The mediating role of transactional analysis ego states in the relationship between emotional labor and organizational citizenship behavior

The aim of this study is to determine the mediating role of ego states in the effect of emotional labor on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in public sector employees. Data was collected from a public enterprise operating in Bandırma district of Balıkesir province. The population consisted of 1,941 employees working at the institution. The sample comprised 776 participants selected using convenience sampling, eliminating after erroneous/incomplete forms and removing outliers. Data were collected using a survey technique and analyzed using SPSS 25.0, LISREL 8.7, and PROCESS (Model 4). The findings showed that emotional labor has a positive and significant effect on OCB; that emotional labor has a positive and significant effect on ego level; and that ego level positively and significantly predicts OCB. Mediation analyzes revealed that ego states partially mediate the relationship between emotional labor and OCB, and that the indirect effect is significant using bootstrap confidence intervals. The results were confirmed by both Baron’s and Kenny’s stepwise approach and the PROCESS method. By testing ego states as a statistical mediator in a public-sector sample, this study connects transactional analysis with the emotional labor Organizational Citizenship Behavior literature and offers context specific implications for human resource management and leadership practices.