The Relationship Between Psychological Flexibility, Emotional Regulation and Empathy among Service Staff of Five-Star Hotels in Bangkok

Main Article Content

Chawaporn Tangkitphatikul
Kannikar Sansupa

Abstract

The objectives of this research were: 1) to examine the levels of psychological flexibility, emotional regulation, and empathy among service staff of five-star hotels in Bangkok, and 2) to investigate the relationships between psychological flexibility, emotional regulation, and empathy. The sample consisted of 175 service staff from five-star hotels in Bangkok, determined using the G*Power 3.1 program. The research instruments included a psychological flexibility scale, an emotional regulation scale, and an empathy scale. Descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation, and inferential statistics using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were employed for data analysis, as the data were not normally distributed.


The findings revealed that the levels of psychological flexibility (M = 4.02, S.D. = 0.45), emotional regulation (M = 4.06, S.D. = 0.53), and empathy (M = 3.92, S.D. = 0.50) were all high. Furthermore, psychological flexibility showed a very high positive correlation with emotional regulation, and a moderate positive correlation with empathy. Emotional regulation also demonstrated a moderate positive correlation with empathy. All correlations were statistically significant at the .01 level. The findings of this study provide practical implications for human resource development in the hotel industry, particularly in designing training programs that enhance psychological flexibility and emotional regulation skills. Such initiatives may contribute to strengthening empathy among service employees and improving service quality in highly competitive service environments.

Article Details

Section
Research Article

References

กระทรวงการท่องเที่ยวและกีฬา. (2566). สถิตินักท่องเที่ยวภายในประเทศ ปี 2566 (จำแนกตามภูมิภาคและจังหวัด). กระทรวงการท่องเที่ยวและกีฬา, https://www.mots.go.th/news/category/796

กรมสุขภาพจิต. (2566). ระบบข้อมูลสุขภาพจิต (MHDC). https://datacenter.dmh.go.th/DefaultDTC.aspx

การท่องเที่ยวแห่งประเทศไทย. (2566). รายงานสถานการณ์การท่องเที่ยวประเทศไทย 2566. การท่องเที่ยวแห่งประเทศไทย, https://www.tat.or.th/

ธนาคารแห่งประเทศไทย. (2567). รายงานภาวะธุรกิจ ไตรมาส 4/2567 (หน้า 7–12). กรุงเทพฯ: ธนาคารแห่งประเทศไทย.

สมาคมโรงแรมไทย. (2567). ดัชนีความเชื่อมั่นผู้ประกอบการโรงแรม เดือนมิถุนายน 2567. https://www.thaihotels.org/

ระชานนท์ ทวีผล, ธีระวัฒน์ จันทึก, และพิทักษ์ ศิริวงศ์. (2561). องค์ประกอบความเอาใจใส่พิเศษของพนักงานบริการในโรงแรมประเภทบูติคประเทศไทย. วารสารวิทยาลัยดุสิตธานี, 12(ฉบับพิเศษ), พฤษภาคม.

Baquero, A., Khairy, H. A., & Al-Romeedy, B. S. (2025). Workplace stressors and the intention to quit: The role of psychological distress and psychological flexibility among hospitality employees. Tourism and Hospitality, 6(2), 72. https://doi.org/10.3390/tourhosp6020072

Biron, M., & van Veldhoven, M. (2012). Emotional labour in service work: Psychological flexibility and emotion regulation. Human Relations, 65(10), 1261–1282.

Bond, F. W., Flaxman, P. E., & Bunce, D. (2008). The influence of psychological flexibility on work redesign: Mediated moderation of a work reorganization intervention. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(3), 645–654.

Bond, F. W., Hayes, S. C., Baer, R. A., Carpenter, K. M., Guenole, N., Orcutt, H. K., Waltz, T., &Zettle, R. D. (2011). Preliminary psychometric properties of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire–II: A revised measure of psychological inflexibility and experiential avoidance. Behavior Therapy, 42(4), 676–688.

Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Davis, M. H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidimensional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44(1), 113–126.

Gross, J. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 271–299.

Gross, J. J. (2015). Emotion regulation: Current status and future prospects. Psychological Inquiry, 26(1), 1–26.

Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 348–362.

Haver, A., Olsen, E., & Akerjordet, K. (2019). Well-being among hotel managers: A study on the influence of job stressors and cognitive reappraisal. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-11-2017-0737

Hayes, S. C., Luoma, J. B., Bond, F. W., Masuda, A., & Lillis, J. (2006). Acceptance and commitment therapy: Model, processes and outcomes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(1), 1–25.

Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Rogers, C. R. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21(2), 95–103.

Rogers, C. R. (1959). A theory of therapy, personality, and interpersonal relationships, as developed in the client-centered framework. In S. Koch (Ed.), Psychology: A study of a science (Vol. 3, pp. 184–256). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Totterdell, P., & Holman, D. (2003). Emotion regulation in customer service roles: Testing a model of emotional labor. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 8(1), 55–73.

Umasuthan, H., Park, J., & Ryu, K. (2017). Influence of empathy on hotel employees’ service behavior and customers’ emotional experience. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 64, 24–33.

Wieseke, J., Geigenmüller, A., & Kraus, F. (2012). The influence of empathy on customer satisfaction and loyalty in services. Journal of Service Research, 15(3), 316–331.