Showing papers on "Emotional labor published in 2016"

The Managed Heart

Abstract: The phrase "emotional labor" was coined by sociologist Arlie Hochschild in 1983 in her classic book, The Managed Heart. Jobs requiring emotional labor typically necessitate contact with other people external to or within the organization, usually involving face-to-face or voice-to-voice contact, especially in service work. In this article, the authors summarize Hochschild's pathbreaking work and assess the state of the current multi- and interdisciplinary litera- ture on emotional labor. They distinguish between two interrelated areas of research on emotional labor. The first area involves predomi- nantly, though not exclusively, qualitative case studies of employees at workplaces in the service sector. A second set of studies, primarily quantitative, investigates the link between emotional labor at home, in different jobs, or in nurturing activities (a specific form of emo- tional labor) and its consequences for individual employees' job satis- faction, productivity, and pay.

Standing Out from the Crowd: Emotional Labor, Body Labor, and Temporal Labor in Ridesharing

Abstract: CSCW researchers have become interested in crowd work as a new form of collaborative engagement, that is, as a new way in which people's actions are coordinated in order to achieve collective effects. We address this area but from a different perspective - that of the labor practices involved in taking crowd work as a form of work. Using empirical materials from a study of ride-sharing, we draw inspiration from studies of the immaterial forms of labor and alternate analyses of political economy that can cast a new light on the context of crowd labor that might matter for CSCW researchers.

Making space for empathy: supporting doctors in the emotional labour of clinical care.

Abstract: The academic and medical literature highlights the positive effects of empathy for patient care. Yet, very little attention has been given to the impact of the requirement for empathy on the physicians themselves and on their emotional wellbeing. The medical profession requires doctors to be both clinically competent and empathetic towards the patients. In practice, accommodating both requirements can be difficult for physicians. The image of the technically skilful, rational, and emotionally detached doctor dominates the profession, and inhibits physicians from engaging emotionally with their patients and their own feelings, which forms the basis for empathy. This inhibition has a negative impact not only on the patients but also on the physicians. The expression of emotions in medical practice is perceived as unprofessional and many doctors learn to supress and ignore their feelings. When facing stressful situations, these physicians are more likely to suffer from depression and burnout than those who engage with and reflect on their feelings. Physicians should be supported in their emotional work, which will help them develop empathy. Methods could include questionnaires that aid self-reflection, and discussion groups with peers and supervisors on emotional experiences. Yet, in order for these methods to work, the negative image associated with the expression of emotions should be questioned. Also, the work conditions of physicians should improve to allow them to make use of these tools. Empathy should not only be expected from doctors but should be actively promoted, assisted and cultivated in the medical profession.

Managing service employees: literature review, expert opinions, and research directions

Abstract: This article reviews the service management and marketing literature on managing people with a particular emphasis on managerial relevance. This review explores the market and financial results of managing people effectively, emphasizing that it is probably harder to duplicate high-performing human assets than any other corporate resource. The challenges inherent in boundary-spanning frontline jobs are discussed, including role conflict and emotional labor. Next, recommended human resources (HR) strategies and practices related to recruitment, training, empowerment, service delivery teams, and employee motivation are reviewed. The literature review concludes with a section on service culture, climate, and leadership. Each section is complemented with further research suggestions that emerged from interviews with eight academic and practitioner experts. The last section outlines six themes for new research opportunities with high potential managerial relevance; they relate to (1) the financial impa...

Knife-like mouth and tofu-like heart: emotion regulation by Chinese teachers in classroom teaching

Abstract: This study attempts to bring together two lines of enquiry into teacher emotion, emotional labor and emotion regulation, arguing that the process of teachers’ emotional labor is their regulation of feelings and expressions to achieve professional goals. Through the analysis of qualitative data collected from two projects concerning teacher emotion in China, the study summarizes three categories and seven strategies adopted by Chinese teachers to regulate their emotions in the classroom. Teachers regulate their emotions by genuinely expressing their feelings in teaching, along with surface acting and deep acting. These emotion regulation strategies help teachers fulfill their professional goals, and may therefore influence their well-being. The influence of Chinese culture on the emotion regulation of teachers, and the teacher–student relationship in China, are also discussed.

