to radio shows. The television show had more production crew (an average of 5) than the radio programmes (an average of 4) with two camera men, sound engineer, a prompt, and producer(s) one of whom was speaking through the earpiece to give directions on how the show should progress. A typical show lasting an hour usually had an average of two mini breaks (for commercial adverts or tied-in short video(s) or pictures which tend to help audience understand topical discussions being held). - Sampled Event: On one occasion, the host removed the earpiece from her ears tactfully and threw it down behind her in quite an unusual manner while the guest was still speaking (as a researcher, I was wondering why 10 minutes into the show, such a drama could happen?). The host still maintained her composure because she was on camera and in front of a guest. After the show, the guest was calmly escorted from the studio. Then with smart crunchy steps, the host returned to the production room shouting “how can you be talking like that while I am on a show (to one of the producers),”why? Do you want me to disgrace myself to the public?’ I got the impression that one of the producers may have said something uncomfortable or 200 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh given somewhat distractive directive and thus explaining why the host decided to tactfully remove the earpiece and throwing it away. It is apparent from both radio and television sampled events that the host can be distracted principally from the feedbacks of both the public and colleagues. This likely increases their likelihood of emotional labour to be able to determine the level of composure necessary to carry on with the show. The two separate set of observations accentuates the idea of feedbacks as a predisposing factor to emotional labour experiences by media practitioners (especially by host, presenters, and news anchors). Male crew leaders displaced their discomforts through insults and threats while the only female leader did so through ‘shouting and excessive talking’ (as a ventilation for discomforts experienced). It appears that the presenters and host are generally viewed as ‘the face of organizations’ and are mostly held in high esteem than other crew members. This appraisal may explain why there seem to be some form of superior-subordinate bullying (exhibited by host/presenters through insults, threats, shouting, and excessive complaining about other crew members). Even though the researcher remained passive in his observations, details of the drama, whisperings, miming, gestures and body language during production, and after show reactions of radio or television crew, were all pinned together as observation data and subjected through interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings from the observation data complements some findings from the one-on-one in-depth interview data and these are highlighted in Chapter six of this document. Table 5.6 summarizes the key explorations from the qualitative study (study two). It details out meanings assigned to the concept of emotional labour and the framework for such interpretations. 201 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 5.6: Participants’ Meaning (s) of Emotional Labour and Framework for such Explanations Meaning of Predisposing Factors Expressed Emotions Psychological Health Coping Resources Emotional Labour of Emotional Labour Main Sub themes Main themes Sub themes Main Sub themes themes themes Emotional Labour as Occupational Display Anger - Depressive Symptoms Psychological ‘Faking’’- principally Culture-(Macro/ - Stress Capital Negative Fear Personal explained as pretense Industry Level - Emotional Dissonance Resources or living a lie - and is requirements) Sadness - Suicidal Ideations Post-traumatic manifested through Psychological - Nightmares/ Insomnia Growth Happiness emotional States - Work- Life Balance suppression and /or Feedbacks (largely Positive Challenges Satisfaction/ enhancement of one’s - Turnover Intentions negative) from the Fulfillment - Superior-Subordinate emotion as part of Public (Colleagues, Bullying work. friends, family, and the general public Behavioral - Ventilation Religious / Religion / Response - Alcohol Intake/Smoking Social Spirituality Resources - Intemperance in Social Social Insurance Activities N =13; Sampling Techniques: Purposive and Snowball; Data Gathering Strategy – Interview (one-on-one) and Observation (of media crew); Analysis: Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis 202 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.3 Discussion of Qualitative Findings This section highlights qualitative findings and substantial discussions of main findings of the study. The qualitative study was guided by 5 main research questions namely; • How do media practitioners explain emotional labour? • What factors predispose media practitioners to emotional labour experiences? • What emotions do media practitioners exhibit in carrying out their day to day roles? • How do these emotional labours affect them? • What coping strategies do they employ? Meanings of Emotional labour Media practitioners in Ghana understand emotional labour as ‘faking’ emotions as they discharge their duties. As suggested by McGuire (2002), meanings connote the interpretations of situations, events, or a phenomena in terms of some wider frame of reference. The dynamics and socio-cultural context of the study sample may have influenced their experiences and subsequent conception of emotional labour. The concept of emotional labour was further elaborated to mean living a lie and pretense. Pretending or appearing to be who you are not seem to be a working norm for media practitioners. Media practitioners are expected to regulate their emotions to fulfil their job requirements. In their day-to-day interactions with customers or clients either on set or on the field, expression of professionally acceptable emotions is worth one’s work. Hochschild (2012) in her preface to the 2012 edition of her book, only mentioned how emotional labour applies to the ‘media industry’ as well (p. x). Empirically, Ghanaian media practitioners per their understanding of emotional labour, seem to agree with previous researchers (e.g., Grandey, 2003; Hochschild, 1983; 2012; Zapf et al., 1999). Even though emotional management generally is acceptable, the rate at which media practitioners commercialized their feelings is worth highlighting. Researchers have 203 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh focused on surface and deep acting as principal strategies that employees use to regulate emotions (Grandey, 2003; Hochschild, 1983; 2012; 2012; Zapf et al., 1999). In line with theory, media practitioners in Ghana engage in both surface and deep acting (Grandey, 2003; Hochschild, 1983; 2012; Zapf et al., 1999). Both dimensions of emotional labour were viewed as part of professional mandate of a journalist. Interestingly, from the analysis of all narratives, the term “composure” appear to be used by all participants to encapsulate the literature coinage of the terms surface and deep acting. Media practitioners composed themselves before, during, and after an assignment. For instance, some decide to select topics that concur with the feeling rules for a particular programme or one need to diffuse felt emotions before programmes are aired. Such initiatives are part of decision making process before an actual show or programme begins. Similarly, composure is required for participants to ‘keep up a certain face’, ‘put up performance’, ‘keep up appearances’ or ‘put up a brave face’ to as it will allow emotional deflection of felt emotions. In the case of the observed crew, composure (surface or deep acting), made the difference between expressing dissatisfaction (to a colleague worker) and assuming the right voice or facial expressions to media clients (the audience, viewers, listeners, readers). The occupational and organizational norms of media practice predispose employees to either enhance or suppress their emotions as part of display rules. Employees enhances or suppresses their emotions with the view of aligning feelings with occupational and/or organizational expectations (Grandey et al., 2013). All such enhancive and suppressive gesticulations are manifestations within of emotion regulatory processes of surface and deep acting. Even though underlying regulatory processes for both strategies in managing work- related emotions are different, the rudimentary rationale revolves around exhibiting positive and professionally acceptable behaviour. 204 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Research question two of the qualitative study was geared toward unearthing predisposing factors that keep spurring media practitioners on with emotional labour. Two dominant themes emerged as projections of this research question. Occupational ethos of the media industry is a keen reflection of most customer service-based industries described in the literature (Hochschild 1983, 2012; Rafaeli & Sutton, 1987). As economies migrate from manufacturing to service-based economy, employees in several occupations are expected to manage their emotions at work in response to occupational demands. Media employees are required to satisfy industry requirements. For instance it is deemed unprofessional for a media practitioner to cry on air or set because of the emotional nature of a story being conveyed. The occupational display culture stipulates the conventionally acceptable boundaries for practitioners as far as expressing of emotions are concerned. Broadcast journalists who come across accident scenes, emotionally sensitive cases of rape, genocide, child labour, child marriages, female genital mutilations, and horrific scenes of deaths are expected to capture the moment foremost without getting involved emotionally (Diefendoff & Richard, 2003; Sutton, 1991). Surface or deep acting can therefore be described as a macro-level demand. In line with the Socio-ecological theory, macro- level demands tend to influence the chain of processes and culminate at the personal level. Inferring from Bronfenbrenner’s (1979; 1995) theory, the demands at the macro-level (occupational-driven standards and norms of operation) ripples on the organization and its management as well as the general public at the intrapersonal and interpersonal levels respectively. The three-tier chain of demands culminate at the personal level to be largely managed by the individual employees. Given such emotionally taxing demands, lack of resources will result in poorer health condition (Demerouti et al., 2001). Per the assumptions of the CoR and JD-R theories, multiple sources of support serve as a buffer to reduce emotional labour effects or the lack of it impacts negatively on employees (Demerouti et al., 2001; Hobfoll, 1989; 2001). 205 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The second predisposing factor to emotional labour among media practitioners in Ghana was centered on the interplay of the general public, organization, colleague professionals as well as family and friends. The occupationally sanctioned requirements usually shape the basic requirements of the general public and the organization. This is in line with Al-sarkal (2006), Grandey et al. (2005) and Rafaeli and Sutton (1989) who suggested that emotional culture and socio-cultural context that one belong potentially influences the employee’s behavioral commitment to display rules. Positive feedback seeking is a corrective mechanism in the efficient execution of an organizations operations. However, the feedback from the public, organization, family and friends are largely negative and vindictive to the personality of the persona in question. Yang et al. (2014) found customer feedback to exacerbate emotional exhaustion levels of employees. It is not surprising two participants described the media profession as a “thankless job” (Participants 6 and 11). The observation data revealed that superior-subordinate bullying exist among employees of the media industry. Superiors (long tenured, experienced ones, and members of management) tend to exert pressure on other employees to keep acting. Similarly, feedbacks from relevant others (such as politicians and influential others in society) and social media addicts, appear to be pushy and likely heap pressure on managers of media houses to keep demanding professionally accepted expectations from employees. Majority of respondents (n=9) revealed that social media is the most impactful pressure laden outlet on their disposition as media personnel. This new shift of attacks is in line with findings of Frayintermedia (2017), who noted that the attacks on media practitioners has taken a new shift from physical to on- line (social media). According to Frayinternetmedia (2017), the African-wide study among journalist revealed that 48% of journalists in Africa have experienced on-line based attack in the form of threats, harassment, and trolling. This recent form of attack on media practitioners 206 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh have implications for the practitioner who become the victim of all these funneled emotional demands. The stressful feedbacks from the public was also cemented by the Joint Media Press Statement by Ghana National Media Commission et al. (2016) on the threat to the lives of journalist and journalism in a growing democracy. Institutions like MFWA (2016) have also accentuated the threat social media induces on the professional lives of journalist in the digital era. Employees with limited resources to cope and maintain their emotional balance (Hobfoll, 1989; 2001) with such negative feedbacks and pressure, tend suppress and get affected psychologically or become reactive and losses their market and professional value. The feedbacks from the general public tend to influence media managers’ perception of acceptable emotions invariably exert pressure on media practitioners to engage in more acts of emotional labour. Even though feedbacks via social media are largely negative, some rare positive ones tend to serve a resource gain to offset weightier exerted pressures from others with negative feedbacks. The dynamic nature of pressure-centered feedbacks from the public cannot be discounted from contemporary media practice. Even though feedback seeking has been a strategic tool in improving employee customer relations and organizational performance (Millward, Asumeng & McDowall, 2010), it appears that among media practitioners, it is perceived to be more disparaging. Emotional Expressions Media