While a smile might inspire trust and approachability in a workplace, not all smiles are as genuine as they may seem. Some hide emotional exhaustion, resulting in employees, specifically salespeople, feeling drained and depleted.

These, according to a recently published study led by Dr. Omar Itani, associate professor at LAU’s Adnan Kassar School of Business, emerge under pressure to close a sales deal or fulfill a company’s expectations. The effort employees place in managing feelings to meet organizational expectations, known as “emotional labor,” carries a hidden cost to their wellbeing and performance.

Titled “The interplay of morality, emotional labor, and customer injustice: How salesperson experiences shape job satisfaction,” the collaborative study explores emotional labor in business-to-business (B2B) sales and the tension employees face between feeling and displaying emotions. “Emotional labor may cost organizations more than they realize, and it was essential to conduct this study to tackle these implications on salespeople and organizations,” said Dr. Itani.

The research distinguishes between two strategies: surface acting—faking emotions like enthusiasm—and deep acting, which involves genuinely feeling them. While both are common in sales, surface acting has been linked to customer mistreatment, lower job satisfaction and reduced performance.

“Surface acting is exhausting and inauthentic and could develop many mental illnesses, like stress and depression,” said Dr. Itani. “Customers can feel that, and this can easily damage trust between them and the salesperson.”

On the organizational level, these elements impact staff retention, leading to increased turnover, reduced productivity, higher costs and decreased customer satisfaction, which ultimately damage the company’s reputation.

Individuals with strong internal moral values, on the other hand, were less likely to fake emotions, while people who exhibit symbolizing morality—projecting a moral image without fully embracing those values—are more prone to emotional performance, particularly surface acting.

“Internalized morality grounds individuals with values, which influence actions and opinions,” said Dr. Itani. “When you act with integrity, it reduces the need to perform. Yet if someone’s morality is for show, one will probably find it harmless to fake a smile.”

Based on these findings, Dr. Itani underscored the need for organizations to shift from managing emotional labor to reducing it altogether by creating environments where employees genuinely feel supported and empowered. This is especially important for sales leaders and HR professionals rethinking emotional expression in the workplace.

Amid growing scientific data linking emotional labor to job dissatisfaction and decreased productivity, the timely study has attracted global media attention.

Published in Industrial Marketing Management, it has been featured by the Ole Miss business school at the University of Mississippi and other academic and industry outlets, including Yahoo News, The University Network, Safety + Health, Science Daily, Study Finds, and UnHurry, ranking among the top 5 percent of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.

While the study focused on US-based salespeople, Dr. Itani sees global implications. He elaborated that the effects of emotional labor may be even more noticeable in the Arab world, where interactions are more emotionally charged and collectivist values dominate.

“People in this region expect sincerity, not just service,” he noted. Replicating the study in the MENA region, he added, may face data and cultural challenges, including limited access to reliable survey tools, varying norms regarding emotional expression in professional settings, and participants’ reluctance to openly discuss workplace dissatisfaction. However, Dr. Itani maintains that the core findings hold across industries and borders.

Beyond the results, the project showcases academic collaboration that brought together diverse cultural and disciplinary perspectives, enriching the research process and deepening the analysis of emotional labor across different contexts.

As primary author, Dr. Itani anchored the work at LAU, strengthening its global research presence. “I have worked with scholars from over 15 countries,” he said. “Different perspectives always lead to stronger outcomes and better research results.”

To browse more scholarly output by the LAU community, visit our open-access digital archive, the Lebanese American University Repository (LAUR).