LECTURE 3 Emo$onallabour,aesthe$clabourandthevarietyofskillsinthe
experienceeconomy“GlobalTourismandLocalDevelopment”(cod.44144),
DrGabriellaAlber$
Introduc2on: the changing nature of skills • Skillsmaybeconsideredforhowtheyareembodiedbypeople,locatedwithinjobsandregulatedviapoli$calprocesseswithintheworkplace.
• Emo$onallabourandsoJskillscentralincustomerorientedserviceinhospitalityandtourism
• Managersareincreasinglydemanding‘soJskills’,suchaslookingright,enthusiasmandempathywithcustomers.
• Giventoughercompe$$on,emo$onsandfeelingsarebecomingincreasinglycentraltoorganisa$onalperformancewithinandbeyondtourism
Todays’ lecture: aims • Toexplore‘soJskills’inthehospitalitythroughtheconceptof‘emo$onallabour’(Hochschild{1983-2012)
• Tounderstandbothemployersandworkersstrategiesinmanagingemo$onsintheserviceworkplace
• Tocomparetheno$onsofemo$onaltothatofaesthe$candaffec$velabour
• TodiscusssoJskillsinthecontextofthe‘experien$aleconomy’andthe‘bundlingofskills’(Baum2006)
• Tounderstandtraininganddevelopmentofthoseskills• Tocri$quethemanagementofemo$onsandhowemo$onalworkisgendered/racialised…
• Todiscussexperien$alintelligence,aesthe$clabourandinequali$es
Context and theore2cal debate • Increasingrelevanceofintangiblegoodsandservicesintheexperien$aleconomybutaccompaniedbytangible/embodiedlabour
• Exactlywhenintangibleformsofworkbecomeincreasinglycentraltocapitalistvalorisa$onintheservicesector,embodiedlabourbecomesalsomorevisibleandmorecentralwithinthelabourprocess(Wolkowitz2006,WolkowitzandWarhurst2010).
The “Managed Heart” • Hochschild’soriginaldefini$onof“emo$onallabour”
• Emo$onallabouris‘themanagementoffeelingtocreateapubliclyobservablefacialandbodilydisplay;emo$onallabourissoldforawageandthereforehasexchangevalue’(Hochschild,1983:7)
• ThereisoJenagapbetweentheemo$onswepresentandthoseweactuallyfeel–weareskilledemo.onalmanagersintheworkplace
Classroom ac2vity
• Exercise:“Describe…arealsitua$onthatwasimportanttoyouinwhichyoueitherchangedthesitua$ontofityourfeelingsorchangedyourfeelingstofitthesitua$on”(Hochschild1983:13)(canbeinajobornot)
Emo2ons at work: • Whendoesitoccur?
• Emo$onallabouroccurswhenemployeesarerequiredtodisplayspecificemo$onsaspartoftheirjobcontract(theycouldbedisciplinediftheydonotgivethedesiredmessage,some$mestherecanbedetailedguidelinestofollow)
• Managersaimtomanageemployeeemo$onstoinduceapar3cularresponsefromthepersontowhomtheserviceisbeingprovided
• Keypointisthattheyarenotdiscre$onarybut“displayrules”–emo3onalperformanceispartofthewage-effortbargain
• Differencebetweenserviceworkandmanual/factorywork
(see Noon and Blyton, 2002: 175-7 and Hochschild 1983)
Managing Emo2ons: • Importanceofselec3ngandtrainingtherightpeopleforemo$onalwork:
• Selec$ontechniquesusedtogetthe‘rightlook’and‘aftude’:• YoungfreshfacesatDisneyland;Airlinersseekthepersonallygroomed,butalsodifferentlysexualised,classedandracialisedbodiesaccordingtothemarketsegmenttheywanttoahract
• Workersare“trained”toperformactsoncue(behaviourprescrip3on:trendofincreasingregula$on/standardisa$on)
• Hochschild’scentralarguments:Emo$onsatworkappeartobelessundercontroloftheactordisplayingtheemo3on–andtheyaremoreunderthecontrolofmanagers/employers
‘Transmuta2on’ from private to public feeling • Underincreasedcontrolbymanagementofworkers’emo$ons,istheirsenseofestrangement/aliena$onorwhatHochschildcalls‘transmuta$onoffeelings’increased?