practitioners demonstrate the two dominant emotions in their day to day operations. Depending on situational experiences, media practitioners tend to navigate between ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ emotions. The present study highlights anger, fear, and sadness as main variants of negative emotions usually expressed by media practitioners. Analytically, most negative emotions get demonstrated at the intrapersonal and interpersonal levels 207 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh (Brofenbrenner, 1979; 1995). Negative feedbacks usually emanate from organization’s management, the public, colleague employees as well as family and friends. Similarly, positive emotions commonly expressed among media practitioners include feelings of happiness and satisfaction. Such feelings emanate from the impact of their work on social change and development. Even though media work has been described as a thankless job, many express fulfilment as they get to the bottom of stories which then rake solutions to better the lives of the vulnerable and voiceless in society. However, what elicits these positive feelings among media practitioners is more of intrinsic motivation than extrinsic motivation. The nature of the media work requires that they vary their emotions even within seconds. In a typical day, a broadcast journalist may cover stories of happy anniversary moments as well as horrific live stories of impoverished individuals and groups. Similarly, a host or a presenter may acknowledge anniversary celebrants on one hand and switch to mourn the death of loved ones. In other instances, presenters may react with their emotions to sad newspaper reviews and do same with joyous ones. Media practitioners navigate between the affective states of positive and negative emotions. This trend is in line with Schacter (2011) who noted that emotions become very apparent as an expression of a continuum of pleasure and displeasure. Collier (2014) on the other hand, submits that emotions exist on a continuum of intensity largely due to situational factors. The continuum of pleasure and displeasure or positive and negative emotions results in both physical and psychological changes that influences employee behavior (Cabanac, 2002). Plutchik (2002) stated that depending on employees’ work role, it is expected that a wheel of emotions be displayed in line with industry expectations. The media industry can be described as a social landscape for expressing different facets of emotional expressions (Ekman, 1999). Succinctly, media practitioners 208 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh could be described as emotional pendulums who consistently swing between positive and negative emotions. Psychological Health The fourth research question sought to find out how emotional labour affect media practitioners. One of the most valuable contributions of this study is the exploration of media practitioners’ psychological states and behavioral issues. The qualitative study revealed depressive symptoms, stress, emotional dissonance, suicidal ideations, nightmares (flashes of bad memories), insomnia, Work-life integration challenges, and turnover intentions as aspects of psychological health states of media practitioners. Some of the psychological states were found to be consistent with other boundary spanners in the literature. Yoon and Kim (2013) found 38% of their study sample to have depressive symptoms as a result of emotional labour related stress and work overload. Adelmann (2016) also found emotional labour to be related to low self-esteem, lower job satisfaction, loneliness and poorer wellbeing. Similarly, emotional labour has been found to be related to work-life balance, anxiety, stress, insomnia, and emotional exhaustion (Wagner et al., 2014; Kammeyer-Mueller et al., 2013). Lane (2005) also found emotional labourers to have physical and emotional challenges such as frustration, guilt and feeling overwhelmed. Emotional labour was also found to be related to depressive symptoms, lower job performance, and turnover intentions (Cigantesco et al. 2003; Hsu, 2012, Scott & Barnes, 2011; Zapf, 2002). Karimi et al. (2013), Karim and Weisz (2010), Kinmen et al. (2011), and Rathi (2015) found emotional labour to be related to stress and psychological distress. Emotional labour was also found to predict emotional dissonance and burnout (Bogdan et al., 2016; Heuven & Bakker, 2013; Jafar, 2012; Sawang et al., 2009; Zapf, 2002). Other researchers like Al-sarkal (2006), Brown (2010), Gopolan et al. (2012), Holman et al. (2002), 209 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and Sliter et al. (2013) found emotional labour to be related to general wellbeing. With the exception of nightmares, vivid flashes of bad memories, and suicidal ideations, all other findings on psychological states are similar to previous studies. Unsolved and recurring psychosocial demands among media practitioners is intricately linked to their psychological health. The strain of emotional labouring among employees who have been working for long could be health threatening. Broadcast journalists appear to suffer from the aspects of common mental health disorders. Among the thirteen (13) practitioners, all four (4) broadcast journalists’ narrated feeling depressed, worthless, lonely, and having frequent experiences of mood swings. Such depressive symptoms invariably may have led to suicidal ideations. It is possible available mental health and organizational support in the western setting may have prevented their study samples from entertaining suicide. In line with the CoR theory, the imbalance of personal resource and resource loss during the emotional labour process can led to poorer psychological health (Hobfoll, 1989; 2001). In the case of media practitioners exhibiting depressive symptoms and suicide, it is possible the enormous emotional demands, traumatic scenes, and lack of resources may have tumbled them to such psychological health conditions. The continuous experiences of being ‘haunted’, ‘having flashes of bad memories’, and ‘insomnia’ are clear symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The findings on nightmares, vivid flashes of bad memories, and suicidal ideations become a valuable addition to literature as far as the effects of emotional labour is concerned. The number of psychological health states established in this study are many and this warrants urgent intervention strategy to protect the holistic wellbeing of employees. In order to avoid the overload effects of intrusive memories and flashes of traumatic experiences, some participants developed some behavioral responses as a form of poor coping strategies. 210 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Within the framework of literature search for this study, the researcher did not come across findings on the behavioral issues employees succumb to as they attempt to navigate away from the overload effects of emotional labour. However, the present study found some media practitioners resorting to excessive weeping, alcohol intake and smoking, and intemperance in social activities in order to vent their overload emotional effects. Even though these avenues may be poor ways of managing emotional labour challenges, few media practitioners may have resorted to these poor coping outlets out of desperation in the midst of none available support. Over indulgence in social gatherings is intricately linked with alcohol intake and smoking. Notwithstanding these behavioral responses, some participants employed a more helpful coping strategies to increase their available resources, to remain stable, and fight against resource loss. Personal resources, Religious and Social resources proved to be helpful to some media practitioners in repudiating emotional labour effects. This finding is in line with some previous studies in the African context (Anim, 2015; Oppong Asante, 2015; Oti-Boadi, 2015; Osafo, Knizek, Akotia & Hjelmeland, 2013). These researchers have found that within the Ghanaian context, personal, social, and religious coping strategies are instrumental in dealing with life’s challenges. Oppong Asante (2015) for instance emphasized how homeless youths in the Accra region of Ghana, survive on the street through resilience. Anim (2015) also emphasized Africultural coping as a valuable intervention in helping sickle cell patients. Similarly, Osafo et al. (2013) found religion, hope, and prayer as other forms of motivation to help deal with suicide crisis. Psychological capital and Post-traumatic growth were valuable personal resources employees used in maintaining their balance. Media practitioners’ uses personal resources through the individuals’ ability to negotiate on his own when confronted with traumatic and challenging 211 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh emotional situations. Media practitioners who demonstrate hope and tenacity, aspects of psychological capital, manage to stay afloat and remain on the job. The type of hope participants’ expressed refers to the hope of growing out of the current emotional challenge and securing a better option elsewhere. Psychological capital thus become a gateway to survival in the media industry. In agreement with Chueng and Tang (2010), older and experienced ones tend to live well with emotional challenges partly as a result of the strength garnered from years’ of traumatic experience. The post-traumatic growth was viewed as a resource as it emboldened some media practitioners to get the bottom of a matter and ensure they assume the voice of the voiceless and vulnerable. Such psychological capital and post- traumatic growth help such media practitioners to reappraise the challenging situations and deal with them. Psychological capital and post-traumatic growth invariably become adaptive resource gains that allow media practitioners to remain balanced without being thrown off balance to the effects of emotional labour. Religious and social coping appears to be a dominant way employees remain afloat and resilient. Religion and social support was identified as a helpful way many Africans develop hope and resilience to deal with any crisis. Religion and social support play a central role to many Africans and tend to influence their conception of social occurrences (Assimeng, 2010; Nukunya, 2003) and are largely viewed as part of their indigenous cultural and family insurance (Agyemang, Asumeng, & Amponsah, 2015; Agyemang & Otoo, 2013). From a spirituality perspective, many media practitioners resorted to religious routines such as church or mosque attendance, reading of the Quoran, Bible, and Prayer. Media practitioners, like many other Ghanaians (Anim, 2015; Oppong Asante, 2015; Osafo et al., 2013) views religion as an adaptive coping mechanism during crisis. From the present study, family members even team up to support employees in prayer as a way of reappraising a 212 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh seeming challenge. The resort to a supreme deity or God is in itself a manifestation that a supreme social support is weightier enough to help employees overcome mountainous emotional breakdowns. The use of religious routines like reading religious books and prayer has been found to reduce painful emotions, rejuvenate hope, and brings relief (Baker, 2008; Dein & Littlewood, 2008). The present finding confirms other related studies (Assimeng, 2010; Osafo et al., 2013). In Ghana, it is common to see church locations within a radius of 500 to 1000 meters. It is also common to hear amplified voices from mosques and churches usually from (or within) dawn to dusk. In present Ghana, it is very common to see pockets of prayer groups usually termed ‘prayer warriors” .These groups unify their voices, combine efforts, and petition God with the confidence that waring against crisis through prayer will yield the desired results. Such religious routines are virtually becoming pervasive at the work place as well. At both public and private work settings, prayers are sometimes said before work or meetings begin. In some work places, locations has even been earmarked for such religiously ordained activities. It is not surprising one researcher refers to Ghana’s religious landscape as a religious zoo (Assimeng, 1999). The religious steps taken by participants to lift themselves from emotional brokenness is thus practical from Ghanaian conventions (Levine, 2008). The revolving point for such religious insurgence and immersion among Ghanaians is the fact that it is an inexpensive form of coping. One aspect of the spiritual coping worthy of emphasis is that the religious locations provide a source of brotherhood and offer explanations to social behaviors. In the Ghanaian social setting, religion is woven into the fabric of many and tend to influence meanings people attribute to social behaviors (Nukunya, 2003). The fact that employees may belong to one prayer group or are part of some ‘prayer warriors’ of a sort in itself is a social support. Such 213 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh prayer warriors take turns to pray for good tidings and strength beyond what is normal to manage current crisis. The family, friends, and some co-workers prove to be part of the social support network. The principal role these social support networks play is to encourage and offer suggestions to deal with challenges employees confront. As revealed from the study, these social support networks availability to allow employees weighed down with emotional difficulties to ventilate their bottled-up challenges proved helpful and was viewed as healing in itself. Friends and family acts as social insurance support base to encourage, revitalize, strengthen those battling with the effects of emotional labour. Even though the study participants were unanimous on the lack of organizational support to deal with emotional challenges, the fact that none had quit their job and thus making their research inclusion possible suggest that Personal, Religious and Social resources may have sustained them. Figure 5.1 presents a summary of qualitative findings adapting Bronfenbrenner’s socio-ecological model. 