1. Stop! Can you identify occupations where emotional labour might apply? Service jobs comprise a large and growing segment of the global economy. These jobs involve direct interaction with customers thus requiring workers to provide more than just physical labour; but also to manage their emotions in order to create a publicly observable facial display. A key focus of early research focused on the customer’s role in the labour process and the significance of social interaction as the vehicle through which services are produced, delivered, and consumed (Wharton, 2016: 341). Arlie Hochschild’s book, The Managed Heart (1983; 2012), drew attention to what was new about service jobs. She argued that the emergence of what she called ‘emotional labour’ signalled a new form of employer control over workers. Emotions are strong feelings that individuals express and experience, such as anger, love, joy and friendship. For front-line service workers, such as flight attendants, she argues that the emotion accompanying the service is part of the service itself. Moreover, this service must be delivered not only with a smile, but also, in an emergency, with reassurance. She quotes a flight attendant:

Even though I’m a very honest person, I have learned not to allow my face to mirror my alarm or my fright. I feel very protective of my passengers. Above all, I don’t want them to be frightened. If we were going down, if we were going to make a ditching in the water, the chances of our survival are slim, even though we [the flight attendants] know exactly what to do. But I think I would probably –

and I think I can say this for most of my fellow flight attendants – be able to keep them from being too worried about it. (1983, p. 107)

For example, faced with depleted profits, Air Canada (the country’s largest carrier) vowed to restore competitive advantage by placing a renewed focus on customer service and by encouraging their cabin crew to display a smile.