Emotional Labour in the Workplace: Overlooked and Underappreciated
Emotional labour involves fulfilling the emotional requirements of the job and regulating your own feelings in addition to your usual tasks. Both men and women face this extra workload. However, women tend to bear a slightly heavier load due to societal stereotypes portraying them as more capable of empathy and understanding. These gendered expectations can manifest in various ways in a workplace.
Fostering Team Harmony
Women often take charge of maintaining a healthy dynamic within a team. They take on this responsibility either by choice or under the weight of expectations because of their perceived strength in handling the emotional aspects. They step up to resolve conflicts, mediate disputes, and de-escalate situations, even without formal leadership roles.
Being an Empathetic Listener
The “natural caregivers” tag typically makes women the go-to choice for colleagues seeking emotional support or a listening ear. It might involve “girl talks” or seeking advice on handling personal issues. At times, it could simply entail needing a hug and words of comfort during challenging moments.
Masking Pain with a Smile
While interacting with customers, female employees are expected to show more warmth and patience, even if they are dealing with a difficult situation. They may experience the added pressure to appear calm and composed even if they are on the verge of a meltdown. Bottling up these overwhelming feelings can be mentally and physically draining.
Navigating Bias with Grace
Gender bias and microaggressions are prevalent in many workplaces. Women may face discrimination in the form of demeaning comments, disrespectful behaviour, and gender-based bias in promotions and leadership opportunities. Handling these unfair practices with dignity and professionalism requires a great deal of resilience. However, constantly being undermined or undervalued can take an emotional toll on women, ultimately leading them to resign from the job.
Acknowledging and valuing the significance of emotional labour and cultivating a culture where all employees are encouraged to be compassionate and caring, irrespective of gender, is crucial. This creates more supportive and equitable work environments where female employees do not have to shoulder the burden of emotional labour alone.