214 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Figure 5.1: Explanation of Qualitative Findings Using Socio-ecological Model Figure 5.1 summarizes the pattern of findings from the qualitative studies. The researcher applied Bronfenbrenner’s’ (1979; 1995) socio-ecological model to illustrate the major findings of the qualitative study. The structural, group/organization, and interpersonal levels illustrate where the predisposition to engage in emotional labour come from. At the structural level, industry requirements or occupational display culture dictate what is professionally accepted or not and how media practitioners ought to exhibit their emotions. This macro-level requirement fed into the individual organizations’ ideals, values, expectations and demands. To remain competitive, managers and owners of media houses raise the bar of 215 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh professionalism when it comes to emotional labour. The organizational level orientation is subtly passed on by colleague employees, friends, and family. Their largely unfavorable feedbacks strengthen the descending pressure to labour emotionally. The three tier level pressure to demonstrate professionalism (to keep faking by enhancing or suppressing ones’ emotions), culminate on the individual employee at the personal level. Psychology is thus interested in the behavioral disposition of the individual at this stage. The individual media practitioner absorbs the demands to fake emotions to satisfy interested stakeholders. Some become reactive because of their inability to manage the emotional demands by displacing the discomforts to a safer target while others linger with it for a considerable period of time. Those who predominantly lingers with it tend to develop psychological health challenges. However, in the psychological state, some with less and better coping resources further displace their bottled-up effects on others. However, those with more and better resources survives the cycle and maintain their feet on the job. It is interesting to emphasize that those who initiate and sustains the standards of professionalism leading to media practitioners’ inducement to labour are the recipients of the displaced discomforts. Certainly, the interplay of various actors within the environment feed into the cycle of media practitioners labouring experiences. Conclusion In a nutshell, the qualitative findings indicate that media practitioners explained emotional labour as ‘faking’ and is manifested through the ‘suppression’ and/or ‘enhancement’ of ones' emotions in line with their occupational display rules. Media practitioners exhibits both positive and negative emotions. The present study further unearthed depressive symptoms, stress, emotional dissonance, suicidal thoughts, nightmares and associated insomnia, work- life balance challenges, turnover intentions, and superior-subordinate bullying, as key 216 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh explorations of media practitioners’ psychological health states. Feedback from the public, fellow employees, friends and family emerged as predisposing factors of emotional labour experiences. Even though some participants resort to poor coping strategies such as abuse of alcohol, smoking, and intemperance in social activities, majority recourse to personal, religious and social resources as effective coping strategies to deal with emotional labour demands. In line with the emotional labour theory, narrations of experiences reflect more of surface acting than deep acting. It is therefore not surprising the study found media practitioners to be exhibiting the psychological and behavioral issues discussed in this section. On the basis of the qualitative findings, it is suggested that Religio-social interactive intervention model be considered as part of measures to curb emotional labour challenges at the work place. A Religio-social interaction intervention model is in line with the CoR and JD-R theories as it provides an avenue for regaining resources to cope with emotional challenges or help employees to reappraise the challenges confronting them. 217 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER SIX GENERAL DISCUSSION 6.1 Introduction In chapter six of this study, the researcher discusses the major findings from both quantitative and qualitative (made-up of one-on-one interview-based data and observation of media crew findings) approaches and demonstrates their convergence. The researcher begins with a brief overview of the study and presents a summary of main findings from both qualitative and quantitative studies. In presenting these findings, the researcher highlights areas of complementarities and sift out inconsistencies. The study further underscores valuable contributions to knowledge gleaned from the perspectives of literature, theory, and methodology. The researcher further expounds on the implications of the present study findings to policy development and psychological practice. The limitations of the study have been duly addressed. Areas worthy of re-consideration in the future have been suggested. The researcher finally shares his reflexive epitomes for the conduct of this research and draws conclusion to the entire study report. 6.2. Brief Overview of Thesis The present study had two main objectives. Foremost was to ascertain the extent of relationship between emotional labour (deep and surface acting) and psychological health (distress, emotional exhaustion, and general wellbeing) of media employees and to explain emotional labour from the world view of media practitioners. Methodologically, the researcher used parallel convergent mixed method design to establish areas of complementarities and inconsistencies of the study. Three hundred and thirty six (336) media practitioners in three main business regions of Ghana were administered with questionnaires for the survey study while a subsample of 13 (with not less than 5 years’ continual work 218 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh experience were engaged in a one-on-one interview. The researcher widened the data seeking strategy by engaging in nine research visits to the cockpit (work setting) of 4 media crew to cement the one-on-one interview data with the observation data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in analyzing quantitative data and IPA was used for both interview-based and observation data. The next segment of this section presents a summary of both approaches to this study. 6.3 Summary of Key Findings (Study One and Two) Four main hypothesis were tested in the quantitative study. The foremost result from the quantitative study was that surface acting significantly predicted general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion but not psychological distress. It was also found that psychological effort indirectly mediates the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion. Third, religiosity significantly moderated the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion as well as psychological distress. No significant relationship was found between emotional labour and work outcomes (job satisfaction and turnover intentions). The qualitative study was guided by five research questions. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of the qualitative data indicate that media practitioners conceptualize emotional labour as ‘faking’- principally explained as ‘pretense’ or ‘living a lie’- and is manifested through the ‘suppression’ and/or ‘enhancement’ of ones' emotions in line with their occupational display rules. Media practitioners exhibits both positive and negative emotions contingent on the situation. The present study further unearthed depressive symptoms, stress, emotional dissonance, suicidal ideations, nightmares and associated insomnia, work-life balance challenges, turnover intentions, and superior-subordinate bullying, as key explorations of media practitioners’ psychological health states. Feedback 219 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh from the public, fellow employees, friends and family emerged as predisposing factors of emotional labour experiences. Even though some media practitioners resort to poor coping strategies such as abuse of alcohol, smoking, and intemperance in social activities, majority recourse to personal, religious and social resources as effective coping strategies to deal with emotional labour demands. 6.3.1 Complementarity of Findings The quantitative and qualitative studies present similar trends in findings which complement the outlook of emotional labour from the Ghanaian perspective. Among the two dimensions of emotional labour, surface acting emerged in both studies as more devastating. In the quantitative study, deep acting did not significantly predict any of the three dimensions of psychological health (Psychological distress, emotional exhaustion, and General wellbeing). The narrations of participants pointed out that largely, they engage in surface acting as part of their work role more than deep acting. What this means is that media practitioners largely maintain their inner feelings and modify their outward emotions in congruence with occupational display rules. These developments from both studies are not unique as a number of studies (e.g., Adelmann, 2016; Brown, 2010; Grandey, 2003; Naqvi, 2013; Rafaeli & Sutton, 1987; Rathi, et al., 2015) have established that surface acting has more damaging consequences when compared to deep acting. The commonness of surface acting among media practitioners implies that they are more susceptible to inner tensions because of the divergence between the inner feelings and outward expressions. It is therefore not surprising that findings from the quantitative study revealed surface acting to be directly and indirectly related to employee psychological health. Similarly, the qualitative study revealed about ten main psychological health issues namely; depressive symptoms, stress, emotional dissonance, suicidal ideations, nightmares and associated insomnia, work-life balance challenges, 220 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh turnover intentions, superior-subordinate bullying, alcohol intake and smoking, and overindulgence in social activities. The revelations of both studies has implications for policy, selection and placement, and training of media practitioners. Another complementary outlook of the study was the role of some of the moderators. Among the moderators, it is only religiosity that directly and indirectly moderated the relationship between surface acting and psychological distress as well as emotional exhaustion. The qualitative study also revealed religion or spirituality as a form of coping. The qualitative study added impetus to some of the religious rituals such as prayer, reading sacred religious books, and religious service attendance, as ways of revitalizing themselves from the emotional challenges they face. This complementary finding is in consonance with the works of other researchers (e.g., Assimeng, 2010; Baker, 2008; Dein & Littlewood, 2008; Osafo et al. 2013) on the reviving value of religion when people are in crisis. In line with the CoR (Hobfoll, 1989; 2001), JD-R (Demerouti et al., 2001) and Africultural coping (Utsey et al. 2000) theories, emotional labour reduces the amount of resource an individual has and religion tend to counterbalance the resource loss. It is important to suggest that any intervention geared toward helping media practitioners to cope with emotional strain must incorporate religion or spirituality. The present study is inadequate to explain the interactive dynamics of religiosity as a moderator as the qualitative study did not focus on how much time employees spend on religious activities. The researcher thus recon this as one of the minute limitation of the study to be explored by future researchers. The quantitative study revealed that social support did not moderate the relationship between emotional labour and psychological health. While this was contrary to the literature (e.g., Hamaideh, 2012, Kovacs et al., 2010; Liebenberg, 2011), the qualitative explorations flesh the quantitative findings on social support with plausible reasons. The qualitative study 221 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh revealed that co-workers, family, and friends who constitute the social support network also tend to induce media practitioners to emotional labouring experiences with their negative feedbacks (from the general public) and economic demands (usually from family and friends). In addition, all participants (n=13) unanimously indicated having no form of organizational support to cope with emotional labour demands. In a sense, it is possible the buffering role of social support in the western literature may be due to the available organizational and public- wide support on mental health issues. Such organized support is largely lacking in the Ghana work context. This notwithstanding, it can be concluded that failure of social support as a moderator variable in the relationship between emotional labour and psychological health is largely as a result of some differences in the theoretical sample of the present study and the lack of support from relevant others. The demographic characteristics of both qualitative and quantitative participants has some variability issues as well as commonalities. Both studies had more had more males as participants than females. The quantitative study recorded 61% and 39% male and female participants respectively. Similarly, the qualitative study had 64% and 36% male and female participants respectively. This trend thus suggest that the possibly challenging nature of the work of media practitioners tend to discourage many females from trooping into the media industry. Furthermore, 92.6% of the quantitative sample were of Christian faith. The Christian faith dominance was also evident with 85 %. The religious background composition was also similar and this make comparison of study both findings more pragmatic and authentic. 