ABSTRACT
The term emotional labour was first coined by the American sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild (1975, 1979, 1983, 1990). She carried out extensive research in the airline industry, particularly focusing on the emotion work of flight attendants. Hochschild’s work is considered to be groundbreaking in understanding the significance of emotion to everyday life for individuals, families and in the workplace. Most research examining emotional labour draws on her original ideas and concepts. To understand how emotional labour in nursing and health care has developed, it is necessary to explore Hochschild’s work first and then consider how it relates to health care. The aim of this chapter therefore is to introduce and explore Hochschild’s work; unpacking and discussing what she means by emotion management, feeling rules, surface acting, deep acting and emotional labour. The chapter is written so the relationship between Hochschild’s ideas can be clearly followed as they develop. As the concepts are introduced, their relevance to nursing is directly applied to Vignette 1 ‘Half measures’. This narrative is taken from my interview with Paris, an F grade junior sister on Ward B. The applications of Hochschild’s ideas are considered at the end of each section: their relevance is identified without interrupting the account of her work. Thus, this chapter explores Hochschild’s work and considers whether her key ideas are reflected within nursing experience.
