As helping professionals, we are often required to suppress our true emotions in order to do our job effectively. For healthcare workers, this may look like expressing compassion and hope during a traumatic, medical emergency. For public service workers, this may look like acting friendly and warm despite confrontational or aggressive behaviour. This incongruence between how we act and how we actually feel can take a toll on our well-being.
The term emotional labour was first coined by Hochschild in 1983, and research has shown that it can contribute to decreased job satisfaction, empathic strain, and burnout. This session will explore this concept and offer strategies for individuals working in client, customer, or patient-facing roles.