Emotional labor, professional commitment, and intention to leave the sport psychology field: a longitudinal examination

Sport Psychology Professionals (SPPs) work with a unique clientele and in a range of nontraditional working conditions. These working practises lead SPPs to feel a variety of discrete emotions, the experience and expression of which is not always compatible with effective practice and leading them to engage in emotional labour (EL). With this study we aimed to examine the relationship between SPPs’ experience of emotional labour, their professional commitment, physical and mental exhaustion, and the long-term influence of these variables on their intention to leave the profession. A sample of 560 SPPs (47% females) from around the world completed an online questionnaire exploring their experience of EL, professional commitment, level of exhaustion and intention to leave. Twenty months later, these SPPs were again asked to respond to a set of questions focused on their intention to leave the profession. The initial sample predominantly (85%) included experienced (Mexperience = 11.2 SDexperience = 10) professionals, engaging in applied (45.2%), teaching (27.8%) and research (26.9%) activities. More than half (n = 345) of these SPPs also responded to the twenty month follow up survey and offered quantitative and qualitative data regarding their intention (or lack thereof) to leave the profession. The data offer a rich insight to potential factors associated with professional burnout and turnover, and highlight the importance of emotional labour education, training, and professional development activities across the career span.