A qualitative thematic review: emotional labour in healthcare settings

Abstract: Aims. To identify the range of emotional labour employed by healthcare professionals in a healthcare setting and implications of this for staff and organisations. Background. In a healthcare setting, emotional labour is the act or skill involved in the caring role, in recognizing the emotions of others and in managing our own. Design. A thematic synthesis of qualitative studies which included emotion work theory in their design, employed qualitative methods and were situated in a healthcare setting. The reporting of the review was informed by the ENTREQ framework. Data sources. 6 databases were searched between 1979–2014. Review methods. Studies were included if they were qualitative, employed emotion work theory and were written in English. Papers were appraised and themes identified. Thirteen papers were included. Results. The reviewed studies identified four key themes: (1) The professionalization of emotion and gendered aspects of emotional labour; (2) Intrapersonal aspects of emotional labour – how healthcare workers manage their own emotions in the workplace; (3) Collegial and organisational sources of emotional labour; (4) Support and training needs of professionals Conclusion. This review identified gendered, personal, organisational, collegial and socio-cultural sources of and barriers to emotional labour in healthcare settings. The review highlights the importance of ensuring emotional labour is recognized and valued, ensuring support and supervision is in place to enable staff to cope with the varied emotional demands of their work.

Interpersonal Process of Emotional Labor: The Role of Negative and Positive Customer Treatment

Abstract: Emotional labor refers to the process of regulating both feelings and expressions in response to the display rules for promoting organizational goals. Existing literature has provided strong evidence for the impact of emotional labor (i.e., surface acting and deep acting) on service employees’ emotional exhaustion. However, the empirical examination of the mechanisms underlying this association is largely missing from prior research. Drawing on the social interaction model of emotion regulation, this article reported 2 daily diary studies examining the role of customer treatment toward employees in channeling emotional labor's impact on employee emotional well-being. Specifically, Study 1 measured emotional labor at the between-person level as habitual emotional regulation strategies used by service employees, and Study 2 measured emotional labor at the within-person level to capture its fluctuations. Results showed that employees engaging in more surface acting were more likely to receive negative treatment from customers, which in turn increased their negative affect and emotional exhaustion. Further, employees engaging in more deep acting were more likely to receive positive treatment from customers, which in turn increased their positive affect. Implications and limitations of these findings were discussed.

Emotional labour and work engagement among nurses: examining perceived compassion, leadership and work ethic as stress buffers

Abstract: Aim The study examined whether three resources, that is, compassion, transformational leadership and work ethic feasibility, buffer against the negative effects of emotional labour on work engagement. Background Emotional labour is a common job stressor among nurses, but little is known about whether certain personal and work resources buffer against it in relation to work engagement. Revealing buffers of emotional labour would help organizations to design tailored interventions. Design Cross-sectional online survey conducted in 2014. Methods Participants were 3466 Finnish nurses. Hypotheses were tested via hierarchical moderated regression analyses. Results Higher emotional labour related to lower engagement. Two interaction effects were found. First, work ethic feasibility buffered against emotional labour: the nurses who perceived work ethic feasibility as high in a situation of high emotional labour, scored higher on engagement compared with those nurses who in this stress situation perceived work ethic feasibility to be low. Second, high compassion was detrimental to engagement in the presence of high emotional labour. Transformational leadership did not act as a buffer but showed a positive relationship with engagement. Conclusion Work ethic feasibility (being able to work according to high ethical standards) is an important resource in nursing as it protects an employee against the negative effects of emotional labour and as it also directly promotes engagement. However, compassion may not always be beneficial in nursing, especially if co-occurring with high job stress. Transformational leadership has potential to improve engagement in nursing although it may not operate as a stress buffer.

Teachers’ emotions and emotion management: integrating emotion regulation theory with emotional labor research

Abstract: While the similarities between emotion regulation (Gross in J Personal Soc Psychol 74:224–237, 1998a) and emotional labor (Hochschild in The managed heart: commercialization of human feeling. University of California Press, Berkeley, 1983) have been theoretically discussed, empirical research on their relation is lacking. We examined the relations between the two constructs as well as their relations with teachers’ discrete emotions in a sample of 189 secondary school teachers. The results showed that reappraisal correlated positively with deep acting, whereas suppression correlated positively with surface acting. The findings further suggest that reappraisal and deep acting are linked to experiencing positive emotions, whereas suppression and surface acting are linked to experiencing negative emotions. However, there also were some differences in how emotion regulation and emotional labor were related to teachers’ discrete emotional experiences. Specifically, reappraisal and deep acting strategies were positively related to enjoyment; in addition, deep acting was negatively related to negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, and frustration. By contrast, suppression and surface acting strategies were positively associated with negative emotions (i.e., suppression with anxiety; surface acting with anxiety, anger, and frustration), and surface acting was negatively associated with the positive emotion enjoyment. Implications for integrating research on teachers’ emotion regulation and emotional labor are discussed.