• Threekeyelementsoftransmuta$on:• 1.“Emo$onworkisnolongeraprivateactbutapublicactboughtononehandandsoldontheother”
• 2.Feelingsrulesarenotmaherofpersonaldiscre$onbutspelledoutpublicly-e.g.onacompanyhandbook
• 3.Socialexchangeistransmutedinthesensethatitbecomesinstrumental
Employee responses: • Employeecanengagein:
• Surfaceac.ng–behaviouralcompliancewithdisplayruleswithoutinternalisa$on–emo$onsarefaked(typicallylowlevelservicework).
• Deepac.ng–internalisingtheroleandahemp$ngtoexperiencethedesiredemo$on(e.g.flightcrewareexpectedtointernalisetheaftudethatawkwardcustomersarenotwrongorannoying,butthey‘haveproblems’suchasfearofflying,theyshouldreallybehaveasiftheyempathisedwiththem)
(Hochschild1983|);• Rolecongruence–wheretheexpecteddisplaysareconsistentwiththeindividualsinnerfeelings(fromnursestoenthusias$cgraduates)
(Ashforth and Tomiuk, 2000, cited in Noon and Blyton, 2002) See also chapter 9 of Managed Heart
Employee Resistance:
Ayoungbusinessmansaidtoaflightahendant,“whyaren’tyousmiling”.Sheputhertraybackonthefoodcart,lookedhimintheeyeandsaid,“I’lltellyouwhat.Yousmilefirst,thenI’llsmile”.Thebusinessmansmiledather.“Good”,shesaid.“NowfreezeandholdthatforfiJeenhours”(Hochschild1983,p.127).
Coping with emo2ons • Copingwithdissonance:emo$onsand“misbehaviour”
• Workersresponseordertocopewithemo$onaldemands:‘lefngoffsteam’outofsight(e.g.callingcustomersnamesbehindtheirbacks)
• Theymayalsomaintaintheirdisplaywhilstresis$ng:
• Adultera$ngthefoodofa‘bad’customer;“s$ckingtothescript”(maintainingthesanc$oneddisplaybeyondthepointatwhichitfunc$ons).
• Thiscanleadtonega$veoutcomesforthefirm!
From emo2onal labour to emo2onal self-management?
• Cri$quebyBoltonandBoyd(2003)ofHochschild’sManagedheart:
• Bybecomingawareofemo$onmanagementworkersmaycomplyonlyselec$velywiththefeelingrules:theycan“resistandmodify”thedemandsbybothcustomersandmanagers
• Incontrasttofactorywork,theemo$onworkersowntheirmeansofproduc$onandhavemorediscre$ontodecidethedegreeofsincerityintheirservicedelivery
• “Mul$-dimensionalnature”oforganisa$onalemo$onality
Aesthe2c labour
• Thetypesofworkinvolvingbothmanualac$vi$esandmoreintangibleformsoflabourinthecustomerserviceindustrieshavebeendefinedintermsof‘aesthe$clabour’(Witzetal.2003),wherebyemployersmobilize,developandcommodifyworkers’bodilycapaci3esasmuchastheirvariouspersonala?ributes(includingdeportment,voice,sexualdesirability),withtheaimofproducing‘anaesthe3cstyleofserviceandsensoryexperienceintheencounter’(WolkowitzandWarhurst2010:229).
Aesthe2c labour( Warhust and Nickson 2007) • Ini$allyWitzetal2003madethepointthatembodimentneededtobeforegrounded
analy$callyasanextensionofemo$onallabour-Hochschilddidnotdevelopfurtherthebodilydimension?
• ‘Serviceencountersinvolvenotjustsocialinterac$onbutalsosensoryengagement,mostobviouslyvisuallyandaurally.Theimportanceofemployeeappearanceforbothobtaininganddoingjobsaspartofemployerlabourstrategiesthereforeneedstoberecognizedandresearched’(WarhustandNickson2007:106)
• Aesthe$clabourhasbecometranslatedinthepopularpressasemploymentbasedon‘lookinggood’and/or‘soundingright…(p.131)
• ’‘Lookism’isevenbeingsuggestedasthelatestformofworkplacediscrimina$on(Oaff,2003).
