scholarly journals Dying Professions: Exploring Emotion Management among Doctors and Funeral Directors

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-64
Author(s):  
Molly Ryan

There are few more emotive experiences in life than death. Drawing on Arlie Hochschild’s concept of emotional labour, this article compares the emotional responsibilities of two groups of death professionals: doctors and funeral directors. It addresses the lack of comparative studies in the otherwise robust literature concerning emotional labour in the workforce. Through qualitative analysis, I identify how funeral directors and doctors believe they should feel in regard to death, how they manage these feelings, and the related consequences of this emotional labour. This analysis suggests that the emotion management of these professionals is primarily influenced by two key factors: prioritizing the emotions of others and stifling one’s own strong emotions. Differences became apparent in terms of how these factors are managed and what the related emotional consequences may be, due to the respective reliance of the funeral directors on surface acting and the doctors on deep acting emotion management strategies. In the future, it would be helpful to complement existing research with participant observation studies in order to better illuminate the meaning that emotional labour has for individuals in practice. Due to their unique position of encountering death as part of a job, death professionals have much to teach each other, as well as the broader population, about accepting and managing emotions related to mortality.

BMC Nursing ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Martínez-Morato ◽  
Maria Feijoo-Cid ◽  
Paola Galbany-Estragués ◽  
Maria Isabel Fernández-Cano ◽  
Antonia Arreciado Marañón

Abstract Background Nursing requires a high load of emotional labour. The link between nursing, emotional labour and the female sex, complicates the figure of the male nurse, because masculinity is associated with physical or technical (rather than emotional) and moreover is defined in contrast to femininity. Our objective was to understand how emotion management is described by male nurses who work in the paediatrics department of a Spanish tertiary hospital. Methods Qualitative descriptive study. The participants were selected through intentional sampling in the paediatrics department of a Spanish tertiary hospital. We conducted semi-structured interviews until reaching data saturation. We carried out a content analysis, using Lincoln and Guba’s definition of scientific rigour. Results We identified two key themes in the data: 1) Stereotypes related to the emotional aspects of care: Participants took for granted some gender stereotypes while questioning others and defended alternative ways of managing emotions related to care. 2) Emotion management strategies: Participants described keeping an emotional distance, setting boundaries, relativising problems and using distraction and humour. Discussion Nursing care is conditioned by gender roles and stereotypes that present men as less capable than women of feeling and managing emotions. However, emotion management is necessary in nursing care—especially in paediatrics—and our participants reported using strategies for it. Although participants continued to interpret care in terms of traditional roles, they contradicted them in adapting to the emotional labour that their job requires. Conclusions New behaviours are emerging among male nurses, in which care and emotion management are not exclusively the purview of women. Our participants reproduced some gender stereotypes while disrupting others, and they tended to cling to the stereotypes that were favourable to them as male nurses. As we work towards a gender-neutral profession, these results represent a first step: male participants reported that they provide care and manage their emotions as well as (or better than) women. However, because they substantiated their claims by drawing on negative stereotypes of women, further progress must be made.


2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Despoina Xanthopoulou ◽  
Arnold B. Bakker ◽  
Wido G. M. Oerlemans ◽  
Maria Koszucka

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 1036-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
FRANCIS CHEUNG ◽  
ANISE M. S. WU

ABSTRACTIn this study, we examined the relationship between emotional labour and successful ageing among older Hong Kong Chinese workers. We also investigated whether job satisfaction mediated the association between emotional labour and successful ageing in the workplace. Results show that deep acting was positively related to successful ageing in the workplace, whereas surface acting was negatively related to the same. Structural equation modelling shows that job satisfaction partially mediated the association between emotional labour and successful ageing in the workplace. The limitations of the study and further recommendations are also discussed.


