Faking care, fading care: Hierarchical plateau triggers quiet quitting and shifts surface acting and deep acting among college counselors, moderated by career inaction

The present study aimed to investigate whether hierarchical plateau among college counselors predicts shifts in emotional labor (surface acting and deep acting) through the mechanism of quiet quitting, and whether career inaction moderates this process. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, it is examined how hierarchical plateau drives this shift through quiet quitting and identify career inaction as a boundary condition. Using a two-wave design with 411 Chinese college counselors, we measured hierarchical plateau, quiet quitting, and career inaction at the first wave and assessed surface and deep acting three weeks later. Results indicate that counselors perceiving greater promotion constraints reported higher quiet quitting, which subsequently increased surface acting while undermining deep acting. The indirect effects through quiet quitting on surface acting and deep acting were significant, and career inaction amplified this process: college counselors who recognized the need for career change yet failed to act were especially prone to withdrawal when facing hierarchical constraints. These findings extend conservation of resources theory by specifying how structural career barriers reshape emotion regulation at work. Practically, the results suggest that addressing quiet quitting among college counselors requires interventions targeting both individual coping and the systemic conditions perpetuating hierarchical plateau.