The ethics of service work - Manuscript QROM REVISED_2b.pdf (356.2 kB)
The ethics of service work in a neoliberal healthcare context: doing embodied and “dirty” emotional labor
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-10, 04:35 authored by Lilith WhileyLilith Whiley, Gina GrandyPurpose The authors explore how service workers negotiate emotional laboring with “dirty” emotions while trying to meet the demands of neoliberal healthcare. In doing so, the authors theorize emotional labor in the context of healthcare as a type of embodied and emotional “dirty” work. Design/methodology/approach The authors apply interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to their data collected from National Health Service (NHS) workers in the United Kingdom (UK). Findings: The authors’ data show that healthcare service workers absorb, contain and quarantine emotional “dirt”, thereby protecting their organization at a cost to their own well-being. Workers also perform embodied practices to try to absolve themselves of their “dirty” labor. Originality/value: The authors extend research on emotional “dirty” work and theorize that emotional labor can also be conceptualized as “dirty” work. Further, the authors show that emotionally laboring with “dirty” emotions is an embodied phenomenon, which involves workers absorbing and containing patients' emotional “dirt” to protect the institution (at the expense of their well-being).
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International JournalISSN
1746-5648Publisher
EmeraldExternal DOI
Issue
1Volume
17Page range
136-157Department affiliated with
- Management Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2022-09-05First Open Access (FOA) Date
2022-09-05First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2022-09-05Usage metrics
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