Surface acting as a mediator between personality and attitudes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore surface acting as a mediator in the relationships between perceptions of organizational politics and personality, with stress, turnover intentions, and job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained via survey from 276 working adults, and responses were subjected to structural equation modeling to confirm the measurement model and test hypotheses. Findings Surface acting was found to mediate the relationships between perceptions of organizational politics and intent to turnover and satisfaction, and between proactive personality and intent to turnover and satisfaction. No mediating effect for surface acting was found between agreeableness and the outcomes. Practical implications Individual differences and situational contingencies do affect surface acting in the workplace, and individual work-related outcomes. Managers need to be aware of personality characteristics and situational contexts that impact surface acting in organizations to help understand the effects of potential divergent attitudes and behaviors on employee outcomes. Originality/value Previous research examining surface acting assessed behavior in light of employee-customer interactions. This research extends the study of surface acting by examining the mediating role of surface acting among new predictors including organizational politics, proactive personality, and agreeableness with stress, turnover intentions, and job satisfaction.