6.3.2 Inconsistencies and Additional Findings The present study found a number of inconsistencies. Foremost, from the quantitative study, emotional labour as a composite variable did not predict psychological health. This finding is 222 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh largely contrary to literature (e.g., Karimi et al., 2013; Sliter et al., 2013; Yang et al., 2014). As explained early on, the tenacity of most Ghanaians when it comes to deciphering to go around work may cloud the conception of deep acting. Deep acting may be largely viewed as some form of citizenship behaviour among Ghanaian samples. It is possible that emotional labour as a composite variable from measurement perspective reflects a more western culture specific variable and that future researchers may have to consider developing a more context specific instrument for measuring what constitute emotional labour in the African context. In the quantitative study, emotional dissonance did not mediate the relationship between emotional labour and psychological distress as predicted. This finding is contrary to the literature (e.g., Baker & Heuven, 2016; Sawang et al., 2009). This notwithstanding, it appears the incongruence between inner feeling and expressed feelings was evident for the qualitative samples. Emotional dissonance emerged as one of the psychological health states among the qualitative samples. What this means is that the more media practitioners stay on the job, the more they experience surface acting (Cheung & Tang, 2010). The average years of experience of the qualitative sample is 13 (M=13). Compared to the quantitative sample with an average age of 5 (M=5), it is plausible to say that the more media practitioners get immersed in the work, the more likely they will experience emotional dissonance. The quantitative study found no relationship between emotional labour and work outcomes (job satisfaction and turnover intentions). What this means is that employee satisfaction and intention to quit their job is not dependent on emotional labouring experiences. This finding contradicts some established studies (e.g., Abraham, 1999; Ashkanasy et al., 2002; Hsu, 2012; Scott & Barnes, 2011) and is also in line with others (e.g., Al-sarkal, 2006; Rathi et al., 2015). Al-sarkal (2006) suggested that the predictive strength of emotional labour on work outcomes appear to be unique to individualistic settings. The researcher of the present study agrees with 223 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the submission of Al-sarkal (2006) and further suggest that socio-economic conditions such as high unemployment and family dependence in most emerging economies like Ghana prevent many employees from quitting their jobs. The quantitative and qualitative study yielded some surprises that contribute substantially to literature on emotional labour. Psychological effort proved to be a better mediator in the Ghanaian context than emotional dissonance and occupational display culture. If media practitioners possibly views deep acting as a form or citizenship behaviour and thus decipher to align inner feelings with display rules, then it is not surprising psychological effort mediated the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion. Engaging in surface acting or deep acting is an effortful process. Since this is the first attempt to test psychological effort as a construct, it is recommended that future researchers incorporate this variable to confirm or disconfirm present findings. The observation part of the qualitative study revealed that superior-subordinate bullying exist in the media industry. Media practitioners who may have served for many years and are in management positions were observed and heard to have threatened some crew members. Similarly, some management members take some decisions that bother on the glimmers of bullying. Some participants shared their views on how managers can change your work role (e.g., from reading the news to an inventory officer) without any explanations. The existence of bullying was partly cemented as the most experienced participant with 33 years in service said: “apart from Daily Graphic, Ghana News Agency, Times and Ghana Television (all state-owned), none of the private media house has union” (P6, Male manager). He continued his lamentation when he said: “the private owner hire and fire anytime”. The absence and possibly the resistance of union establishment prevent employees from unifying their voices against ill-treatment by a colleague worker or employer. Even though this finding was subtly 224 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh corroborated with the qualitative data, in-depth study is recommended at this stage to further confirm or disconfirm this findings. To my knowledge, no research has been done to reveal suicidal ideation as a consequent of emotional labour. Even though the introductory chapter highlighted some suicide related cases among some media practitioners, it is surprising no known studies have found that link. Few studies found depressive symptoms like loneliness and lower self-esteem (Adelmann, 2016), somatic health and insomnia (Wagner et al., 2014), and inauthenticity (Erickson & Ritter, 2011), no known studies have found emotional labour to be related to suicidal ideations. This finding is possible with the assumptions of the CoR theory (Hobfoll, 1989; 2001). The more employees continue to wallow in the devastating effects of emotional labour, the more their resources get depleted. Total resource depletion can make some employees feel worthless and hopeless and thus linger on thoughts of suicide. The researcher took concrete efforts to debrief participants who were suicidal after the research. However, an intervention strategy is urgently needed to reverse this trend among media practitioners. 6.4 Contributions to the Body of Knowledge The psychosocial problem investigated in this research thesis and findings unraveled have valuable theoretical, methodological and analytical contributions. The next section of this report succinctly present these valuable contributions of the study. 6.4.1 Contributions to Theory and Literature Emotional labour has not been well established in the Ghanaian psychological research and practice field. The current study has cross-cultural relevance as far as emotional labour trends from the media industry of Ghana is concerned. This is a direct tender to Grandey et al.’s (2005) view that “cultural differences in work emotions are important to understand 225 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh emotional labour trends in other cultural context… as companies outsource their service functions overseas and export companies to other countries, managers need to be aware of the potential strain on employees if they require emotional displays that are incongruent with cultural norms” (p. 902). The present study has demonstrated that in the Ghanaian setting, personal, religious and social resources are important coping strategies in dealing with emotional challenges. As Ghana welcomes a wave of investors to strengthen their middle level income status, findings of this research can be of help to expatriates and multinational companies on emotional labour trends and how they can better be managed in the Ghanaian context. In addition, the findings of the study will serve as a basis for future research. Some findings such as the relationship between emotional labour and employee bullying, emotional labour and suicidal ideations as well as the role of psychological effort as a mediator variable certainly need to be probed further. The study thus provide a pioneer template as far as emotional labour research in Ghana is concerned. As part of context specific theory development, it is valuable that emotional labour researchers consider the role of culture in managing stressful and emotionally taxing demands. As revealed by the present study, religion and social insurance appear to be very pertinent in dealing with emotional crisis. Similar suggestions have been proposed by some clinical health researchers in Ghana (e.g., Anim, 2015; Osafo et al., 2013). Because media practitioners have not been used as research samples in psychological research largely in Africa, the researcher resorted to the use of alternative literature thereby doing a succinct discourse review of some pertinent cases and reports of some media practitioners. The use of discourse review made the practical value of the work stand out. In all, this study 226 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh add to the body of knowledge from the context of Ghana and the media industry. Media practitioners are thus incorporated into the literature as new emotional labourers. 6.4.1.1 Methodological Contributions The present study utilized the strengths of both quantitative and qualitative approaches to research. Most organizational researchers kowtow to the pathways of the absolutist by using only quantitative approach to make judgements on organizational behaviour (Lincoln & Denzin, 2003). The present study area had both quantitative and qualitative potential and upon careful methodological consideration, the researcher used concurrent complementary approach to understand emotional labour from the Ghanaian context and ascertain the extent to which emotional labour relate to employees psychological health. The role of context is relevant for any health related research (Kinman et al., 2011; Liebenberg, 2011; Naqvi, 2013) and the use of numerical values is inadequate to fully understand the dynamics of setting specific phenomena. The qualitative part of this study revealed some sensitive and relevant depth the quantitative study could not reveal. The experiences shared by the qualitative participants revealed the porosity of some policies regarding employee welfare and the weakened mental health consideration given by media owners in Ghana. The contextual nuances addressed by the qualitative part of this study is worth building on by future researchers. The present study piloted and factor-analyzed psychological effort scale developed from careful review of literature. Martinez-Inigo et al. (2007) attempted the development of the concept but had limited results with the use of two items and subsequent low reliability record (>.5). Re-development of psychological scale was thus captured as part of future research directions. The present study submits meaningfully with the development of a three item scale 227 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh and subsequent record of recommended reliability value (<.7) (Wells & Wollack, 2003). Psychological effort is also conceptualised as the amount of cognitive or mental effort exerted in any emotionally demanding situation. These are few additions to the literature on emotional labour and could be clarified by future researchers. The present study adopted a novel initiative of using observation as part of the qualitative data gathering. The use of observation is not a common practice in Ghanaian psychological research. Even though it was time consuming, the researcher paid a number of research visits to both radio and television stations to sample events to either corroborate or otherwise the findings of the interview-based data. Resorting to observation was a scenic illustration of lived-experiences shared by interview-based participants. 6.4.1.2 Analytical Contributions The use of Hayes’ (2013) process theory on moderation offers another analytical strength to the current study. Initially, the researcher tested emotional labour as a composite variable but found no relationship with psychological health. It was imperative to test the moderation using Hayes process theory as one of the dimensions of emotional labour (surface acting) independently related to the aspects of psychological health (distress, exhaustion, and general wellbeing). Second, the analytical strategy for the observation data was another methodological contribution. From the literature, very few attempts have been made to use IPA to interpret observation data. The only attempt as far as the researcher’s search is the work of Larkin and Griffiths (2002). In a careful imitation of their approach, the researcher utilized IPA to analyze the observation data after establishing support for the three-tier conditions for use of IPA. The present study contributes to analytical rigour with the use of IPA for observation 228 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh data. The IPA analysed observation data was subsequently triangulated with other data sources collected. Sam (2014), sheds light on the strength of data triangulation. According to Sam (2014), data triangulation is pillared on both “Universalist and Relativist” ideals (p. 237). The universalism philosophical underpinning emphasizes on generic generalization of findings whiles the relativism underscores the relevance of focusing on some unique attributes relative to a social group in a given context. The present study made meanings from both quantitative data, one-on-one interview-based data, and crew-based observation data. Synchronizing these three data set ensured a culturally balanced viewpoint to the phenomena being studied. The present study used data triangulation to compare findings to establish areas of complementarity or otherwise. 6.5 Limitations of the Study The present study had some limitations that could subtly limit the usefulness of the analyzed data and weaken the rigorousness of findings and conclusions drawn. Consequently, these limitations invariably weaken the extent of generalization of results and applicability of findings. First, the opinions and viewpoints of media practitioners in seven other regions of Ghana were not sampled. Even though the researcher widened the scope of sampling to cover the three largest regions (all clustered in the southern part of Ghana) with a greater proportion of radio and television stations, the study sample excluded some practitioners in the northern parts of Ghana. In terms of the number of stations, they are on the minority, their context of operation may have added some dynamics to the study findings. Second, the researcher endeavored to engage at least two set of focus groups to further deepen the extent of corroborativeness of interview and observation data or otherwise but to no avail. 229 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The work patterns and time structure of media employees did not allow the researcher to have the targeted group to be engaged in focus group discussions. Third, the entire study was also limited to electronic media practitioners. Media practitioners in the print media were thus excluded from this study. Consequently, the extent of generalizing of the study findings of this study to the media industry is subtly limited. Fourth, the study failed to capture the extent to which media company or station specific programmes may have varied findings. Employees in stations with largely field and investigative orientations may have different emotional labour experiences compared to those in entertainment or sports orientation. Lastly, the sample engaged in the present study did not adequately have much demographic variability. For instance, about 92.6 % of the respondents were of Christian based faith among quantitative samples. Similarly, eleven (11) out of the thirteen (13) qualitative participants were also of Christian based faith. In addition, the researcher inadvertently engaged a much youthful employees with an average age of twenty nine (M=29). These demographic disparity weaken the generalizability of study findings. The use of observation method as a data source as part of the qualitative study may largely be subjective and may be difficult to replicate. The aforementioned limitations do not suggest that the utility and potency of applying the findings of this research to organizational or clinical practice is curtailed. The present study offers methodological, conceptual and policy driven implications from findings. The present study thus introduces to researchers, the outlook of emotional labour experiences on 230 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh employee psychological health and set the pace for further research in the area among different samples at different settings in Ghana. 6.6 Implications for Policy and Psychological Practice in Ghana The present study has implications for policy and psychological practice in Ghana. Key industry players have a mammoth role to play in streamlining activities of media practitioners. - Policy Implications of the Study The media is generally considered as the fourth force in the Ghanaian democratic dispensation. The present study has policy implications for the media industry and its stakeholders. The Ghanaian media industry operates under the Ministry of Communication and the National Media Commission (NMC). The conduct of professionals in media practice are further regulated by their organized body, Ghana Journalists Association (GJA). The conduct of the public sector employer (government) of media practitioners is regulated by the government through its appointed agencies (Ministry of Communication and NMC) while the private sector employers have their organized body, Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), to regulate their activities. It appears these regulatory bodies focus on providing guidelines and policy documents on how media practitioners should conduct themselves on their jobs. The welfare and work conditions of the practitioners has not been their priority. Commenting on this, one participant with over 33 years’ experience summarized the core of employee problems by saying: It will interest you to know that apart from Daily Graphic, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Ghana News Agency and Times (all government owned media houses) none other media house has Unions. How will they have conditions of service? How do they negotiate? You get poached with a fat money, only to be fired in no time…. I think GIBA should be up and doing when it comes to the welfare of media employees. They need to prioritize employee welfare and streamline things. NMC need to work with GIBA to get these things done. It is sad to know that you dare not complain in the private media houses. If you do, you will be sidelined. A big shot can ensure you don’t appear on your show and once such strings are pulled, you are off. You won’t get appearance anymore (P6, Male public media manager with over 33 years’ experience) 231 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh A private practitioner actually confirmed the unfavorable work climate of these practitioners and said: We don’t have Unions, it’s a private institution so you can’t have one (P12, Female privately employed practitioner). Explaining why that is the situation she said: If you complain they will let you to go home, so if you can’t endure then you leave yourself. According to P12, the average salary of media practitioners was pegged around ‘GHS 600-700’ (between $130-155) yet one cannot complain. Another male presenter in one of the giant private stations said of their unions: we do have unions but it is not as vibrant as it should (P13, Male news anchor and presenter). All participants were on the affirmative for not having psychological support of any kind to deal with their emotional challenges. One participant was rather emotional and said There is no such support and I don’t think I’m just speaking for myself because I interact with my colleagues, there is no such support for anybody, none of those of us who are directly involved in assignments that can errr lead to emotional stress and trauma and so on, there is no support whatsoever.... there is no direct support, no counselling, there is no psychologist that after you have gone a traumatic experience like the one I went through in Somalia (P6, Male broadcast journalist with 14 years’ experience). The above shared experiences epitomise the need to have action policies aimed at improving the occupational health of all media practitioners. The Ministry of Communication and the NMC need to liaise with GIBA and GJA to ensure that a proper welfare policy is rationed. Firstly, the training curriculum of media professionals need to have a psychology component to address some foreseeable emotional challenges. It is hoped that the psychological health concerns raised by the present study will help initiate the incorporation of psychology in the training structure of media professionals. Secondly, the Ghana Labour Commission need to encourage media employers to establish vibrant Unions as their activities ensure that employer-employee relationships are healthy. 232 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Such unionized structure will certainly improve the working conditions of media practitioners and help avert employer-employee bullying. An effervescent union will ensure that situations like ‘If you complain they will let you to go home’ as described by participant 12 does not happen in organizations. Thirdly, it is not enough for media employers to just provide biomedical support to employees. The results of the present study suggest that contemporary media practice is laden with several mental health issues. It is crucially important that psychologically refreshing support system be instituted in all media houses. The researcher suggests that Ghana Psychological Association (GPA) work with National Insurance Commission to develop ‘psychological insurance package’ as a complementary health support system to biomedical insurance. The NMC, GIBA and GJA need to initiate a policy which require that at least in each year, a one off appointment with a psychologist be accessed by media practitioners via this ‘psychological insurance’. Such a policy will especially benefit broadcast journalists and field practitioners greatly as they are usually at the forefront to investigate and report traumatic and emotionally charging stories. It is hoped that the NMC and other media stakeholders will use the findings of this study as a benchmark for charting a mental health guide to promote mental health interventions among media practitioners. Such an initiative will ensure the holistic health and wellbeing of all media practitioners. - Implications for Psychological Practice One of the pillars of industrial and organizational psychology is personnel selection. The present study result implies that Industrial and Organizational psychologists attempt to design context specific assessment instruments capable of differentiating those who are emotionally stable and have the ability to repudiate and skillfully handle the emotional challenges they are likely to face. Until this is done, it is vital that personality testing be considered a 233 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh fundamental part of media practitioner recruitment process. The personality test results will have implications for employee placement at the barest. What this means is that recruited employees who may have scored low on emotional stability could be placed at areas with less traumatic scenes. Recruiters with more psychological resources can better cope with emotionally taxing situations (Hobfoll, 1989; 2001). Psychologists need to deepen their practice side of their training. The fact that deep acting had no significant relationship with psychological health dimensions and appears to be a form of citizenship behaviour has implications for tailor-made training in organizations. It will be appropriate for psychologist to design training to discourage surface acting while encouraging deep acting in service based organizations. It is now more than ever important that tailor- made training programmes be designed on the basis of the psychological health concerns raised in this study. As professional psychologists in the African context, we have not marketed ourselves enough as to how we can remedy contemporary mental health concerns of workers. One participant recommended that he is ‘looking for something that will go beyond the normal training and, how do you train somebody to handle emotions, I don’t know, you are the experts (P6) he further said: ‘I suggest you carry out training for the management of media houses. It will really help (P6). The problems of our time at the workplace are more of mental health and professional psychologists need to be more assertive in popularizing their services. 6.7 Recommendations for Future Research Foremost, the researcher recommend that future researchers adopt a sequential approach (either exploratory or explanatory) mixed-method approach to develop a context specific survey instruments of the key antecedent and consequent variables of the concept of emotional labour or further explore the ‘why’ of quantitative findings. For instance, a 234 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh sequential explanatory approach may have offered a better exploratory rationale to the role played by religiosity as a moderator. This approach will increase the cultural validity as far as contextual application is concerned. Second, it is recommended that future researchers use focus group discussions and compare the lived-experiences of media practitioners before the digital age and those of the digital age to ascertain possible nuances and differences. Third, future researchers can adopt a comparative approach and compare the extent to which electronic media practitioners vary in emotional labour experiences from their print media colleagues. Such an approach may yield some context-specific findings valuable to emotional labour research. Fourth, it is further recommended that future researchers test the moderating role of emotional intelligence and personality on the relationship between emotional labour and psychological health. Similarly, future researchers should consider the relationship between emotional labour and suicidal ideations with different research samples. Such an attempt will help confirm or disconfirm present findings so as to spearhead possible interventions to prevent people from taking their own lives. Fifth, future researchers should also widen the scope of this research to incorporate practitioners based in the northern parts of Ghana and possibly translate questionnaires and interview guide into local languages. This initiative likely will yield some deeper contextual findings as there seem to be an influx of local dialect based radio and television stations in Ghana with its communicative competent human resource. Sixth, it is also suggested that future researchers attempt to develop Religio-social Interaction Model of Emotional Management to assist employees wallowing in emotion stress. It is 235 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh envisioned that such an intervention will take into account the macro and micro contextual nuances to increase ecological validity of intervention kit. Lastly, applied research on work-related emotion and emotion management is still at a fledgling phase in Africa and Ghana. There might be more emotional labourers in Ghana whose peculiar experiences are yet to be discovered. The researcher recommend that future researchers target unearthing the lived-experiences of the clergy, qualitative researchers, medical doctors, judges, and human resource managers. It is hoped that these directions for future studies if adhered to will supplement and expand context specific research on emotional labour. 6.8 Reflexivity: Research Process, Ethical Issues, and Surprises Emotional labour as a concept appear relatively new among Ghanaian researchers. In four different conference presentations done on this paper, the researcher needed to explain with practical examples of the concept and thereafter received feedbacks indicating the interesting nature and practicality of the area. Carrying out a research in a relatively new setting was one of a challenge. The value of using both qualitative and quantitative approaches in a single study cannot be discounted. This notwithstanding, the richness of the qualitative data made the integration of both approaches quite challenging and demanding. Known or experienced media practitioners are viewed as celebrities and are very difficult to find. The researcher had to join the most experienced participant at a keep-fit bay before having his interview appointment honored. Similarly, the researcher joined another interview participant in his vehicle while he was being chauffeur-driven. It was during this time that the interview appointment was guaranteed. This situation was not pertinent to only qualitative samples. Out of the 750 236 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh questionnaires distributed in three main regions, only 336 usable questionnaires were received. This cement the hard work that went into gathering both quantitative and qualitative data. The researcher got himself on a learning expedition, having to learn to use electronic data management software (NVIVO) and skillful use of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Maneuvering around these two skill based learning tools delayed the researcher. The use of IPA in analyzing observation data proved to be a novelty but challenging. The observation results however, accentuate some findings from the interview data. The researcher has a background of doing structural organizational behaviour studies. The present study however, was a fine blend between clinical health and organizational behaviour. Interestingly, some of the cases and experiences shared required that the researcher himself emotionally labour. The researcher consciously restrained himself from getting emotionally involved in the shared experiences even though some naturally required shedding tears and flowing naturally with emotions. In the interview process, the researcher met some surprises. Some participants gave indications of having depressive symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorders, and suicidal ideations. The researcher was thus challenged between his ‘researcher-participant’ interaction and ‘therapist-patient’ interaction. The researcher skillfully handled such situations. Participants with depressive symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorders, and suicidal thoughts were later debriefed, assisted, and follow-ups were made to check on their psychological soundness. The researcher also realized that the interview process alone was a healing to almost all media practitioners engaged. It appears some participants had bottled-up personal and psychological 237 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh issues awaiting aeration. Majority of participants (n=11) emphasized being relieved after the interview process. It can be deduced that catharsis or ventilation (opening up to someone) was instrumental and could be packaged as a psychological first aid in the coping process. Some participants used the opportunity of meeting a psychologist for the first time in their lives to express the need to have them (psychologists) integrated into the human resource structure. Overwhelmed with the process, some indicated that they will be interested in the policy-driven implications of the study and hoped the occupational health of media practitioners improves in the future. Overall, the researcher changed his lay person perception of media practitioners as their world-view were being shared. Their smiley-beautiful faces and voices on set or air made him think of them as never encountering any work related problems, only for this research to reveal that they only ‘tell the stories of others, but they don’t tell their own’ (P11). The world view of electronic media practitioners is thus unveiled. It is also worth knowing that, as professionals, our mammoth role in sharing and protecting the wellbeing of people should not be limited to the classroom. Communicative skills as far as psychological knowledge and processes are concerned should be an integral part of the training curriculum. The present research experience added to the repertoire of the researcher, the need to have a healthy researcher-supervisor relationship and cemented the researcher’s conviction on the need for graduate students to go through a module with the suggestive title ‘emotional intelligence for academics’. 