The IMPACT of Emotional Labor Today!
While researching some thought processes, I came upon the Author Arlie Russell Hochschild who introduced our society to the term “Emotional Labor.” She wrote an influential book about it entitled “The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling” all the way back in 1983. The thought processes involving emotional labor have never been more important than they are today in our current culture. Why? Because people are more apt to vocalize their displeasure, frustration, or anger and target the person representing the company that’s right in front of them, on the other end of the call, or whomever represents a blockage on the path to meeting their expectations.
Back in 1983, Hochschild utilized four examples to make some points. The first was Flight Attendants noting that they’re expected to maintain a calm and friendly demeanor even in stressful or confrontational situations with passengers. The mantra still is: show up with a smile even if you don’t feel like it and maintain a cheerful attitude at all times. Second group was Customer Service Representatives who often deal with frustrated or angry customers over the phone or in person requiring them to manage their emotions and remain polite despite any verbal abuse they might receive.
Next group was Retail Workers who often find themselves dealing with difficult customers and are expected to provide excellent service while managing their own emotional response. The fourth group was Hospitality Staff including workers in hotels and restaurants, such as waitstaff and front desk clerks who often face demanding or rude guests and must maintain a pleasant attitude as part of their job. All four of these roles require a high level of emotional labor, as workers must regulate their own emotions and often absorb the negative emotions of others…which can lead to stress and burnout. For goodness sakes, it makes a person want to never use the tone-setting phrase “Hi Honey, how was your day?” ever again.
More than ever before, many people are apt to disparage another person without considering the emotional impact their disparagement may have on the individual. I was stunned recently when I saw a life-size cutout of a medical worker holding their hand in front of them signaling STOP as I entered a hospital and doctors’ offices. Included on the sign was this wording: ASSAULT IS NOT PART OF OUR JOB. IT IS A CRIME. I’m thinking to myself, has it really come to this? No wonder there’s a mental health/well-being crisis going on.
It’s great that there are companies addressing the challenges of mental health/well-being with the people in their employ. At the same time, my research is coming up short finding any company using the term “emotional labor” and specifically addressing the triggers, symptoms, and outcomes that occur when people are pushed up to, and past, their breaking point. It doesn’t appear to be an isolated incident that causes someone to break. Most often it’s recurring incidents that finally reach a tipping point.
Think of the analogy question: How many snowflakes does it take to break a tree branch? The correct answer is ONE because up until that final one landed, the branch was able to handle all the snowflakes that preceded the one that broke it. For us humans, our breaking point is unique to each of us on a very long spectrum. Some of us break quickly and some of us can hold on seemingly forever. All of this makes me curious as to why Hochschild’s research into emotional labor hasn’t gained more traction as of late.
We’ve all witnessed poor behavior and harsh words directed at a person that was only trying to do their job. When people are frustrated, it’s nearly never an individual that’s responsible for their frustration. If the plane’s delayed, the gate checker and flight attendant aren’t the ones responsible but get the brunt of the frustration. The waitstaff isn’t the culprit when the restaurant runs out of that day’s special but is the person that gets yelled at and treated poorly and unfairly. What to do…
GREAT NEWS! YOU…yes YOU can make a difference in this troubling conundrum that’s taking our society down a troubling path. You can help reduce the amount of emotional labor that’s bringing down our culture. How? By leading with compassion whenever you encounter bad behavior directed at an individual unjustly. It may be by hanging close by until the perpetrator has left and going up to the victim and letting them know that what happened was uncalled for, that the victim hadn’t done anything wrong, that the behavior was uncalled for, and that you feel sorry that they had to deal with it. You’d be amazed how much immediate healing power a little compassion can have. You’ll also be amazed by how much a total stranger will appreciate that you took the time to care.
You can also make a difference by talking about emotional labor at your place of employ and gathering support for the front-line individuals who have to deal with it on a regular basis. Talk about it with your friends. Practice intentionally being slower to frustration in your own circumstances. Walk in other people’s shoes by putting yourself in their place. Toss around in your mind if there’s a good side to emotional labor and what that might look like. Then email me your thoughts on the good side at 1deepwriter@gmail.com. I’m wide open for positive movement on this issue that may be getting out of hand. Hey…I Believe In YOU! GiddeyUp!