Question

define the concept of emotional labor. describe, explain and discuss perspectives on emotional labor in general as well as in different workplace settings. Explain in 250 words

1. Create your own working definition of emotional labor. Your definition should include likely effects of emotional labor, such as fatigue, workplace stress, anxiety, and alienation. explain in about 250 words.

Answer 1

Emotional labor refers to the process where employees have to manage their feelings according to the organizations defined rules and guidelines. This concept was introduced by Hochschild’s in 1983.

He discussed two types of emotional labor I.e. deep acting and surface acting. The deep acting means when a person is happy from inside as his personal life is going well and his thoughts are positive so he is working with energy and enthusiasm. He will also respond to customers calls with positivity and enthusiasm.

The surface acting means when a person puts on an act of enthusiasm and looks happy because he must meet certain social and work rules. For example, if a person had an argument with his wife and is upset about the conversation he still has to look happy and talk with energy while interacting with customers. He has to fake emotions.

The jobs involving emotional labor are those, which requires;

1. Face to face interaction or verbal communication with customer on the phone.
2. The employee requires producing an emotional state in another person.
3. The employer imparts training to ensure a degree of control on the emotional behavior and activities of the employees.

Hoch child argues that emotional labor estranges people from their own emotions and modifies their behavior to suit the job requirements.

In relation to work, it is seen that emotional labor is exhausting to meet organizational goals. In case a person is upset but has to face a customer. He has to continuously keep smiling and sound enthusiastic even though he is feeling upset from the inside.

Similarly, if a person gets positive feedback from a co-worker or his boss he will feel very charged up and will work more efficiently.

A person from the service industry or employee facing the customers like in the hotel or hospitality industry have to be always polite and have a constant smile on their face. In contrast, the employees in the manufacturing team are able to remain in their own mood and are not forced to fake emotions.

Emotional labor defines jobs and the role of many professions. It is so in case of the public servants, the doctors and any other profession which interacts with the public. Their behavior will determine the relationship with the public and that is how the job will be seen. The emotional labor is a reflection on how a job is viewed.

My Perception:

According to me, Emotional labor is a constant need to show that you are nice and happy while suppressing your normal feelings of stress, anguish, and distress. It is a burden to constantly show a positive image. In case I am working in a McDonald's team serving customers at the counter I am obliged to greet all customers and constantly smile although I might have had an extremely stressful time reaching the place of work. The bus was late, the weather was not good, my uniform could not be ironed, I reached work late and was fired by the supervisor. Despite all this, I have to be facing the public as per norms laid down by McDonald's whereby I will fake emotions of positivity and attend to the customers happy.

This results in a person acting in an unnatural way. This is to show a certain image that the company wants to project its brand and its people. They want all outlets to appear lively, enthusiastic and happy space. The employees are trained to continuously smile and also give a fabulous experience to the customers day in day out.

This results in employees being burnout by the age of 35 they are facing extreme mental stress and anxiety. In some cases, the employees will take out their frustration at home on partners and that might lead to eventual break down of relationships. It is common for people with high-stress customer-facing jobs to face traumas, emotional breakdowns and deal with a lot of frustration. For example, We see actresses facing depression because again it is a job where the person must appear glamorous and cool all the time. The actors are required to be constantly looking good and appearing happy even though they might be facing personal issues. The emotional labor de-humanizes human beings and expects them to be continuously happy and energetic. This constant burden is making the human race unnatural and feeling less and they have lost touch with their own selves.

To conclude it is important to vent out your normal feels and emotions which includes anger, distress, anguish, and sadness. It can help to resolve many mental health issues and make the person healthier.