6.9 Summary and Conclusion The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between emotional labour and psychological health and to explain the concept of emotional labour from the world view of 238 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh media practitioners. Complementary concurrent mixed-method design was used for this study. Using purposive and snowball sampling strategy, 13 (9 males and 4 females) media practitioners were interviewed with a semi-structured interview protocol for the qualitative data as well as observation data from 4 media crew. The quantitative data was cross- sectionally obtained using questionnaires from a purposive sample of 336 (205 males and 131 females). All data set were gathered from media practitioners in Greater Accra, Ashanti and Western regions (three main business regions) of Ghana. The quantitative data was analysed using Pearson’s product moment correlation, Hayes’ (2013) process moderation Analysis and Standard Multiple Regression. The foremost result from the quantitative study was that surface acting significantly predicted general wellbeing and emotional exhaustion but not psychological distress. It was also found that psychological effort indirectly mediates the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion. Third, religiosity significantly moderated the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion as well as psychological distress. No significant relationship was found between emotional labour and work outcomes (job satisfaction and turnover intentions). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of the qualitative findings indicate that media practitioners explain emotional labour as ‘faking’,- principally explained as ‘pretense’ or ‘living a lie’- and is manifested through the ‘suppression’ and/or ‘enhancement’ of ones' emotions in line with their occupational display rules. The present study further unearthed depressive symptoms, stress, emotional dissonance, suicidal ideations, nightmares and associated insomnia, work-life balance challenges, turnover intentions, and superior-subordinate bullying, as key explorations of media practitioners’ psychological health states. Feedback from the public, fellow employees, friends and family emerged as predisposing factors of emotional labour experiences. Even though some media practitioners resort to poor coping strategies such as abuse of alcohol, smoking, and intemperance in social activities, majority recourse to 239 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh personal, religious and social resources as effective coping strategies to deal with emotional labour demands. The emotional labour (Grandey, 2000; Hochschild, 1983; Zapf et al., 1999), Africultural Coping (Utsey et al., 2000), CoR (Hobfoll, 1989; 2001), Socio-ecological model (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 1995), and JD-R (Demerouti et al., 2001) theories were well applied in discussing the findings of this study. The findings are reasonably meaningful as they demonstrate the mammoth effect of emotional labour process on the psychological health of employees. Emotional labour is increasingly becoming a requirement for most occupations. The shift from manufacturing to service-based requires that employees be supported to build their personal resources to deal with emotional labour challenges. The implications of both quantitative and qualitative findings for psychological practice, policy making, selection and placement, and future research directions were succinctly discussed. Media employers must have the general need for recognizing that emotion work is a labour that takes a toll on employees and will require skills to manage. To mitigate the psychological health concerns raised, media owners are encouraged to have emotional labour management strategies and psychological support structure to stabilize and improve employee health. Regulatory bodies such as the Ghana National Media Commission and Mental Health Authority have a mammoth role to play in promoting occupational health standards geared toward promoting better psychological health of media practitioners. 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Emotion work as a source of stress: The concept and development of an instrument. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 8(3), 371-400. 259 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh APPENDICES APPENDIX A - EMOTIONAL LABOUR STUDY QUESTIONNAIRES Dear Media Practitioner, You are invited to participate in an academic research project being conducted by Collins B. Agyemang, a Psychologist and Doctoral scholar at the Department of Psychology, University of Ghana. Broadly, this study is focused on exploring the impact of emotional labour on the psychological health of media practitioners and to understand the emotional labour experiences among media practitioners. This study is significant in that the findings will help organizations in Ghana particularly the Media Industry to appreciate the psychological ramifications tied to the work of media practitioners and ultimately inform policy on occupational health. I will therefore be asking you to volunteer information on your day to day work experience. It will take you about 30 minutes to answer the questions that follow. There are no right or wrong answers to the questions. To answer the questionnaire, kindly follow the instructions given, such as placing a “tick” () in the appropriate box or a circle around the “value” that best describes your situation. All you are asked to do is to complete the attached questionnaire, with no other obligations. Apart from subtle tiredness that may accompany this exercise, there is no risk of danger or harm to you, but if you feel threatened by this research project, you are not obliged to participate. You should know that your participation does not guarantee any benefit to you, and no promise is being made to encourage you to participate. This questionnaire is anonymous; there will be no way to identify you or your answers by the researcher or anyone else. Your responses will also be kept confidential and your name will not be used under any circumstance. You may please fill the consent form attached. This notwithstanding, by answering this questionnaire, you are agreeing to participate in the study. You are not to put your name or identification of any type anywhere on the survey. There is no compensation, monetary or otherwise, for participating in this study. Again, your participation is completely voluntary. This research project has been approved by the Ethics Committee for the Humanities at University of Ghana. In case of research-related injury, you may contact them at, The Administrator, Ethics Committee for Humanities, ISSER University of Ghana, Legon Tel: 0244855638. If you have any questions regarding this questionnaire, please feel free to contact Collins Agyemang on the following telephone numbers 0244 982242/ 0268597551 Part A The first section of the questionnaire is concerned with demographic information; please indicate the response that applies to you for each question. 1. Which year were you born? 19 . 260 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2. Your sex:  Male  Female 3. Current employer: 4. Type of electronic media you work with?  Television  Radio; if other, please specify- ------ 5. Number of years in the media industry ……………. years 6. Years of service for current employer: years 7. Please indicate your area of work ----------------------------------------------------------------- 8. Years in your current role 9. Employment status:  Full time  Part time  Casual  i f o ther (please specify)…………………………. 10. Your highest level of education:  up to SHS/O-A Level,  Diploma,  Degree,  Post Degree  i f o ther (please specify)…………………………. 11. Religious Affiliation________________________ The next questions ask about the length of interaction you have with clients. 12. How many hours per day do you work, on the average? a. less than 2 hours a day ( ) 1 b. between 2 and 4 hours a day ( ) 2 c. between 4 and 6 hours a day ( ) 3 d. between 6 and 8 hours a day ( ) 4 e. more than 8 hours a day ( ) 5 13. Please estimate how much time per, on the average, you interact with clients (directly or on the phone) a. less than 2 hours a day ( ) 1 b. between 2 and 4 hours a day ( ) 2 c. between 4 and 6 hours a day ( ) 3 d. between 6 and 8 hours a day ( ) 4 e. more than 8 hours a day ( ) 5 14. How long, on the average, does each contact with a client usually last (i.e. conversations with the client or service to the client or groups of clients)? a. less than 15 minutes ( ) 1 b. about 15 - 30 minutes ( ) 2 c. about 30 - 60 minutes ( ) 3 d. about 1 - 2 hours ( ) 4 e. more than 2 hours ( ) 5 Part B: In order to meet the demands and expectations about how to deal with clients, it is often necessary to display very specific feelings towards the clients. For each of the feelings listed in the following table, please mark how often you are required to display them when working with clients. 261 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh very rarely some- often Very often rarely / times (several times never (about once (about once (several an hour) a week) a day) times a day) 1 affection/kindness ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 2 happiness/happiness for ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 Somebody 3 gratitude ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 4 friendliness ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 5 enthusiasm ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 6 shock/perplexity ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 7 anger ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 8 dissapointment ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 9 hope ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 10 sympathy ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 11 aggression ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 12 neutrality/impartiality ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 Part C On a scale of 1-5 indicate the frequency to at which you need to do the following. Statements Never Rarely Sometimes Often Very Often 1. How often does your job allow you to end conversation with clients if you consider it to be appropriate? 2. How often can you yourself decide upon the amount of time you devote to a client independent of the clients’ need? 3. How often are you assigned specific deadlines by the company for your involvement with clients? Part D: Please tick [ √ ] the option that best describe the actual emotions that prevails in you at the workplace. 1. Never 2. Rarely 3. Sometimes 4. Very Often 5. Always How often do you do each of the following things on your present 1 2 3 4 5 job? 1. I put on an act in order to deal with clients in an appropriate way. 2. I sometimes put on a “show” or “performance”. 3. I just pretend to have the emotions I need to display for my job. 4. I try to actually experience the emotions that I must show. 5. I make an effort to actually feel the emotions that I need to display toward others. 6. I work hard to feel the emotions that I need to show as part of my job. 262 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Part E: In many jobs which demand interaction with clients such as yours, one has to deal with both, one’s own feelings as well as those of the clients in a very particular way, in order to handle tasks of the job successfully. The way these interactions are regulated, however, differs from workplace to workplace. How is it where you work? complet mostl partly mostly not at ely true y true true not true all true 1 These rules were explain ned to me by my ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 boss 2 These rules were imparted in educational ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 seminars, put on by the company 3 These rules were imparted in my vocational training. ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 4 These rules are an unspoken part of the corporate culture in our company (“that is ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 just the way it is done”) 5 Following these rules is necessary in order to succeed in my career ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 6 The job profile or professional ethics determine these rules. ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 7 These rules result from the societal expectations of my work ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 8 I imposed these rules upon myself ( ) 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 ( ) 4 ( ) 5 263 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Part F Please read all of the statements in the table below and select the response that best describes you in terms of your religiosity. Be sure to read each of the statements before making your choice. never rarely occasionally often very often 1. How often do you think about religious issues? 2. How often do you take part in religious services? 3. How often do you experience situations in which you have the feeling that God or something divine wants to communicate or to reveal something to you? 4. How often do you pray? 5. How often do you keep yourself informed about religious questions through radio, television, internet, newspapers, or books? 6. How often do you pray spontaneously when inspired by daily situations? 7. How often do you experience situations in which you have the feeling that God or something divine is present? 8. How often do you experience situations in which you have the feeling that God or something divine intervenes in your life? not not moderately quite very at all very a bit much much so 9. How interested are you in learning more about religious topics? 10. To what extent do you believe that God or something divine exists? 11. To what extend do you believe in an afterlife—e.g. immortality of the soul, resurrection of the dead or reincarnation? 12. How important is to take part in religious services? 13. How important is personal prayer for you? 14. In your opinion, how probable is it that a higher 15. H ow im portan t is it for you to be connected to a religious community? 264 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Part G On a scale of 1-5 indicate the frequency at which you need to do the following. Statements Never Rarely Sometimes Often Very Often 1. How often in your job do you have to suppress your emotions in order to appear neutral on the outside? 2. How often in your job do you have to display emotions that do not agree with your actual feelings towards the clients? 3. How often in your job do you have to display pleasant emotions (i.e. friendliness) or Unpleasant emotions (i.e. Strictness) on the outside while actually feeling indifferent inside? 4. How often in your job do you have to display emotions that do not agree with your true feelings? Part HOn a scale of 1-5 indicate the frequency to at which you need to do the following. Statements Never Rarely Sometimes Often Very Often 1. Meeting emotional display rules sometimes impairs my performance on other task 2. Following organizational display norms is a bother 3. Meeting emotional display rules make me appear artificial Part I: For each of the following statements, please mark or check the response that best reflects yourself in relation to each statement. In the last four weeks, about how All of Most of Some of A little of None of often... the time the time the time the time the time 1. Did you feel tired out for no good reasons? 2. Did you feel nervous? 3. Did you feel so nervous that nothing could calm you down? 4. Did you feel hopeless? 5. Did you feel restless 6. Did you feel so restless that you could not sit still? 7 . Did you feel depressed? 8. Did you feel that everything was an effort? 9 . Did you feel so sad that nothing could cheer you up? 10. Did you feel worthless? 265 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Part J On a scale of 1-5 indicate the extent at which the following statements of emotional wellbeing reflect of you. Statement Very Untrue Neutral True of Very Untrue of me Me True of of Me Me 1. Lost much sleep over worry 2. Felt constantly under strain 3. Been thinking of yourself as a worthless person 4. Felt that you are playing a useful part in things 5. Been able to enjoy your normal day-to-day activities 6. Felt capable of making decisions about things Part K: On a scale of 1-5 indicate the frequency to at which you get emotionally exhausted Statements Never Almost Sometimes Almost Every Never Every Time Time 1. I feel emotionally drained from my work 2. I feel used up at the end of the day 3. I feel tired when I get up in the morning and have to face another day on the job. 4. Working all day is really a strain of me 5. I feel burned out at the end of the day. 266 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Part L: Please consider the strategies you use in coping with emotionally draining work-related situations. Recall a stressful situation(s) that occurred. Rate each coping strategy by indicating whether you used it to cope with the stressful situation. 0 = does not apply, 1 = Used a little, 2 = Used a lot, 3 = Used a great deal. ITEM Does Used Used Used not a a lot a apply little great deal 1. Pray that things would work themselves out. 2. Get a group of family or friends together to help with the problem. 3. Share your feelings with a friend or family member. 4. Remember what a parent (or other relative) once said about dealing with these kinds of situations. 5. Try to forget about the situation. 6. Go to church, mosque (or other religious meeting) to get help from the group. 7. Think of all the struggles Africans/Ghanaians have to endure, which give you strength to deal with the situation. 8. To keep from thinking about the situation, you find other things to keep you busy. 9. Seek advice about how to handle the situation from an older person in your family or community. 10. Read a scripture from the Bible or Koran for comfort and/or guidance. 11. Ask for suggestions on how to deal with the situation during a meeting of your organization or club. 12. Try to convince yourself that it was not bad. 13. Ask someone to pray for you. 14. Spend more time than usual during group activities. 15. Hope that things would get better with time. 16. Read a passage from a daily meditation book. 17. Spend more time than usual doing things with family and friends. 18. Try to remove yourself from the situation. 19. Seek out people you thought would make you laugh. 20. Get dressed up in my best clothing. 21. Ask for blessings from a spiritual or religious person. 22. Help others with their problems. 23. Lit a candle for strength or guidance in dealing with the problem. 24. Seek emotional support from family and friends. 267 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 25. Burn incense for strength or guidance in dealing with the problem. 26. Attend a social event (dance, party, movie) to reduce stress caused by the situation. 27. Sing a song to yourself to help reduce the stress. 28. Use a cross or other object for its special powers in dealing with the problem. 29. Find yourself watching more comedy shows on television. 30. Leave matters in God’s hands. Part M: This part requires you to express how you feel about the following statements. Read each statement carefully. Indicate how you feel about each statement. The rating scale is as follows: 1. Very strongly disagree 2. Strongly disagree 3. Mildly disagree 4. Neutral 5. Mildly agree 6. Strongly agree 7. Very strongly agree Items 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. There is a special person who is around when I am in need. 2. There is a special person with whom I can share my joys and sorrows. 3. My family really tries to help me. 4. I get the emotional help and support I need from my family. 5. I have a special person who is a real source of comfort t me. 6. My friends really try to help me. 7. I can count on my friends when things go wrong. 8. I can talk about my problems with my family. 9. I have friends with whom I can share my joys and sorrows. 10. There is a special person in my life who cares about my feelings. 11. My family is willing to help me make decisions. 12. I can talk about my problems with my friends. 268 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Part N: Please tick () where applicable the options that best describe your intentions. SD= Strongly Disagree, D= Disagree, N = Undecided, A= Agree, SA= Strongly Agree. ITEM SD D N A SA 1 I will probably look for a new job in the next year. 2 I will likely actively look for a new job within the next three years. 3 I often think about quitting my present job. 4 I may quit my present job during the next twelve months. 5 I do not see many prospects for the future in this organization. Part O: In this section, there are questions about several aspects of your job. Please express your satisfaction or dissatisfaction by ticking () where applicable with the various aspect of your job indicated using the following scale. SA= Strongly Agree, A= Agree, N = Undecided, D= Disagree, SD= Strongly Disagree ITEM SA A N D SD 1 I have generally found the kind of work I do here exciting 2 It is worthwhile to invest my time delivering service at this media outlet 3 I would advise my friends to become employees with this media outlet 4 I would recommend this company as a place to work 5 Overall, I feel I am satisfied with my job Thank you for participating in this study 269 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh APPENDIX B - INTERVIEW PROTOCOL A brief description of the research topic and main objectives will be given to intended respondents. This research proposal is focused on the interactions between media practitioners and their clients (viewers / listeners/ interviewees). I will be asking questions about how you have to manage your emotions when dealing with these clients in your day to day work, the types of emotions that are directed at you from them and what you may do as a result of this. I will also be covering issues relating to how this emotional interaction impacts on you/your relationship with others and the type of things that help or hinder your ability to cope with the emotional demands of your job. Do you have any questions? Participants who are willing will be given information letter and consent form to sign. It will be stressed that they are free to end the interview at any time if they so wish. Personal Data / General Questions i. What is your Job Title/Grade ii. How long have you been Working as a media practitioner? iii. What does your job entails iv. Age or age range v. Religious Affiliation Emotional Displays 1. Tell me the emotional displays you sometimes experience emotional as a presenter/media practitioner? 2. Can you tell me about a time when you had to manage your emotion as part of your role as a media presenter 3. Tell me how you know which emotional displays are acceptable in your role 4. How do you make sure you show these emotions? ( deliberately elicit these emotions? or naturally what they feel?) 5. Can you describe a moment or a time when you felt uncomfortable or constrained by the requirement to display these kinds of emotions? 6. How much do you consider this aspect of displaying the right emotion as part of your job? Emotional Constraints 7. Tell me about the emotions you are expected to inhibit or constrain as part of your role as a media presenter. 8. How do you know which emotional displays are unacceptable? 9. How do you make sure you don’t show these emotions? (Hide these emotions or hide how they naturally feel? 10. Tell me the times you feel uncomfortable not being able to display these emotions 11. How much do you consider this emotional constraint to be part of your job? 270 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 12. What causes you to engage in these emotions? Feedback of Responses from Clients (Explain clients to respondents) 13. What sort of emotional responses do you get from the clients you work with? - Is there a recent example you can use by way of illustration? - How did that make you feel? - How did you manage it? 14. What are some emotional aspects of your work that makes your job as a media presenter enjoyable? Wellbeing 15. What are some of the things that make the emotional aspect of your job more difficult? - Are there times when you get emotionally upset? Probe further - How did you feel afterward? - Do you think hiding some natural emotions or enhancing it does affect you in any way? Probe further Individual Abilities 16. - How do you manage/handle the emotional demands? - What personal quality(ies) allows you to deal with these work pressures? Coping Strategies and Available Support 17. - How do you deal with issues from clients that tend to upset you? - Tell me the type of things that help you cope with the emotional demands of your work. - Do you receive support from your organization that help you handle these day-to- day emotional management? Probe further (for what kind support) - In your view, is the organizational support adequate? Probe further - Are there any other support in managing your emotions? Probe Further - Are there some things that reduces your ability to cope with these emotional challenges? Probe further General Comments 18. - Tell me what sustains you to keep working in this industry. - Do you see yourself working in this industry in the next 2, 5, 10, ……. years? (Probe for why) - What personal characteristics do you think would make someone more likely to be successful in respect to emotional management aspect of your role? Probe further. - Do you think new employees need to be given training on emotional labour? Probe further 271 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Concluding Questions 19. Let us summarize the main points of our discussions (The researcher presents a review of the responses to the key questions). Is this summary complete? Are there any additions or changes you would like to make? 20. Are there any other questions you wanted me to ask you? 21. How did you feel being interviewed about this topic? 