The Emotional Labour Of Nursing

Do nurses still care? In today’s inflexible, fast-paced and more accountable workplace where biomedical and clinical models dominate health care practice, is there room for emotional labour? Based on original empirical research, this book delves into personal accounts of nurses' emotion expressions and experiences as they emerge from everyday nursing practice, and illustrates how their emotional labour is adapting in response to a constantly changing work environment. The book begins by re-examining Arlie Hochschild’s sociological notion of emotional labour, and combines it with Margaret Archer’s understanding of emotion and the inner dialogue. In an exploration of the nature of emotional labour, its historical and political context, and providing original, but easily recognisable, typology, Catherine Theodosius emphasises that it is emotion – complex, messy and opaque – that drives emotional labour within health care. She suggests that rather than being marginalised, emotional labour in nursing is frequently found in places that are hidden or unrecognised. By understanding emotion itself, which is fundamentally interactive and communicative, she argues that emotional labour is intrinsically linked to personal and social identity. The suggestion is made that the nursing profession has a responsibility to include emotional labour within personal and professional development strategies to ensure the care needs of the vulnerable are met. This innovative volume will be of interest to nursing, health care and sociology students, researchers and professionals.

This stimulating and original study is written for nurses, midwives, health visitors and others, such as teachers, social workers and managers engaged in 'caring'. It will interest a variety of students, not only of nursing, but also of women's studies and sociology. The research on which this book is based shows the importance of the charge nurse or ward sister in making emotional style in which it was given, and that nurses felt better able to care for patients and colleagues when their learning environment was emotionally supportive.

As nurses become responsible for increasingly technical service delivery, has the profession lost its focus on the emotional and human aspects of the role? Do care and compassion remain at the heart of contemporary nursing practice? In this major reworking of a classic text, respected author Pam Smith emphasizes the continued relevance of emotional labour within the modern healthcare context. Revisiting her original findings in light of fresh theoretical perspectives and data drawn from her own new research studies, Smith explores the ways in which the experience of learning nursing and caring is changing in the twenty-first century. A vivid example of the significance of nursing's evidence base, this timely new edition: addresses the most emotionally challenging aspects of the nursing role, including encountering death and dying on the ward; examines the impact of race, age, gender and violence in providing patient centred care; interrogates the importance of the role of practice educators and mentors in practice settings. An inspiring text for the next generation of nurses, The Emotional Labour of Nursing Revisited is an essential read for anyone interested in the contemporary challenges of keeping the whole person at the centre of their practice.

This stimulating and original study is written for nurses, midwives, health visitors and others, such as teachers, social workers and managers engaged in 'caring'. It will interest a variety of students, not only of nursing, but also of women's studies and sociology. The research on which this book is based shows the importance of the charge nurse or ward sister in making emotional style in which it was given, and that nurses felt better able to care for patients and colleagues when their learning environment was emotionally supportive.

As nurses become responsible for increasingly technical service delivery, has the profession lost its focus on the emotional and human aspects of the role? Do care and compassion remain at the heart of contemporary nursing practice? In this major reworking of a classic text, respected author Pam Smith emphasizes the continued relevance of emotional labour within the modern healthcare context. Revisiting her original findings in light of fresh theoretical perspectives and data drawn from her own new research studies, Smith explores the ways in which the experience of learning nursing and caring is changing in the twenty-first century. A vivid example of the significance of nursing's evidence base, this timely new edition: addresses the most emotionally challenging aspects of the nursing role, including encountering death and dying on the ward; examines the impact of race, age, gender and violence in providing patient centred care; interrogates the importance of the role of practice educators and mentors in practice settings. An inspiring text for the next generation of nurses, The Emotional Labour of Nursing Revisited is an essential read for anyone interested in the contemporary challenges of keeping the whole person at the centre of their practice.

This book reviews, integrates, and synthesizes research on emotional labor and emotion regulation conducted over the past 30 years. The concept of emotional labor was first proposed by Dr. Arlie Russell Hochschild (1983), who defined it as "the management of feeling to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display" (p. 7) for a wage. A basic assumption of emotional labor theory is that many jobs (e.g., customer service, healthcare, team-based work, management) have interpersonal, and thus emotional, requirements and that well-being and effectiveness in these jobs is determined, in part, by a person’s ability to meet these requirements. Since Hochschild’s initial work, psychologists, sociologists, and management scholars have developed distinct theoretical approaches aimed at expanding and elaborating upon Hochschild’s core ideas. Broadly speaking, emotional labor is the study of how emotion regulation of oneself and others influences social dynamics at work, which has implications for performance and well being in a wide range of occupations and organizational contexts. This book offers researchers and practitioners a review of emotional labor theory and research that integrates the various perspectives into a coherent framework, and proposes an agenda for future research on this increasingly relevant and important topic. The book is divided into 5 main sections, with the first section introducing and defining emotional labor as well as creating a framework for the rest of the book to follow. The second section consists of chapters describing emotional labor theory at different levels of analysis, including the event, person, dyad, and group. The third section illustrates the diversity of emotional labor in distinct occupational contexts: customer service (e.g. restaurant, retail), call centers, and caring work. The fourth section considers broader contextual influences – organizational-, societal-, and cultural-level factors – that modify how and when emotional labor is done. The final section presents a series of ‘reflective essays’ from eminent scholars in the area of emotion and emotion regulation, where they reflect upon the past, present and future of emotion regulation at work.

"This book is of value to nurses at all levels of their career."--Critical Care Nurse "This is a very practical and easy to read book with many strategies to help new nurses adapt to the stressors of the workplace. It is filled with thought-provoking stories and activities that can foster confidence in tackling workplace issues as well as self-care activities to enhance wholeness and wellbeing. Some suggested strategies for successful outcomes include finding a good mentor, relaxation techniques, using humor, self-reflection, and exercising. There is something in this book for everyone."Score: 96, 4 stars. --Doody's Medical Reviews This essential resource is for nursing and allied health students across the globe who are undertaking-or are about to undertake-their internship and initial work experience. This reference identifies practical strategies for career advancement and for overcoming stressors and challenges in the workplace. With the tools from this book, readers will be able to gain the strength and tactics to break the cycles of hostility and workplace negativity, and thereby change the health system and provide better care for their clients. Key Features: Presents primary narratives and resilience strategies Provides creative resolutions for coping with complex clients, grief, inter-professional tensions, and more difficult issues Contains reader activities that encourage students to become agents of change Highlights resilience strategies; key coping mechanisms; lessons learned; discussion questions; creative thinking exercises; and teacher-related activities