Emotional labour can mean many things to different people. However, when someone feels the need to suppress their emotions, it is considered as emotional labour. Employees usually alter their inner emotions before going to work.
In 1983, Arlie Hochschild devised the term ‘emotional labour.’ It describes the things workers experience and which goes beyond their physical and mental duties.
A service provider has to display a genuine concern as per the customer’s needs, smile and hold a positive and warm eye contact for a good service quality. Whichever work performance demands these types of activities, falls in the emotional labour category.
Emotional labour can be challenging with angry clients and grumpy or unpleasant people. It is a challenge because the service worker has to hide their true emotions and continue to give out positive and happy emotions even when they receive critical or negative feedback.
Emotional labour involves controlling your feelings in order to fulfil the goals and objectives of the company profile you are working for. It is necessary to hide your negative feelings and show only positive feelings.
The service providers have to make up an emotion that the situation demands. When you fall into the cycle of showing your emotions that the job requires rather than your true emotions, it often leads to emotional conflicts between your real emotions and the fake ones.
At many workspaces emotional labour is applicable as companies prioritise service orientation of external customers as well as colleagues and internal clients.
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