Emotional Dissonance and Coping Strategies According to the Emotional Processing Type of Call Center Counselors

Background: This study explored the emotional processing types of call center counselors and examined the differences in emotional dissonance and related adaptation indicates of coping strategies, emotional exhaustion and work performance orientation according to the types.Methods: A total of 271 call center agents (204 females, 67 males; mean age 36.5) participated in the study. Latent class analysis of emotional awareness, emotional expression, ambivalence over emotional expression were conducted. Analysis of variance(ANOVA) was used to examine differences in adaptation indicators according to emotion processing type.Results: Emotional processing types were categorized into Clear(CG), Passive(PG) Repressive(RG) groups. The CG showed low emotional dissonance, good adaptation indicates and functional coping strategies whereas results for the RG type revealed the opposite.Conclusions: By distinguishing between emotional processing types, this study found that emotional processing type is more closely correlated with burnout and work performance orientation than emotional dissonance itself.