Faking care, fading care
Hierarchical plateau triggers quiet quitting and shifts surface acting and deep acting among college counselors, moderated by career inaction
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21284366 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Qiuyan Li (0009-0007-4758-0865, Guangzhou Maritime College), Tinghan Li (Guangzhou Maritime College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 268 |
| Pages | 107333 |
| Publication date | 2026-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Acta Psychologica (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0001-6918 • E-ISSN: 1873-6297 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.107333 |
| PMID | 42379021 |
| OpenAlex | W7166717034 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 78 |
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
Coping (psychology) · Multilevel model · Plateau (mathematics) · Promotion (chess) · Psychological intervention · QUIET · Emotional Labor in Professions · Emotions and Moral Behavior · Work-Family Balance Challenges
The Effort Paradox
Job Demands–Resources theory and self-regulation
On the costs and benefits of emotional labor
Resources, coping strategies, and emotional exhaustion
Common method biases in behavioral research
Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error
The Influence of Culture, Community, and the Nested‐Self in the Stress Process
Testing Mediational Models With Longitudinal Data
Quiet quitting during Covid-19
The mediating role of perceived overqualification in the relationship between emotional labor and mindfulness among nurses in China
Emotional labour strategies and job burnout
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Emotional regulation in the workplace
The dimensionality and antecedents of emotional labor strategies
Quiet quitting
Turnover Intentions Among College Counselors in China
Conservation of Resources in the Organizational Context
Analysis of the correlation between work stress and emotional labor in college counselors
The Impact of Career Plateau on Job Burnout in the Covid-19 Pandemic
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An empirical analysis of surface acting in intra‐organizational relationships
Compelled to Compete
Ageism in the Workplace
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Surface Acting Loss Spirals
The Conditional Effects of the Transformational Leadership Behaviors on Leaders’ Emotional Exhaustion
Revisiting the relationship between career plateau and job performance
Job Burnout
No other choices but involution
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |