Psychometric properties of the Perth emotional labour scale: Preliminary support for a new measure with theoretical implications

Abstract

Emotional labour is the process by which people regulate emotions congruently with occupational requirements. Research consistently links emotional labour to greater levels of burnout. However, we argue this literature is potentially confounded by measurement error. We sought to validate an English adaptation of a recent emotional labour measure that addresses measurement error concerns in an under‐researched sample at risk of burnout—psychologists providing psychotherapy. We termed this measure the Perth Emotional Labour Scale (PELS) which is based upon Andela and colleagues' (2015) original measure. Additionally, we explored what factors of emotional labour contributed most to burnout in this group. We recruited 418 psychologists (81.58% female, 17.46% male, 0.96% non‐binary) across Australia (N = 362, 86.60%) and New Zealand (N = 56, 13.40%). Factor analyses and correlational analyses examined the PELS’ reliability and validity. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis explored whether each component of emotional labour contributed unique variance to emotional exhaustion (EE). Preliminary support for the PELS’ psychometric properties was found and emotional dissonance was found to be the only emotional labour factor that uniquely contributed to EE. We demonstrate preliminary psychometric support for the PELS but recommend further development and argue our findings have unique implications for research and practice.