Emotional labor of social workers and associated factors resulting in positive/negative outcomes: A systematic review

The purpose of this study is to prepare basic data for social welfare workers in Y to present safety protection support system and protection measures for social welfare workers. This study identifies the actual status of the violence experience of clients, violence risk, risk coping, management system, emotional labor, and mental health of social workers, and a survey was conducted on 730 social workers in Y. The survey was conducted for a total of 2 weeks from November 11 to 22, 2019. As for the contents of the study, a survey was conducted to understand the general characteristics of social welfare workers in Y city, the client experience violence of social welfare workers, the awareness of safety from the risk of violence, crisis response, institutional management system, emotional labor and mental health status. The differences between groups were analyzed through descriptive statistics and t-test by group using SPSS/WIN 25.0. The results are as follows. Females were the highest at 79%, with 34.3% in their 50s, and the majority was in their 40s or older. As for occupations, 48.8% of social workers and 50.8% of care giver were found to have a large number of multiple responses to both occupations. Regarding the violence experience of social workers, verbal violence was the most common at 56%, followed by physical violence at 42%, economic violence at 34%, and sexual violence at 24%. More than half of the respondents answered that they were unsafe from physical violence such as verbal violence, injuries, etc. The institutional management system for social welfare workers' crisis response was also found to be weak. The emotional labor of social workers was high at 3.54 out of 5, and mental health was low at 2.81 out of 5. In particular, it was found that the emotional labor of social workers at leisure facilities for the elderly was large, and those of public institutions were found to be prone to mental health when determined by the type of facility. In conclusion, the level of knowledge about crisis response was low in the risk response and management system of social workers, and the management system of the institution was not equipped in most areas, which improvement seemed needed. Thus, safety protection education is needed to improve the crisis response ability of social workers against client violence, as well as the programs to strengthen the capabilities of social workers according to various social welfare sites.

While burnout phenomenon among the social workers remains as well-explored topic of discussion for the past decade, the potential effect of emotional labor experienced by frontline social workers has not been investigated in depth. This study examines the relationship between emotional labor experienced by social workers and their burn out level, particularly focusing on the role of self-care as a potential mediator. To do so, we conducted an on-line survey with social workers working in A city, and data from 191 respondents were used for analyses. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted and the PROCESS macro for SPSS was used with the bootstrap procedure to test the mediation. The results show that first, social workers’ emotional labor was positively associated with their burnout, indicating that the more they were engaged in emotional labor, the higher level of their burnout level was. The emotional labor also significantly predicted their self-care, showing that the higher they scored on their emotional labor scale, the less self-care they were engaged with. Second, the mediation analyses revealed that self-care partially mediated the relationships between emotional labor and emotional exhaustion and depersonalization of clients. On the other hand, self-care fully mediated the relationship between emotional labor and reduced personal accomplishment, indicating that emotional labor experienced by social workers significantly affect their ability to care for themselves, and that this damaged self-care ability in turn increases their burnout level. The implications based on the findings are provided, offering insights into needed changes and strategies to prevent social workers’ burnout in the future.

Health- and social workers are frequently exposed to emotionally demanding work situations that require emotion regulation. Studies have demonstrated a direct relationship between emotion regulation and health complaints and sickness absence. In order to prevent health complaints and to reduce sickness absence among health- and social workers, there is need for greater attention to mechanisms explaining when and how emotionally demanding work situations are related to employee health and sickness absence. The overarching aim of this study was therefore to examine the moderating role of generalized self-efficacy on the association between emotional dissonance, employee health (mental distress and exhaustion), and registry based sickness absence. The sample consisted of 937 health- and social workers. Data on emotional dissonance, generalized self-efficacy, exhaustion, and mental distress was collected through questionnaires, whereas official registry data were used to assess sickness absence. A two-step hierarchical regression analysis showed that emotional dissonance was significantly associated with exhaustion, mental distress, and sickness absence, after adjusting for sex, age, and occupation. Interaction analyses with simple slope tests found that self-efficacy moderated the association between emotional dissonance and both exhaustion and mental distress, but not the association with sickness absence. This study shows that health- and social workers who frequently experience emotional dissonance report higher levels of exhaustion and mental distress, and have a higher risk of medically certified sickness absence. Further, health- and social workers with lower self-efficacy beliefs are apparently more sensitive to the degree of emotional dissonance and experienced higher levels of exhaustion and mental distress.

