Emotional labor includes the underappreciated but important work that is most often done by women and those with intersectional identities. In a recent opinion piece, Rose Hackman describes how emotional labor is work and should be compensated accordingly.
Hackman describes how emotional labor has been framed as feminine work and subsequently non-compensated work. “Women, cast as naturally “better” at emotions, often wind up taking responsibility for the well-being of a group, in professional and private settings, despite studies showing that women and men have the same capacity for empathy, given the right motivation.” Moreover, Hackman writes, “While a man who wants to ascend in corporate settings must act both competent and confident, a woman must act competent and confident and display feminine, other-oriented traits. Simply leaning in is not enough: She must also provide emotional labor.”
Joyce Fletcher reflected on this phenomenon back in her 2001 piece on Relational Practice. Fletcher identified four strategies for pushing back on this invisible work, including: naming, norming, negotiating, and networking.
- Naming: Call attention to relational practice as work, by recognizing it as a competency rather than a personal characteristic. For example, substitute in the word "effective" when someone else uses "nice" or "sensitive" to describe emotional/relational practice.
- Norming: Draw attention to workplace norms that have unintended negative consequences and offer relationally based alternatives. For example, highlight why you are emphasizing how well the team performed, thereby calling out how the current norm of defaulting to leaders taking all the credit hurts team morale.
- Negotiating: When asked to do a task that offers little in career capital, highlight the required relational skills and calculate the monetary value (e.g. describe how it will help the organization be more effective/earn more).
- Networking: Be part of growth-in-connection networks to support and foster relational practice. For example, a network of women (inside or outside the work setting) can help identify systemic issues and brainstorm potential corrective actions.
Your call to action:
- Reflect on which of these strategies you currently utilize and those you can enhance and build.
References:
Fletcher, J. K. (2001). Invisible work: The disappearing of relational practice at work. CGO Insights, (8). https://www.simmons.edu/sites/default/files/2021-12/CGO-Insights-08.pdf
Hackma, R. (2023) Emotional labor at work is work. It should be compensated that way. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/05/rose-hackman-emotional-labor-workplace-pay/