Affectivity, Emotional Labor, Emotional Exhaustion, and Emotional Intelligence in Coaching

Abstract: This study investigated the relationship among affectivity, emotional labor strategies, and emotional exhaustion, and the moderating effect of emotional intelligence in that relationship. There were 430 NCAA Division I coaches who completed questionnaires measuring affectivity, the forms of emotional labor, emotional exhaustion, and emotional intelligence, which were modified to fit the coaching context. The result indicated that positive affectivity predicted 3 forms of emotional labor. In addition, coaches’ surface acting and genuine expression significantly predicted their emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, emotional intelligence moderated the relationship between surface acting and emotional exhaustion. These results reveal the important role of emotional labor on coaches’ well-being.

The mediating effect of emotional intelligence between emotional labour, job stress, burnout and nurses' turnover intention.

Abstract: This study was designed to construct and test the structural equation modelling on nurses' turnover intention including emotional labour, job stress, emotional intelligence and burnout in order to identify the mediating effect of emotional intelligence between those variables. Emotional labour, job stress and burnout increase turnover intention of nurses. However, emotional intelligence is negatively correlated with emotional labour and reduces job stress, burnout and turnover intention. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the goodness of fit of the hypothetical model of nurses' turnover intention. Research data were collected via questionnaires from 4 to 22 August 2014 and analysed using SPSS version 18.0 and AMOS version 20.0. The model fit indices for the hypothetical model were suitable for recommended. Emotional intelligence has decreasing effect on turnover intention through burnout, although its direct effect on turnover intention is not significant. Emotional intelligence has mediation effect between emotional labour and burnout. This study's results suggest that increasing emotional intelligence might critically decrease nurses' turnover intention by reducing the effect of emotional labour on burnout.

Emotional Strategies of Police and Their Varying Consequences for Burnout

Abstract: It has been widely noted that policing is a stressful occupation, leading to a host of adverse outcomes. Many have posited that, in part, this can be explained by the emotional demands imposed on o...

Positive psychological capital and emotional labor in Korea: the job demands-resources approach

Abstract: This study examined the effect of organizational justice perception on service employees' positive psychological capital and the influence of positive psychological capital on surface and deep acting. Drawing on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and the literature on positive work environment, the indirect effects of perceived distributive and procedural justice on surface and deep acting through service employees' psychological capital were hypothesized. Using data from 263 flight attendants of the largest airline company in South Korea, the results indicated that perceived distributive and procedural justice were positively related to service employees' psychological capital, which, in turn, fostered deep acting but not surface acting. Deep acting was negatively related to emotional exhaustion, while surface acting showed a positive relationship. Emotional exhaustion, in turn, increased turnover intention. This study offers contributions to our understanding of positive psychological capital and im...

The Burnout Spiral: The Emotion Labor of Five Rural U.S. Foreign Language Teachers

Abstract: An area of research that may shed light on the pressing problem of FL teacher attrition is emotion labor. Emotion labor (or emotional labour), a construct stemming from research in the fields of communication and psychology and focusing mainly on service professionals, has recently been taken up in education literature. Although student emotions in language acquisition have been examined, the field of applied linguistics has not yet tapped the explanatory potential of teacher emotions. The current project explores the emotion work of 5 teachers in rural U.S. high school FL classrooms. Thematic analysis of interviews with teachers of Spanish, French, and Latin yielded 5 key insights: perceived lack of community and institutional support for FL teachers, an excessive burden for motivation felt by these teachers, the use of teacher emotion labor to motivate their students, emotional burnout of the teachers, and perceived lack of teacher efficacy. The last two, while not inevitable, seem to be mutually influencing, forming a downward spiral that can eventually impact the willingness or ability of some teachers to continue in their careers. Implications of this study include recognition of the significance of teacher emotion labor in FL pedagogy and its potential role in teacher attrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Donning the mask: effects of emotional labour strategies on burnout and job satisfaction in community healthcare.

