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Emotional Labor and Health Care
Author(s) -
Erickson Rebecca J.,
Grove Wendy J. C.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
sociology compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 1751-9020
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2007.00084.x
Subject(s) - rationalization (economics) , emotional labor , health care , psychology , perspective (graphical) , emotional health , emotional contagion , power (physics) , health professionals , social psychology , sociology , mental health , economics , economic growth , management , psychiatry , physics , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , computer science
We examine the literature on emotional labor and health care to demonstrate the potential for emotional labor research to inform how social and medical scientists think about health care and how examining healthcare contexts has contributed to the scientific understanding of emotional labor processes. In doing so, we first review the key terms and definitions that are used within the emotion management perspective and evaluate the ways in which power differences have remained largely implicit features of research on emotional labor in healthcare settings. Finally, we explore how the increasing economic rationalization of health care may be influencing the emotional experiences of today's healthcare professionals and the implications of this trend for future research on emotional labor and the health and well‐being of care providers and their patients.