Masking the hidden emotions behind the job
Today I came across a very interesting article on The Atlantic’s website regarding the working environment and the unspoken job duties of being a waitress. What grabbed my attention was when the interviewee in the article stated, “You hit so many difficulties, whether it’s with customers or in the kitchen, or things that are going on in your personal life. It’s very hard to keep up that appearance for eight hours consistently.”
Prior to reading this article, although I acknowledged the fact that waiters and waitresses needed to act politely to customers in order to deliver positive customer service, I did not realize the extent to which it would actually be extremely burdensome to do so in long shifts.
People in service jobs like these must go through a significant load of emotional labor. Emotional labor, as written in Chapter 2 of the Organizational Behaviour textbook, is defined as when an employee expresses organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal interactions. In addition, in this particular type of job, workers have to engage in surface acting, which requires the individual to exhibit physical signs such as smiling.
I cannot image the sorts of emotions and adversities people have to go through to fulfil the requirements of the job. I would feel extremely confined to have my feelings trapped and ready to burst, especially if I have to smile to a rude customer when Im already having an excessively horrible day. Moreover, due to the amount of emotional labor the job typically requires alongside the minimum amount of pay received.
Furthermore, according to recent surveys, apart from having to deal with the abundance of stress from working on the job, a majority of waitresses have claimed to have been sexually harassed. After having read this article, the next time I dine at a restaurant, I will be sure to be polite to my waiter/waitresses as well, and tip them exceptionally well for their service.
1. Green, Adrienne. “The Emotional Labor of Waitressing.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 16 Nov. 2016. Web. 05 Feb. 2017. <https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/11/waitress/507842/>.
2. Langton, Robbins, Judge, Organizational Behaviour, 7th edition, p.59