DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sjebm.2025.v12i11.003

Pages: 288-297

This study examined how surface acting, or stretch acting, influenced organizational misalignment through the mediating roles of emotional strain and job fatigue. The research aimed to reveal the hidden costs of emotional labor in Indonesian mining corporations, where employees were often required to suppress authentic emotions to meet organizational demands. A quantitative survey was conducted among 291 employees from mining companies in Kalimantan. Data were collected using a five‑point Likert scale and analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Reliability and validity were confirmed, ensuring that the measures accurately reflected constructs such as surface acting, emotional exhaustion, job fatigue, and organizational misalignment. The findings indicated that surface acting had a significant positive effect on organizational misalignment. Emotional strain and job fatigue mediated this relationship, showing that employees who consistently repressed emotions experienced higher exhaustion, reduced motivation, and greater tendencies toward absenteeism, presenteeism, and neglect of supervisory instructions. These outcomes demonstrated that unmanaged emotional labor undermined employee commitment and contributed to organizational misalignment.