The effect of emotional labour on quiet quitting among millennials and Gen Z: burnout and EI roles

Purpose This study aims to determine the effect of emotional labour on the phenomenon of quiet quitting through job burnout and moderated by emotional intelligence of call centre employees. Design/methodology/approach The paper is empirical and quantitative in nature. The sample of the study is call centre employees from the millennial and z generation in PT. XYZ Indonesia. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and partial least square analysis. The population in this study were call centre company XYZ employees from the millennial generation and generation z. The number of respondents taken in this study were 260 respondents. Non probability sampling method is used in determining respondents. Findings Emotional labour has a positive effect on quiet quitting and job burnout. Contrary to some existing literature, this study reveals a negative effect of job burnout on quiet quitting, indicating a counter-intuitive relationship. Job burnout mediates the relationship between emotional labour and quiet quitting. Emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between emotional labour and job burnout, but does not moderate the relationship between job burnout and quiet quitting. Practical implications This study implies that managing emotional labour in call centre settings requires an integrated HR strategy focused on reducing burnout and preventing quiet quitting. Organizations should minimize excessive reliance on surface acting by redesigning emotional display rules and promoting deep acting through targeted training. Developing employees’ Emotional Intelligence, particularly emotion regulation, empathy and adaptive coping skills is essential to strengthen resilience against emotional strain. Management should also balance performance monitoring and artificial intelligence-based systems with psychological support, fair evaluation practices and reasonable productivity targets to avoid creating feelings of job entrapment. In addition, flexible work arrangements, supportive supervision and meaningful task design are especially important for retaining Gen Z employees in high emotional-demand environments. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first of its kind which empirically examine the relationship between emotional labour and quiet quitting with job burnout as mediating and emotional intelligence as moderating among millennials and z-generations in Indonesia.