Table of Contents
- Defining Emotional Labour
- Dimensions of Emotional Labour
- The Contexts of Emotional Labour
- Implications for Workers
- Gender and Emotional Labour
- Emotional Labour in a Globalized Economy
- Technological Impact on Emotional Labour
- Strategies for Managing Emotional Labour
- Conclusion
- Think!
- Essay Suggestions
- Research Suggestions
- Further Reading
The concept of emotional labour, introduced by sociologist Arlie Hochschild in her seminal work The Managed Heart (1983), has become a crucial analytical tool in understanding how emotions are commodified and regulated within the labor market. Emotional labour refers to the process by which workers manage and manipulate their emotions to fulfill the emotional requirements of their job roles. This concept is particularly relevant in service-oriented industries where interaction with customers is a central component of the work. In this essay, I will outline and explain the dimensions of emotional labour, its implications for workers, and its broader sociological significance.
Defining Emotional Labour
Hochschild (1983) defines emotional labour as the effort, planning, and control needed to express organizationally desired emotions during service transactions. This type of labour involves two key elements: surface acting and deep acting. Surface acting entails displaying emotions that are not genuinely felt, such as smiling at a customer despite feeling upset. Deep acting, on the other hand, involves attempting to modify one’s internal feelings to align with the expected emotional expression. Both forms of acting require significant emotional regulation and can have profound effects on the individual.
Dimensions of Emotional Labour
- Surface Acting: This involves altering outward emotional expressions without changing internal feelings. Workers, such as flight attendants, may smile and appear friendly even when they are experiencing negative emotions. This façade is maintained to meet the expectations of the job role and customer satisfaction.
- Deep Acting: In this dimension, workers try to align their actual emotions with the expected emotions. For example, a nurse might cultivate genuine feelings of empathy towards patients to provide better care. Deep acting is more psychologically demanding as it requires altering one’s internal emotional state.
- Emotional Dissonance: This occurs when there is a disconnect between felt emotions and displayed emotions. Persistent emotional dissonance can lead to emotional exhaustion and burnout, as the effort to maintain a false emotional front is taxing over time.
- Feeling Rules: These are the societal norms and organizational guidelines that dictate the appropriate emotions for a given situation. Workers internalize these rules to understand which emotions are acceptable to display and which are not.
