Public relations as “dirty work”: Disconfirmation, cognitive dissonance, and emotional labor among public relations professors

Abstract

Public relations is among the least-respected professions in the world. Despite this uncomfortable fact, little research has seriously considered that public relations is perceived as a “dirty” profession, and how that perception translates into difficulties for public relations academics. Scholarship has not examined the lived experiences of public relations professors and how we reconcile our sense of self and self-respect in the mixed academic and professional environments that are often (un)intentionally disconfirming to our chosen area of study. Thus, this critical and self-reflexive essay takes up the challenge of dealing with the issues of disconfirmation, cognitive dissonance, and emotional labor that may be experienced by public relations professors in their interactions with colleagues, students, and even family members or friends.