Emotional Labour

Learning in English Emotional labour

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Source: The Managed Heart Book by Arlie Russell Hochschild

American sociologist Arlie Hochschild described emotional labour as having to “induce or suppress feeling in order to sustain the outward countenance that produces the proper state of mind in others�. It usually applies to those who work in the service industry. It can also apply to the female task force when dealing with their professional lives, plus housework and life admin of children and, often, partners.

Learning in English Emotional labour

@teacher.casals

Source: The Managed Heart Book by Arlie Russell Hochschild

The term has become a central part of an important conversation about the division of household work. Hochschild, however, emphasises that it is paid work and that the point of emotional labour is that while you may also be doing physical labor and mental labor, you are crucially being hired and monitored for your capacity to manage and produce a feeling. The media has used it for a wider range of experiences.

Learning in English Emotional labour

@teacher.casals

Source: The Managed Heart Book by Arlie Russell Hochschild

In feminist conversations, the term has been used to describe unpaid household and life admin labour usually associated with women. Gemma Hartley talks about ir in her book “Fed Up�. Emotional labour became a term to describe the mundane and the administrative tasks, the emotional attention, advice, listening and caring women do for male partners, friends, coworkers and bosses for free.