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Emotional Labor General Concepts and Its Relation to Health

Emotional Labor General Concepts and Its Relation to Health. A. Butch de Castro, RN, PHN, MSN/MPH PhD candidate Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. Economic & Labor Trends. Shift from “manufacturing” based economy to “service” based economy

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Emotional Labor General Concepts and Its Relation to Health

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  1. Emotional LaborGeneral Concepts andIts Relation to Health A. Butch de Castro, RN, PHN, MSN/MPH PhD candidate Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health

  2. Economic & Labor Trends • Shift from “manufacturing” based economy to “service” based economy • Creation of service industry employment • Proliferation of service jobs and careers

  3. What is “Emotional Labor”? • Manual Labor • Physical Labor • Intellectual Labor “Can emotions be used as a job skill?”

  4. “Emotional Labor” Defined • The management of feeling to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display; [this “process”] is sold for a wage and therefore has exchange value (Hochschild, 1983). • The act of displaying the appropriate emotion (i.e., conforming with a display rule), with the goal to engage in a form of impression management for the organization (Ashforth & Humphrey, 1993).

  5. “Emotional Labor” Defined • The effort, planning, and control needed to express organizationally desired emotion during interpersonal transactions (Morris & Feldman, 1996). • The process of regulating both feelings and expressions for organizational goals (Grandey, 1999).

  6. Jobs Involving “Emotional Labor”... • Require face to face or voice to voice contact with the public. • Require the worker to produce an emotional state in another person. • Allow the employer, through training and supervision, to exercise a degree of control over the emotional activities of employees. (from: Hochschild, A. R. (1983). The managed heart: Commercialization of human feeling.)

  7. Dimensions of Emotional Labor • Surface Acting • Pretending or Regulating Emotional Expressions • “Emotional Dissonance” • Deep Acting • Modification of Emotions

  8. Demand & Required Effort • Service work imposes a demand on workers • Workers must meet this demand by exerting some level of effort

  9. Limits on Worker Autonomy • Feeling Rules / Display Rules • Routinization of Service Interaction (= “Deskilling”) • Recruitment – classified ad descriptions • Selection – hiring preferences and practices • Socialization Practices – formal training & informal modeling

  10. Emotional Labor and Power Status • “Persons in lower-status categories – women, people of color, children – lack a status shield against poorer treatment of their feelings.” (Hochshild, 1983) • “Social Distribution” of jobs leads to certain sub-groups of worker to assume emotional labor

  11. Emotional Labor and “Health” Emotional Labor... • through dissonance created by surface acting and / or • the effort required for deep acting ...creates a stressor for service workers that may negatively impact psychological, behavioral, and physical well-being.

  12. Worker Health Issues • Job Stress • Job Strain (psychological demand/decision lattitude/social support) • Job Satisfaction • Burnout • Depression • Anxiety • Self-Esteem • Anger

  13. Conceptual Framework Situational Cues Emotion Regulation Process Long-Term Consequences • Interaction Expectations • Frequency • Duration • Variety • Display Rules • Emotional Labor • Deep Acting: Modify Feelings • Attentional Deployment • Cognitive Change • Surface Acting: Modify Expressions • Response Modification • Individual Well-Being • Burnout • Job Satisfaction • Organizational Well-Being • Performance • Withdrawal Behavior • Emotional Events • Positive Events • Negative Events • Individual Factors • Gender • Emotional Expressivity • Emotional Intelligence • Affectivity (NA/PA) • Organizational Factors • Job Autonomy • Supervisor Support • Coworker Support (Grandey, A. A. (2000). Emotion regulation in the workplace: A new way to conceptualize emotional labor. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5(1), 95-110.)

  14. Conceptual Model for Proposed Research (Adapted from NIOSH Model of Job Stress and Health, 1997) Individual Factors • Age • Race • Sex • Personality Types • Stage of career Acute Reactions Job Stressors • Psychological • Job Dissatisfaction • Perceived Stress • Job/Task Demands • Surface Acting • Deep Acting • Psychological Demand • Decision Latitude • Organizational • Occupational History • Feeling / Display Rules Illness • Physiological • Heart Rate • Blood Pressure • Depression • Hypertension • CHD • Alcoholism • Behavioral • Smoking • Alcohol Use • Family History of CHD • Socioeconomic Status • Education • Household Composition • Neighborhood Stressors • Supervisor/Co-Worker Social Support • Social / Interpersonal Competence • Coping • Defense Mechanisms Non-Work Buffers

  15. Occupational Health Implications • How can we recognize emotional labor as a work demand and potential occupational hazard of service employment? • What is the psychosocial impact of emotional labor on service workers? • What are the potential needs of workplace efforts to prevent negative psychosocial health outcomes among workers in the service sector? • Is a “social class” of workers being created because of emotional labor?

  16. Emotional LaborIssues for Young Workers(A “Special Population at Risk”)

  17. Profile of Young Workers • Employment during teenage years is a common (and often encouraged) experience • Numbers of working youth increasing secondary to growing employment opportunities and attraction to gainful income • Typically work in service employment (e.g., retail sales, customer service, food service) • Regularly tolerate actual and potential occupational hazards

  18. Why is paid work beneficial for youth? • Imparts positive work values and work ethic • Reinforces importance of academic skills for future career success • Provides better understanding of the workplace • Learns job acquisition, how to deal with & meet expectations of superiors, and money management • Gains task-related skills • Increases contact with adults • Builds character and confidence • Enhances self-concept and identity • Gains independence & teaches responsibility

  19. Risk Factors of Young Workers • Physical / Physiological • Growth and Size, Sleep Requirements, Overexertion, & Susceptibility to Injury & Illness (e.g., organ/system development) • Psychosocial • Psychological Development / Transition • Lack of Work Experience • Lack of Supervision • Inappropriate Work Assignments • Power Imbalance • Societal Expectations

  20. Effect of Emotional Labor on Youth • Disproportionately experience the demands of emotional labor • Reinforces subordinate positions in power relationships (supervisors & service recipient) • Threatens psychosocial well-being secondary to psychological “immaturity” • Pivotally influences the outlook towards work and its associated benefit or detriment to one’s psychosocial health • Creates a need for unique assistance in coping with psychosocial demand of emotional labor

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