Abstract: Emotional labour involves management of one's emotions to match the demands of their roles. This emotion display involves just expression (surface-level emotional labour) or experience in addition to expression (deep-level emotional labour) of the desired emotions. Emotional labour is required in the effective, efficient and successful healthcare service delivery. Burnout associated with emotional labour is an important factor that decides how satisfied frontline service providers with their job are. This empirical study investigates the link between surface and deep-level emotional labour, burnout and job satisfaction in women community health workers from India. Our results from the structural equation modelling of 177 accredited social health activists (ASHAs) indicate a negative relation between surface and deep-level emotional labour, clearly demarcating them as two different strategies for performance of emotional labour in community health care setting. Surface-level emotional labour is associated with higher job satisfaction, and burnout partially mediates this relation. Deep-level emotional labour is associated with lower job satisfaction; burnout fully mediates this relation. Qualitative post hoc analysis based on interviews of 10 ASHAs was done to understand the findings of the quantitative study. Surface-level emotional labour was found to be a more desirable strategy for community health care workers for the effective and efficient performance of their work roles. Our results have a significant contribution to design, redesign, and improvement of employment practices in community healthcare. This study brings forth the neglected issues of emotions and their implications for these healthcare workers in low and middle-income countries who are a vital link that delivers healthcare to weaker section of the society. The findings have relevance not merely for the individual providing this service but the beneficiary and the organization that facilitates this delivery. Interventions based on demographic, community, national and occupational factors have also been presented.

The Benefits of Merging Leadership Research and Emotions Research.

Abstract: A closer merging of the literature on emotions with the research on leadership may prove advantageous to both fields. Leadership researchers will benefit by incorporating the research on emotional labor, emotional regulation, and happiness. Emotions researchers will be able to more fully consider how leadership demands influence emotional processes. In particular, researchers can better understand how the workplace context and leadership demands influence affective events. The leadership literature on charisma, transformational leadership, leader-member exchange, and other theories have the potential to shed light on how rhetorical techniques and other leadership techniques influence emotional labor, emotional contagion, moods, and overall morale. Conversely, the literature on emotional labor and emotional contagion stands to provide insights into what makes leaders charismatic, transformational, or capable of developing high quality leader-follower relationships. This review examines emotions and leadership at five levels: within person, between persons, interpersonal, groups and teams, and organizational wide and integrates research on emotions, emotional contagion, and leadership to identify opportunities for future research for both emotions researchers and leadership researchers.

In the eye of the beholder: emotional labor in academia varies with tenure and gender

Abstract: Expanding from the customer-service perspective, the present research investigated emotional labor, defined as “service with authority,” in an academic context. Drawing from previous research on display rules and power, tenure and gender were hypothesized to influence the extent to which college faculty labored to provide “service with authority” when interacting with entitled students. Survey results revealed that faculty low in power (untenured faculty) exhibited higher levels of emotional labor when interacting with students, as compared with colleagues high in power (tenured faculty). Additionally, tenure had a mitigating effect on emotional labor amongst male faculty, but heightened stress amongst female faculty. Together, the data suggest that, compared to customer-service settings, emotional performance requirements in academia are both different and dynamic.

Affective Labor, Resistance, and the Academic Librarian

Abstract: The affective turn in the humanities and social sciences seeks to theorize the social through examining spheres of experience, particularly bodily experience and the emotions, not typically explored in dominant theoretical paradigms of the twentieth century. Affective and immaterial labor is work that is intended to produce or alter emotional experiences in people. Although it has a long history, affective labor has been of increasing importance to modern economies since the nineteenth century. This paper will explore the gendered dimensions of affective labor, and offer a feminist reading of the production of academic subjectivities through affective labor, by specifically examining the pink-collar immaterial labor of academic reference and liaison librarians. It will end by exploring how the work of the academic librarian may also productively subvert the neoliberal goals of the corporate university.

Emotions and Emotional Labor at Worker-Owned Businesses: Deep Acting, Surface Acting, and Genuine Emotions

Abstract: Members of worker cooperatives—organizations collectively owned and democratically run by their workers—report substantial differences in how they can or must perform various emotions, compared wit...

“It’s Time, Put on the Smile, It’s Time!”: The Emotional Labour of Second Language Teaching Within a Japanese University

Abstract: Interest in the emotional dimension of language learning has been growing in recent years as researchers try to understand what role students’ emotions play in the complex processes involved in second language acquisition. This chapter represents a new conceptual direction within language learning research because rather than focusing on learners’ emotions, it provides an in-depth account of the emotional labour performed by instructors. Emotional labour is the forced management of one’s emotions in order to conform to the social norms associated with a professional role. Teaching involves high levels of emotional labour as teachers are required to manage and display particular emotions in appropriate ways in front of students. Reflecting the dynamic and shifting nature of emotional states, the chapter draws from data collected during a series of semi-structured interviews to report upon the surface acting, deep acting and the suppression of emotions performed by a sample of language instructors teaching English within a Japanese university. As emotions are socially and culturally derived, the chapter examines issues surrounding emotional labour within intercultural contexts, and considers potential links between emotional labour, teacher stress and burnout.

