Emotion work
Encyclopedia
Emotion work 'is understood as the art of trying to change in degree or quality an emotion or feeling'.
It may be defined as the management of one's own feelings or as "work done in a conscious effort to maintain the well being of a relationship"; though some would 'reserve the term emotion work for work upon the self' alone, as opposed to 'emotion work on others'.
": emotional work done in a paid work setting .
In a later development. 'Hochschild (1990) distinguished between two broad types of emotion work, and among three techniques of emotion work. The two broad types involve evocation and suppression' of emotion, while 'the three techniques of emotion work that Hochschild describes are cognitive, bodily and expressive'.
However, the concept (if not the term) has been traced back as far as Aristotle
: 'as Aristotle saw, the problem is not with emotionality, but with the appropriateness of emotion and its expression'.
or any kind of interpersonal relationship
, and making sure the household runs smoothly.
Emotion work also involves the orientation of self/others to accord with accepted norms of emotional expression: 'emotion work is often performed by family members and friends, who put pressure on individuals to conform to emotional norms'. Arguably, then, an 'individual's ultimate obeissance and/or resistance to aspects of emotion regimes are made visible in their emotion work'.
Cultural norms often imply that emotion work is reserved for females. There is certainly evidence to the effect that the 'emotional management that women and men do is asymmetric'; and that 'in general, women come into a marriage groomed for the role of emotional manager'.
would tend to 'claim that women's emotion work is merely another demonstration of their "false consciousness" under male hegemony, and hardly worth exploration'.
More broadly, 'the concept of emotion work has itself been criticized as a wide over-simplification of mental processes such as "repression
" and "denial
" which continually occur' in everyday life
It may be defined as the management of one's own feelings or as "work done in a conscious effort to maintain the well being of a relationship"; though some would 'reserve the term emotion work for work upon the self' alone, as opposed to 'emotion work on others'.
Hochschild
Hochschild, who introduced the term in 1979, distinguished "emotion work" - unpaid emotional work that a person undertakes in their relationships with family and friends - from "emotional laborEmotional labor
Emotional labor is a form of emotional regulation wherein workers are expected to display certain emotions as part of their job, and to promote organizational goals...
": emotional work done in a paid work setting .
In a later development. 'Hochschild (1990) distinguished between two broad types of emotion work, and among three techniques of emotion work. The two broad types involve evocation and suppression' of emotion, while 'the three techniques of emotion work that Hochschild describes are cognitive, bodily and expressive'.
However, the concept (if not the term) has been traced back as far as Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
: 'as Aristotle saw, the problem is not with emotionality, but with the appropriateness of emotion and its expression'.
Examples
Examples of emotion work include showing affection, apologizing after an argument, bringing up problems that need to be addressed in an intimate relationshipIntimate relationship
An intimate relationship is a particularly close interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Physical intimacy is characterized by romantic or passionate love and attachment, or sexual activity. The term is also sometimes used euphemistically for a sexual...
or any kind of interpersonal relationship
Interpersonal relationship
An interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence, love, solidarity, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment. Interpersonal relationships are formed in the...
, and making sure the household runs smoothly.
Emotion work also involves the orientation of self/others to accord with accepted norms of emotional expression: 'emotion work is often performed by family members and friends, who put pressure on individuals to conform to emotional norms'. Arguably, then, an 'individual's ultimate obeissance and/or resistance to aspects of emotion regimes are made visible in their emotion work'.
Cultural norms often imply that emotion work is reserved for females. There is certainly evidence to the effect that the 'emotional management that women and men do is asymmetric'; and that 'in general, women come into a marriage groomed for the role of emotional manager'.
Criticism
Radical feminismRadical feminism
Radical feminism is a current theoretical perspective within feminism that focuses on the theory of patriarchy as a system of power that organizes society into a complex of relationships based on an assumption that "male supremacy" oppresses women...
would tend to 'claim that women's emotion work is merely another demonstration of their "false consciousness" under male hegemony, and hardly worth exploration'.
More broadly, 'the concept of emotion work has itself been criticized as a wide over-simplification of mental processes such as "repression
Repression
Repression may refer to:* Memory inhibition, the ability to filter irrelevant memories from attempts to recall* Political repression, the oppression or persecution of an individual or group for political reasons* Social repression...
" and "denial
Denial
Denial is a defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence.The subject may use:* simple denial: deny the reality of the...
" which continually occur' in everyday life
Literary Analogues
Rousseau in The New Heloise suggests that 'the attempt to master instrumentally one's affective life always results in a weakening and eventually the fragmentation of one's identity', even if 'the emotion work is performed at the demand of ethical principles'.See also
Further Reading
- Hochschild, Arlie Russel. "Emotion Work, Feeling Rules and Social Structure.” American Journal of Sociology Vol. 85 No. 3 (1979): 551-575