In “Exploring the Managed Heart,” Hochschild observes that modern day labor has developed into occupations that require not only physical labor, but also emotional labor. Emotional labor as a method of profit maximization not only makes the worker’s obligations more ambiguous and more demanding, but also makes workers more susceptible to experience emotional distress.
The author argues that the majority labor in the workforce evolved from involving purely physical labor to requiring more, such as emotional labor. Hochschild defines emotional labor as ‘the management of feeling to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display.’ From questionnaires and observations, the author found that a flight attendant’s job involves more than the physical labor of ensuring passenger safety and comfort. The emotional labor involved with creating a comfortable environment has also become an integral part of the service. Furthermore, in an occupation such as flight attendants, the emotional extends beyond that of representing the worker; the job requires
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Hochschild does not provide solutions for improving the situation or minimizing negative effects of emotional labor. Mandating specific emotional professionalism in addition to physical labor requires sufficient mental labor that exceeds that previously required, making the modern style of labor much more demanding than that of the past. Moreover, this could result in a feeling of disconnect within workers between what they feel and the feelings they gather and portray when they are on duty. Overtime, the constant need of being emotionally ‘on’ may dull the worker’s personal emotions, leading to a strewed sense of self. However, it is arguable that as service industry occupations increase and takeover manual labor, the need for emotional labor will only