The meeting between service users and social workers is emotional, since it is centered on significant challenges and changes in the service users' lives. Emotions are thus always at play in social work, but are managed in various ways by the professional. In an explorative qualitative case study at two Danish social services departments, we identified three types of emotional labor: (1) when the social worker shuts off emotions both during and after the meeting; (2) when the social worker defers emotions and processes them at a later time; and (3) when emotions dominate, and a case gets ‘under the skin’ of the social worker. Emotional labor can have both positive and negative effect on the work, and knowledge about different kinds of emotional labor can aid professional discussion about emotions at the work place as well as the psychosocial working environment for the social workers, factors which help improve practice. The study showed that emotional labor is a multidimensional concept, hence it is not just managed in different ways by social workers; it is always related to the specific emotion culture and the community of practice at the work place.

The ways in which social workers experience a range of emotions that are evoked in their professional relationships with children and families is an area that is little focused upon and yet the processes involved in their expression and management can have profound implications for all involved. Theoretically informed by sociological concepts and combining data from a two-year, UK four-nation, ESRC-funded research project, ‘Talking and Listening to Children’ (TLC), this paper explores the ways in which social work organisational contexts and dynamics give rise to ‘feeling rules’ in the workplace and the impact of these on social workers’ relationships with children and families. Using Hochschild’s (1983) emotional labour analytical framework, the paper highlights that the management and expression of social workers’ feelings are filtered through personal, professional and organisational contexts. The implications of these pervasive and powerful processes are explored. The paper concludes by considering the significant, wide-reaching implications of this focus on the experience, expression and management of emotion for everyday social work practice in both children and families settings specifically and other social work practice contexts more broadly.

Arlie Russell Hochschild’s concept of emotional labour has been applied extensively in the analysis of the emotional, relational and identity processes in a wide variety of service occupations, and to a lesser extent to caring occupations where the central goal is nurturing. It has featured infrequently in social care in general and has not featured significantly in academic debates in Ireland. The paper is based on a small qualitative study of social care workers in harm reduction [HR] day services in the Dublin region. The aim of the research study was to explore how emotional labour impacts on workers employed in day harm reduction services. The paper highlights the centrality of emotional labour in negotiating and managing a sense of professionalism and personal space within a highly stressful area of social care. The workers’ emotional labour involved a process of embodying professionalism, an empathic alertness in their relations with service users, emotional distancing from traumatic experiences, and developing caring spaces in personal and professional life. By considering the emotional labour of care workers, we can better understand the construction of identity within particular contexts. The research raises questions about the status of Harm Reduction and other emotional workers, the sufficiency of the knowledge base for practitioners, and important issues about how to develop and organise caring workplaces.

Aims: This scoping review aims to examine the level and outcomes of emotional labor in nurses. Background: Nursing is a highly emotional profession that requires nurses to experience a wide range of emotions and control their emotional expressions in nursing practice. Chronic emotional labor and emotional burden not only impact nurses' individual well-being and professional performance but also their job satisfaction and turnover intention. Evaluation: This scoping review was guided by a five-stage scoping review framework and the PRISMA-ScR checklist. Eight databases were searched and 41 studies were reviewed. Key Issues: The Emotional Labor Scale and the Emotional Labor Scale for Nurses were the most commonly used instruments. Significant associations were found between emotional labor and 52 outcomes, which were categorized into two main themes: nurses' personal well-being and organizational well-being. There were 19 mediators and 12 moderators between nurses' emotional labor and 26 different outcomes. Conclusions: While the level of emotional labor among nurses remains uncertain, its consequences are plentiful and intricate. Studies have shown an important relationship between nurses' emotional labor and individual and organizational well-being, which is crucial for nurse managers. There is a need to explore the positive effects of nurses' emotional labor and its impact on patients. Additionally, validation studies of the instruments used to measure nurses' emotional labor are necessary. Implications for Nursing Management: The insights gained from this scoping review provided a more comprehensive understanding of emotional labor for nurse managers. This knowledge can be utilized to design training programs on emotional management and to explore different interventions aimed at alleviating the adverse impacts of nurses' emotional labor.

This chapter examines the importance of recognizing the emotional labor inherent in public service delivery and suggests several approaches that organizations can use to support emotional labor demands on staff, with an emphasis on health and social care. Emotional labor has been identified as a key element of future public service work (Needham and Mangan in The 21st century public servant. University of Birmingham, 2014). Whilst a country’s policy context highlights the importance of delivering public services that meet the needs of the recipients, this may do little to support implementation. This chapter outlines the need to recognize that delivering services is hard emotional labor, and that organizations need to support their workforce to enable them to do this well.

