The Essay Workplace performance
Mar 31, 2025
Jaswinder Blackwell-Pal, a New Generation Thinker and researcher at Queen Mary, University of London, dives into the intriguing connection between actors and service workers. She explores the concept of emotional labor, emphasizing the expectations versus realities that shape workplace interactions. Legal cases illuminate the pressures of performing emotions on demand. Furthermore, Jaswinder critiques the authenticity of workplace feelings, revealing how external influences often dictate personal emotional expressions. It's a fascinating look at how drama shapes various industries.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Actors Teach Workplace Skills
- Drama schools now sell workplace training that uses actors to teach communication and empathy skills.
- Employers value actor skills because storytelling and presentation map directly onto customer-facing roles.
Emotional Labour As Employer Control
- Arlie Russell Hochschild coined 'emotional labour' to describe teaching workers to display feelings like smiling as part of the job.
- This shift moved power into employers' control over how employees must present their emotions at work.
Whole-Self Expectations At Work
- Modern jobs increasingly expect workers to bring their whole emotional selves, not just technical skills.
- That expectation can give more agency but also creates new sources of burnout and exploitation.