Inbound Call Centers and Emotional Dissonance in the Job Demands - Resources Model.

Abstract: Background: Emotional labor, defined as the process of regulating feelings and expressions as part of the work role, is a major characteristic in call centers. In particular, interacting with customers, agents are required to show certain emotions that are considered acceptable by the organization, even though these emotions may be different from their true feelings. This kind of experience is defined as emotional dissonance and represents a feature of the job especially for call center inbound activities. Aim: The present study was aimed at investigating whether emotional dissonance mediates the relationship between job demands (workload and customer verbal aggression) and job resources (supervisor support, colleague support and job autonomy) on the one hand, and, on the other, affective discomfort, using the job demands-resources model as a framework. The study also observed differences between two different types of inbound activities: customer assistance service and information service. Method: The study involved agents of an Italian Telecommunication Company, 352 of whom worked in the customer assistance service and 179 in the information service. The hypothesized model was tested across the two groups through multi-group structural equation modeling. Results: Analyses showed that customer assistance service agents experience greater customer verbal aggression and emotional dissonance than information service agents. Results also showed, only for the customer assistance service group, a full mediation of emotional dissonance between workload and affective discomfort, and a partial mediation of customer verbal aggression and job autonomy, and affective discomfort. Conclusion: This study’s findings contributed both to the emotional labor literature, investigating the mediational role of emotional dissonance in the job demands-resources model, and to call center literature, considering differences between two specific kinds of inbound activities. Suggestions for organizations and practitioners emerged in order to identify practical implications useful both to support employees in coping with emotional labor and to promote well-being in inbound call centers. In detail, results showed the need to improve training programs in order to enhance employees’ emotion regulation skills, and to introduce human resource practices aimed at clarifying emotional requirements of the job.

Why do people engage in interpersonal emotion regulation at work

Abstract: People in organizations often try to change the feelings of those they interact with. Research in this area has to date focused on how people try to regulate others’ emotions, with less attention paid to understanding the reasons why. This paper presents a theoretical framework that proposes three overarching dimensions of motivations for interpersonal emotion regulation at work, relating to the extent to which regulation is motivated by autonomy (intrinsic vs. extrinsic), relatedness (prosocial vs. egoistic), and competence (performance- vs. pleasure-oriented). Combining these dimensions suggests eight possible categories of motives that underlie interpersonal emotion regulation. The framework enables new predictions about how motives influence the types of emotions elicited in others, the strategies employed, and the effectiveness of interpersonal emotion regulation in organizations.

Stress in NHS staff triggers defensive inward-focussing and an associated loss of connection with colleagues: this is reversed by Schwartz Rounds

Abstract: The aim of this case study was to examine the impact of Schwartz Rounds on staff wellbeing and patient care. A series of interviews were conducted with staff, regarding stress. The key themes, which were extracted using Grounded Theory, were used to inform the development of a new measure, ‘The Organizational Response to Emotions Scale’. This was administered at the beginning and end of Schwartz Rounds. Analysis of the results revealed a significant reduction in attendees’ appraisal of emotional labour and an increase in reflection. This was associated with a reported upsurge in feelings of interconnectivity and compassion towards colleagues. More traditional forms of individualised staff support were in contrast, viewed as unhelpful. In particular, the offer of counselling sessions was resented by many staff because it carried the implicit message that the problem arose from a deficiency or weakness within them. New performance management policies compounded this problem and left many feeling blamed and punished for their stress. A referral to Occupational Health was widely seen as an index of failure; a sign that they could not cope. Attendance at the Schwartz Rounds helped staff to recognise that their feelings were normal in the context of a highly-pressured healthcare system. Eradicating the stigma associated with emotional responses should help to improve organizational culture. It may also help to address an emerging phenomenon that was identified within this study, namely that staff had begun to hide their feelings from their managers. In the longer term, this could serve to mask the true extent of stress and burnout within the NHS. The findings suggest that Schwartz Rounds may indirectly improve the quality of patient care by addressing the stress-induced cognitive narrowing and decline in empathy that precedes withdrawal; the process that is a likely forerunner of dehumanization. An additional finding was that the line manager played an important mediating role of containment. This, in turn, appeared to influence the level of support that staff provided to each other.