Emotional Labour

[Kate_heffernan]

I am interested in finding some information about "Emotional Labour" and Call Centers. Are any centers considering this issue when creating job profiles etc? My understanding of "Emotional Labour" is that it is when consultants need to manage a customers emotions or thier own. Maybe in a 911 call center this would be a very relevant issue. In some centers this may be where quite a lot of work related stress is created.
I am really interested to hear anyones thoughts or experiences.

Thanks

Kate

[Adorno]

Kate,

Emotional labor is a very important construct for all call center reps. The following is taken from our research paper titled "Personality and Emotional Labor as Predictors of Turnover
in Customer Service Call Centers", and details what emotional labor is and how it is relevant for call center employees. I would be happy to send you a copy of this paper if you would like. There also is a paper titled "Understanding and Combating Call Center Employee Turnover" on our website at www.degarmogroup.com that is not as technical, but still explains the general notion of person-job fit which includes skills, emotional labor, personality, and interest matching.

"Emotional labor is defined as the effort expended (and the concomitant physiological arousal) to manage or regulate oneÂ’s emotional reactions at work. This effort is necessary for exhibiting those performance behaviors valued by the organization, and suppressing the expression of less acceptable behaviors. Service employees are particularly vulnerable to a demand for emotional labor, because their jobs generally require maintaining a friendly and positive demeanor despite job characteristics that may engender negative emotional reactions (e.g., irate customers, complex problem solving, or hectic work pace). Any work setting which engenders negative emotional reactions from employees, while requiring the suppression of certain behaviors associated with these emotions (e.g., yelling, abruptly hanging up the phone, or scowling), is fertile ground for emotional labor. The stereotypical customer service call center is such a work place."

Hopefully this is helpful.

Regards,
Anthony Adorno
Vice President
The DeGarmo Group, Inc.
www.degarmogroup.com
Adorno@degarmogroup.com
(309) 820-1435

[Schumpeter]

Brilliant,

At last Emotion is being seriously considered within the workplace and rightly so. It is a major factor within the realms of employee retention, training and a wide range of other HR issues.

I have studied this concept at University so if you are interested in understanding the concept of Emotional Labour at a more theoretical level see publications by Arlie Hochschild 'The Managed Heart' 1983, especially. She is the leading author in this field.

I also recommend Dr Stephen Smith at Brunel University London as a great contact within this area, as he has a good grasp of the relationship between emotion and business performance.

David

[fofa27]

I am searching about the difference between emotion work and emotional labour?? why is this significant?? Give reasons for the answer.

Could you please help my in this Title??