LOVE YOUR JOB DISCOURSE AND ITS AFFECTIVE INFLUENCE ON THE CONTEMPORARY JOB MARKET

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to critically examine the use of the discourse of loving the job in social media and work life. Method/Design/Methodology/Approach: The study is based on social media analysis and semi-structured interviews with service industry employees. Findings: The results reveal that discourses associated with intimate feelings are largely internalized by workers and that loving work emerges as the norm even for those workers who actively dislike their jobs. While the contemporary labor market is characterized by insecurity, high turnover and individuality, emotions about the intimate aspects of social life are used to motivate employees for higher productivity while hiding power relations in the workplace in the face of growing social inequalities. Originality: This study, which brings together different methods, shows that today's working life is increasingly insecure on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is based on the manipulation of emotions rather than material rewards. It contributes to the visibility of the emotional turn approach in sociology.