Emotional Labour in the Role of University Department Chair

Abstract

When considering the role of university department chair, one may think of objective tasks, such as budgets, scheduling, and faculty development. However, due to the social interaction required to run a department, the daily work of chair involves emotional self-management in addition to planning and organization. Although the objective tasks of the role of chair have been studied, there is a lack of information regarding chairs’ self-management of emotions, a process herein referred to as emotional labour. This study asks: “In what ways do department chairs perform emotional labour at work?” Findings from this study may shed light on the ways in which the role of university department chair in Canada requires emotional work, as well as objective task-completion.