Emotional labour is a crucial aspect of nursing, involving the management of emotions to meet organizational and societal expectations. Limited research exists on understanding emotional labour and the outcomes of emotional labour among nurses, which can range from positive outcomes like job satisfaction and patient satisfaction to negative outcomes like emotional exhaustion and job exhaustion. This study aims to assess emotional labour and its outcomes among nurses. It contributes to a better understanding of its impact and informs interventions to enhance nurses' well-being and job performance. To assess the emotional labour performance among nurses, to assess the emotional conflict among nurses, to determine the positive and negative outcomes of the emotional labour performance among nurses and to propose a model for emotional labour performance in healthcare a descriptive study was conducted among a sample population of approximately 270 nurses from Sri Ramachandra Hospital G-Block (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India). Subjects were recruited from the nursing department, and after obtaining their consent, they were given a questionnaire to collect demographic data and evaluate emotional labour and its outcomes. Additionally, direct observations using the Observed Emotion Rating Scale were conducted. The study utilized systematic random sampling. The sample size was determined to be 270 nurses, with a final response rate of 87%. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, which yielded satisfactory results. The primary data collected was analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS software with appropriate statistical tools. The findings are emotional labour performance; deep acting was more prominent than surface acting among nurses. Emotional harmony was found to be higher than emotional dissonance and emotional excess in emotional labour conflicts. Positive outcomes of emotional labour were more prevalent than negative outcomes. Deep Acting and surface acting significantly affected positive and negative outcomes. This study highlights the significance of emotional labour in nursing and its impact on nurses' well-being and job performance. By prioritizing nurses' emotional well-being and implementing interventions to mitigate the negative outcomes of emotional labour, healthcare organizations can create a supportive work environment that enhances both nurse satisfaction and patient care.

This study, grounded in Bourdieu’s theory of social capital and Hochschild’s theory of emotional labor, explores the dual dynamics mechanism driving young women to continuously share “good finds” in online communities, using the Xiaohongshu platform as a case study. Through in-depth interviews and textual analysis, the research reveals two key findings: First, the accumulation of social capital (including bridging and bonding social capital) and emotional labor (such as emotional investment and labor monetization) are the core factors motivating young women to persistently share. Second, by sharing “good finds”, they not only expand their social networks and enhance their sense of social recognition but also maintain a sense of community belonging through emotional investment and achieve the reproduction of personal value. This paper provides an in-depth exploration of the behavioral motivations and underlying psychological mechanisms of young women in online communities. The study offers a dual “structure-agency” perspective for understanding the digital practices of young women in the digital era and provides insights for optimizing platform governance mechanisms.

During the COVID19 pandemic, emotional labor has become an indispensable resource in social work, providing comfort, strength, and focus for many. Within the social work academy, emotional labor has been required to support students, especially as education has moved quickly into online and remote teaching modes. For the majority female social work educators, the pandemic has also led to a rise in caring responsibilities, especially for children. This personal essay explores the experience of a female, early career social work academic in negotiating the use of emotional labor simultaneously in paid and unpaid roles during the pandemic. This exploration is contextualised within the neoliberal university and its expectation of how emotional labor should be used to meet student and business needs. The essay questions the individualized practice and responsibility of emotional labor and questions alternative ways to meet the emotional needs of individuals, families, and universities during the COVID19 pandemic.

The influence of emotional labour and emotional work on the occupational health and wellbeing of South Australian hospital nurses

This study examined the impact of emotional labor and social support on depression among social workers. This study also investigated whether social support moderates the effect of emotional labor on depression among social workers. A cross-sectional study using anonymous research survey methods was conducted in a sample of 287 social workers in Seoul city and near cities. Research participants completed instruments of social support, emotional labor and depression. The findings indicate that increased emotional labor was associated with a high level of depression. Social support was important predictor for depression. This research study also found that there was evidence in favor of the moderating roles of social support on the relationship between emotional labor and depression. For social workers, clinical implications of the findings will be discussed.

Emotional labor in librarianship: A research agenda

For many young adults in the UK, austerity has restricted capacities to access secure housing, employment and social welfare, with sharp implications for reproduction and reproductive futures. Exploring these lived reproductive experiences, this article develops a conceptual framework that brings together social reproduction, emotional labour and relational work in new ways, specifically through the concept of ‘carrying’. Carrying, I argue, beholds a range of embodied, emotional and laborious qualities that are required for contemporary social reproduction. To demonstrate, I draw on research based in the North East of England, as an area that has seen detrimental cuts in the name of austerity and has some of the lowest fertility rates in the UK. Empirical examples come from 12 in-depth Oral History and Future interviews, a technique specifically developed to explore present-day narratives about (not) having any or more children. It is argued that the emotional, embodied and relational labour of carrying is key to understanding the experience of reproduction in this context, particularly regarding (1) carrying possibilities, (2) carrying bodies and (3) carrying instabilities. These forms of labour often go unnoticed and unchecked and yet can shed new light on reproduction. To close, I argue that because the labour of reproduction is carried forward into the life-course, reproductive futures are yet another way in which social inequalities can widen further under austerity.