Author(s):  
Andrew Fowler ◽  
Jake Phillips ◽  
Chalen Westaby

In this chapter we study the performance of emotional labour by probation practitioners to reveal the complex emotion management undertaken to develop the officer-offender relationship. We begin by discussing the rise of managerialism and its effect on how emotions should be used in the officer-offender relationship, before focusing on Skills for Effective Engagement and Development and Supervision programme. We use data generated through interviews with probation practitioners to analyse one aspect of SEEDS: the development of the professional relationship through getting to know and understand the client and the need to create clear boundaries. By analysing the data through the lens of emotional labour we focus on the use of surface and deep acting in order to create effective professional relationships as required by the SEEDS model. We found that practitioners are required to perform considerable emotional labour which has, until now, remained unacknowledged in probation policy and discuss what needs to be done if SEEDS were reintroduced following the implementation of Transforming Rehabilitation. (164)


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Jade Martin

This article discusses the new reproductive technology of egg freezing in the context of existing literature on gender, medicalization, and infertility. What is unique about this technology is its use by women who are not currently infertile but who may anticipate a future diagnosis. This circumstance gives rise to a new ontological category of “anticipated infertility.” The author draws on participant observation and a qualitative analysis of scientific, mainstream, and marketing literature to identify and compare the representation of two different candidates for egg freezing: women with cancer and healthy young women. Although both populations experience anticipated infertility, their dichotomous portrayals as appropriate candidates are demonstrative of gender norms linking women to motherhood. Egg freezing is a concise illustration of how the medicalization of women’s bodies and bodily processes masks a host of cultural anxieties about aging, illness, reproduction, and risk.


Author(s):  
Christine Abey Ashaolu ◽  
Chibuzor Okonkwo ◽  
Elizabeth Njuguna ◽  
Dennis Ndolo

The global trend towards increased demand for organic food, greener environments, and the integration of biological control agents into pest management strategies has greatly enhanced the need for biological pesticides (biopesticides). Biopesticides are generally environmentally friendly and are made from micro-organisms or other natural substances. Despite their great potential, relatively few have been registered and commercialised in Nigeria compared to other African countries such as South Africa and Kenya. Biological active agents are so diverse such that ap-plying the same safety standards or environmental conditions to all of them is almost impossible. A review of risk assessment processes and comparative assessments of Nigeria's biopesticide regulations with other developing African countries and developed regions was conducted. Prolonged field testing, lack of bridged risk assessments and technical checklists have been identified as key factors hampering the timely development and commercialisation of biopesti-cides in Nigeria. Recommendations on necessary changes to the existing Nigeria biopesticide regulations have been made. Risk assessment matrices for microbial and biochemical biopesti-cides and a scientific/technical checklist have also been developed. Harmonisation and data ex-change among other countries in the region will also enhance the advancement of scientific and technical knowledge for sustainable regulation and cross-border trade.


Author(s):  
Inna P Piven

The case explores international students' learning experiences with Facebook-based activities within the eight-week study term known as the intensive mode of course delivery. By implementing participant observation and two asynchronous Facebook focus groups, the study investigates the potential values of Facebook for learning from international students' perspective. In addition, the case looks at the challenges faced by students and discusses key factors that may impact international students' experiences with courses that incorporate Facebook as a learning tool. The research is framed in the context of New Zealand tertiary education and intended as a contribution to the emerging body of educational research on social media.


2022 ◽  
pp. 1237-1254
Author(s):  
Rose Opengart ◽  
Thomas G. Reio Jr. ◽  
Wei Ding

Workplace incivility is common in organizations across the world and can have negative effects on individuals and organizations. The purpose of the reported study is to examine the effects of supervisor and coworker incivility on job satisfaction and examines emotion management as a mediator of these relationships. Data from 268 working adults were collected by survey battery and analyzed via a number of multivariate techniques. The model was supported in that both supervisor and coworker incivility had strong direct negative effects on emotion management and job satisfaction, and emotion management partially mediated the incivility-job satisfaction relationship. With supervisor and coworker incivility, the participants reported lower levels of job satisfaction. However, the participants' emotion management mitigated the negative effect of incivility on job satisfaction partially. The findings suggest that organizations need to be aware of the unfavorable consequences of incivility. Organizations need to discover ways to reduce incivility and implement efforts to help employees develop positive emotional management strategies. These actions may help reduce the negative influences of incivility on important organizational outcomes like job satisfaction.


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