# What is emotional labour? (Leanne explains)

- **Episode:** [129](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/129.md) (2024-09-19)
- **Type:** interview
- **Tags:** emotional-labour, definition, explanation
- **Time:** 38:29–40:08 (start 2309s)
- **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/129?t=2309](https://truthliesandwork.com/129?t=2309)

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[38:29] Al Elliott: Leah, tell me, what other kinds of companies might need to consider this emotional labour?
[38:35] Leanne Elliott: Well, let's just remind ourselves what emotional labour is. So emotional labour is when employees manage their emotions to meet job expectations, even if it goes against how they truly feel. This happens in a lot of jobs. So customer service often deal with angry customers, but they must stay friendly and patient to maintain the company image. Nurses, other healthcare workers might face stressful or emotional situations daily, but they need to stay calm and reassuring no matter how overwhelming their work becomes. Teachers also have to maintain positive energy in a classroom even when they're really tired, frustrated, and probably underpaid. A growing example is also social media moderation, and this has been over the news, especially given the Elon Musk takeover of Twitter, now X. Moderators often have to handle disturbing or harmful content, removing inappropriate posts while maintaining neutral and professional despite how the content may affect them emotionally. So why should business owners care? Well, emotional labor, when not managed properly, can lead to burnout, stress, and emotional exhaustion, which affects employee productivity and well-being. For example, research shows that constant emotional dissonance, which is the gap between what is felt and displayed in terms of emotion, can take a serious toll on mental health. And over time, this can lead to higher turnover rates and lower job satisfaction, which is why creating a supportive work environment like Harry is doing at Smart Clinic is so important, both for employee wellbeing and business performance