272 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh APPENDIX C- DEPARTMENTAL APPROVAL 273 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh APPENDIX D - ETHICAL CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE 274 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh APPENDIX E – INFORMED CONSENT FORM UNIVERSITY OF GHANA Official Use only Protocol number Ethics Committee for Humanities (ECH) PROTOCOL CONSENT FORM Section A- BACKGROUND INFORMATION Title Emotional Labour and Psychological Health Of : A Study among Electronic Media Practitioners in Ghana Study Principal Investigator: Collins Badu Agyemang Certified Protocol Number Section B– CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH General Information about Research The main aim of this study is principally examine the impact of emotional labour (suppressing or enhancing one’s emotions) on the psychological health (PH) of electronic media practitioners and to understand the emotional labour experiences among media practitioners who handles emotionally charging cases. The study will, with the consent of participants, involve a questionnaire and personal interview with electronic media practitioners. The study will require approximately 40 minutes of your time. The project is approved by the Graduate 275 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Committee of the Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, Legon. Some electronic media practitioners will be requested to answer a set of questionnaires as part of the quantitative study. The interviews would be audio recorded so that responses can accurately be documented so as to enable the researcher to review the topics and responses later for purposes of analysis. Participation is possible if only you are willing to have the interview. Respondents will be made to sign or thumb print where practicable before their involvement in this research. Benefits/Risk of the study This project will hopefully benefit you by giving insight into some of the methods and procedures used in the field of Industrial-Organizational psychology for research purposes. You will receive no compensation for participating in this study. The final project output in the form of a completed dissertation would be made available to University of Ghana, and copies could be accessed for references in future research and/or practical application for relevant solutions. Your support in understanding the emotional labour experiences of the target group can inform recruitment, selection, placement and training decisions in the media industry and other related fields. There are no known risks/discomforts associated with your participation, and there are none foreseeable. Confidentiality Your responses will be treated with utmost confidentiality. Only the researcher (Collins B. Agyemang) and approved research assistants will have access to the individual data you will provide. The results will be reported in an aggregated format (e.g., as averages, etc.), and under no circumstance will any individual participant be identified in a publication or presentation describing this study. Compensation Participants will not be paid for participating in this research since it is purely voluntary. However, it is intended that participants will be refreshed with a bottle of mineral after the research. 276 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Withdrawal from Study Your participation is important but voluntary. You may decline to participate without any difficulty. If you decide to participate, you may withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. If you choose to withdraw from the study before data collection is completed, your data will be destroyed at your request. You can withdraw if you feel uncomfortable at any point in time. Contact for Additional Information For further questions/comments or need for clarifications on the study please contact the researcher: Collins B. Agyemang, PhD Candidate, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, Legon. Or via E-mail: agyemang.collins@yahoo.com Mobile: 00233244982242 If you feel you have not been treated in accordance with the descriptions in this consent form, or your rights as a participant in this research project have been violated, you may contact the Administrator of the Research Ethics Committee of University of Ghana via ech@ug.edu.gh or 00233- 303-933-866. Section C- VOLUNTEER AGREEMENT "I have read or have had someone read all of the above, asked questions, received answers regarding participation in this study, and am willing to give consent for me, my child/ward to participate in this study. I will not have waived any of my rights by signing this consent form. Upon signing this consent form, I will receive a copy for my personal records." __________________________________________ Name of Volunteer __________________________________________ __________________________________________ Signature or initials of volunteer Date 277 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh If volunteers cannot read the form themselves, a witness must sign here: I was present while the benefits, risks and procedures were read to the volunteer. All questions were answered and the volunteer has agreed to take part in the research. ____________________________________________ Name of witness ____________________________________________ Signature of witness Date I certify that the nature and purpose, the potential benefits, and possible risks associated with participating in this research have been explained to the above individual. ________________________________________________ Collins B. Agyemang (Researcher) ________________________________________________ Researcher’s Signature Date 278 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh APPENDIX F – OBSERVATION SETTING DESCRIPTION Radio Crew Setting The researcher had the access to sit within 3 meters range at the cockpit of the media crew. Even though the seating position was not interruptive to their work, the researcher had the opportunity to observe, pick body language signals, whisperings f threats and dissatisfaction during commercial breaks and after the show. All these details were captured, pinned together, and subjected to IPA analysis. Television Setting Unlike the radio setting, the television cockpit is much wider. The researcher gained access to the screen shooting scene. The standing or siting range were within two to 6 meters range. On all the occasions for the television crew, body language were frequently used and whisperings of disapproval only happened after the show. 279 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh APPENDIX G: QUALITATIVE DATA MANAGEMENT (CODING FRAME) Organizing Themes (with basic codes) P01 P02 P03 P04 P05 P06 P07 P08 P09 P10 P11 P12 P13 Total Emotional Expression *Negative emotions Anger X X X 3 Fear (Nervousness) X X 2 Sadness X X X X 4 *Positive Emotions Feeling of happiness (Satisfied) X X 2 Personal gratification from work-helping X x X X X X X X 8 people need/Impact on people’s lives Ventilation Crying/Weeping (excessive )-[Ventilation] x x x x x x x x 8 Psychological States Depressive Symptoms (Loneliness, X X X 3 Emotional Instability) Stress/Burnout (extreme x X X X X X X X 8 stress/pressure/burden/Work overload) Nightmares/Flashes X X X X 4 280 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Helplessness/Brokenness X X X 3 Dissonance (Conflict of emotions/ Personal X X X 3 conflict with job demands) Suicidal thoughts X X 2 Frustration/Discouragement X X X X 4 Turnover Intentions x x x x X X X x X X X 11 Difficult work and balance X x X 3 Behavioral Issues (As a form of ventilation) Over-indulgence in social gatherings X X 2 Alcohol Intake x 1 Smoking x 1 EMOTIONAL LABOUR (a) (a) General Meaning Faking X X X X X 5 • Pretense (Pretending about X X X X 4 emotions) • Living a lie X X 2 (i) Suppression 281 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Hiding/Resisting/Restrain/ Hold X X X X X X X X X X X X 12 back/inhibition/Bottling emotion (ii) Enhancement Be strong for the audience/Composure X 1 Holding back to comfort hosts/Composure X 1 Producers diffuse emotions before X 1 programmes are aired/ Composure Demeanor must express expected X 1 emotions/Composure Get your personal emotions out of the way/ X 1 Composure Choosing topics that concur with emotions/ X 1 Composure Expected to smile all the time X X 2 Put up a brave face but broken inside X 1 Emotional deflection/ Composure X 1 Keep up a certain face/composure X 1 Keep up appearances/Composure X X 2 282 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Put up a performance/ Composure X X X 3 Emotional management (Coping) X X X X X X X X X X 10 Spirituality/religion (Faith) X 1 Spirituality/religion (Prayer) X X X X 4 Spirituality/religion ( encourages tenacity- X x x 3 soaking in pressure) Social Insurance (Psychological coaching) X X 2 Social Insurance (Feeling relieved after the X X X X X 5 interview) Need for psychological help X X 2 Social Inheritance (Emotional support from X x 2 superiors) Social Inheritance (Little encouragement to X 1 be strong from superiors) Toughness from prior experiences (Post- X X 2 traumatic growth) The knowledge that you are on air should X 1 keep your emotions managed/ Expectations The fact that you have become a public X X X X 4 figure/ Expectation 283 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Knowledge of the consequences of exposure X 1 to prolonged emotional problems (Post- traumatic growth) Allowing oneself to express the X X X X X X 6 emotion/Opening up to people/Crying / Talking about emotions Ventilation (Social Inheritance) Experience of X X 2 superiors/People Personal Resources (Hope, Self-control, X X X X 4 Building inner strengths/mental strength) Sources of Emotional Challenges Public X X X X X X X 7 backlash/Insults/Pressure/Attacks/blame/Soc ial media attacks Ignorance in media circles X 1 Burden of religious and ethnic weight X 1 Inaction from irresponsibility X 1 Colleagues & Mgt. (Excessive pressure from X 1 superiors) Attacks on media practitioners from X X X 3 important political figures/Public figures 284 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Colleagues & Mgt.(Open criticism from X 1 management) Difficult public emotions X 1 Complexity of emotion X 1 Difficult job X 1 Frustration work environment X 1 Colleagues & Mgt.(Poor relations of X X 2 owners) Challenging emotions from subjects X 1 Colleagues & Mgt. (Private owners are X 1 problematic) Keeping problems to oneself X 1 Colleagues & Mgt. (Problematic behaviours X 1 from crew) Colleagues & Mgt. (The challenge of X 1 communicating mistakes to subordinates The pressure to produce high quality work X 1 Unrealistic expectations from family and X X X 3 friends/ Expectations Colleagues & Mgt. Constant pressure X 1 between producers and reporters 285 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Public institutions are antagonistic X 1 Public does not appreciate the work of X X 2 journalists No freedom in media X 1 Get your emotions out of the way X 1 Exposure to difficult situations X 1 Not permitted to react to pressure from the X 1 public Quest for money threatens the quality of X 1 journalism Organizational challenges No Unions X X X X X X 6 Existing unions are weak/lack of voice X 1 Allegations of bribery X 1 Private media poaching from public media X 1 No institutional support for private media X X X 3 employees Private owners are untouchable/Bullies X 1 Unstandardized managerial treatment X X 2 286 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh No job security for media personnel X 1 Very low remuneration X X 2 Remuneration is better in the public X X 2 Poor organizational structure X X 2 Difficult and poorly trained media owners X 1 complicate the job of media personnel No legal protection for media X X 2 No organizational setup to deal with X X X 3 emotions No guidelines in media institutions to X 1 manage media Recommendations for new media personnel Staying informed and constant reading X 1 Check wrong motives for coming into X 1 media_e.g. Cash and fame Love and passion for the Job X x X X X 5 Trust X 1 Tactfulness X 1 General Issues Raised 287 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Frequent hospitalization X 1 The threat of physical attack/ X x x 3 confrontation/gender violence Lack of breaks and dietary assistance X 1 Interview Experience by Psychologist/Social Researcher First time of X X X X X X X X X X X X X 13 Training on emotional issues X X X X X X X X X X X 11 288 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Appendix H - Psychological Effort Scale KMO and Bartlett's Test Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. .662 Approx. Chi-Square 194.795 Bartlett's Test of Sphericity df 3 Sig. .000 Communalities Initial Extraction PH1 .274 .392 PH2 .350 .635 PH3 .258 .366 Extraction Method: Principal Axis Factoring. Total Variance Explained Factor Initial Eigenvalues Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings Total % of Variance Cumulative % Total % of Variance Cumulative % 1 1.908 63.608 63.608 1.392 46.412 46.412 2 .623 20.765 84.373 3 .469 15.627 100.000 Extraction Method: Principal Axis Factoring. Factor Matrixa Factor 1 PH1 .626 PH2 .797 PH3 .605 Extraction Method: Principal Axis Factoring. a. 1 factors extracted. 15 iterations required. 289 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh APPENDIX I - LIST OF PRESENTATIONS DERIVED FROM THIS THESIS Agyemang, C. B. & Peprah, A. A. (2018). Voiceless Gong-Gong Beaters: A Challenge to Communicating the Transformative Agenda of Sustainable Development Goals. 4th UG- School of Social Science International Research Conference (April 11th -12th, 2018). Bank of Ghana Auditorium, University of Ghana. Agyemang, C.B. (2018). The Light around our Emotional Suppressions and Woes: A Study of Some Ghanaian Media Practitioners. First Positive Psychology Conference (April 4th -7th, 2018), North-Western University, Potchefstroom, South Africa Agyemang, C. B. (2017). “We tell the stories of others, but we can’t tell our own’- Emotional Labouring Experiences of Ghanaian Media Practitioners”. 2nd People Development Conference of Africa Congress of Psychology (May 7-10, 2017), Kruger National Park, Skukuza- South Africa. Agyemang, C. B. (2017). “Beyond the Smiles and Accolades: Antithesis and Psychological Abrasions of the Story Tellers” .Department of Psychology Colloquium Series (March 29, 2017). Kofi Drah Conference Auditorium, University of Ghana, Legon Agyemang, C. B. (2016). “…for 2 days I saw pictures in my mind, I saw dead bodies in my dream…” – Emotional Labour: A Psychosocial Burden on Ghanaian Media Practitioners’ Shoulders. International Journal of Arts International Conference (November 8 -11, 2016), University of London, United Kingdom. Agyemang, C.B. (2016). Outside Gentility Home Cry”-Emotional Labour Experiences of Media Practitioners. Department of Psychology Colloquium (October 12, 2016). Kofi Drah Conference Auditorium, University of Ghana, Legon Agyemang, C.B. (2016). Emotional Labour Research in Ghana: The Expedition of a Conceptual Detective. Faculty of Management Studies Seminar Series (April 15, 2016). School of Graduate Studies, University of Professional Studies, Accra. Agyemang, C.B. (2016). Emotional Labourers – Are they that Many? A Review and the Way Forward“.Maiden Doctoral Students’ Conference (November 5 – 6, 2015). University of Ghana Business School’s Auditorium, University of Ghana, Legon 290