• ‘packagingtheserviceprovider’(Solomon,1985):growingimportanceofuniformandcode• Surveyconductedwithemployers:“Askedtoassessthecentralityofemployeeappearancetobusinesssuccess,53%ofemployersdescribeditascri$caland40%asimportant.Therewasalsoextensiveevidenceofahemptstocon$nuetomouldemployeeappearanceinsupportofthecorporateimagethrough,forexample,uniformsanddresscodes”
• Lookismandgenderdiscrimina3on:selec$onproceduresthatwereovertlybasedonjudgingbothmenandwomenbytheirlooks,thoughseeminglymoresoforwomen
Undervalued emo2onal skills
• Thoseadeptatemo$onalworkoughttobeconsidered“soJly-skilled”:
• Emo$onaldisplaysarereliantonindividualdiscre6onindisplayingtheappropriatedemeanourinvarioussitua$ons–thisrequiresexperience.
• …BUTtheseskillsaredifficulttocer3fy,codify,ormeasureunlike‘hard’technicalskills’.
• Emo.onalworktooo;enbecomescategorisedasan‘innateability’orpersonaltrait,thusensuringitremainsunderstoodas“non-skilled”
(see Bolton, 2004)
Emo2onal Skills and Gender
• Emo$onalworkalsoreinforcesgenderstereotypes:
• Womenareexpectedtodomoreoftheemo3onalwork,evenwhendoingthesamejobsasmen!
• Womenaremorelikelytobeinvitedtodothe‘customerfacing’elementsofajob(frontdesk),buttheseelementsofworkaretypicallylessvaluedandtechnicalskillsmaysufferasaresultof$meawayfromothertasks.
• Womenareseenassomehow‘naturally’moreadeptatmanagingtheiremo$ons–buthowmuchisthissocialised?
• Womenholdresponsibilityforemo$onmanagementinthedomes$csphere–theyhavemoreprac$ce!–butthisdoesn’ttranslateintoa‘natural’talent,itisalearnedskillthatisrela$velyundervalued.
Emo2onal Skills and Social Closure
• ‘Ra$onalism’associatedwithmasculinityandvalued–emo$onassociatedwithfemininityandgivenlowerstatus
• Nursestypicallypaidlessthanhospitalmanagers–whodoesmostforpa$entcare?
• Womendominateposi3onsinlowlypaidrolesinshops,hotels,restaurants,etc.–thesejobsareassociatedwithservituderatherthanemo$onalskills!
• Theundervaluingofemo3onalskillsplaysaroleinthesocialconstruc$onofinferiorfemalestatus.
Summary of key points: • Theriseininterestinemo$onallabourrunsparallelwithanincreasingmanagerialdemandthatspecificemo$onsaredisplayedatwork(especiallygrowingservicesector).
• Problemswithemo$onaldissonanceandassociated‘misbehaviour’resultfromthe‘gap’between‘displayed’and‘felt’emo$ons(‘transmuta$onoffeelings’andworkeraliena$on)
• Arguably,difficul3esmeasuringemo3onalskillsandwomen’sposi$onassupposedly‘natural’emo$onallabourershaveledtoemo$onalworkbeingundervalued–despiteitscentralitytocontemporaryservicesectorstrategies
• Managersareincreasinglydefiningtheemo$onalskillsthattheorganisa$onrequiresasvaluable,andthereisnocounterweightapparatustoensurethatthoseengaginginthisworkareabletogetrewardedforthevaluetheyadd.
Variety of skills in the hospitality sector
• TomBaum(2006)“skillsbundlinginservices”(beyondtechnicalahributesofwork)
• PineandGilmore’s“experienceskills”(problemofconfla$onofexperiencewithwider“services”e.g.carwashing,bankingservices…thereissomethingpeculiaraboutthe”experien$algood”
• Different“accultura$on”ofemployeesfromdevelopedvsdevelopingcountriessothatthe“learningdemand”ontheirexperien$alskillsisalsodifferent(Americantraitsofhospitalityculturedespiteinterna$onalisa$onoftheindustry-pioneerMarriotandHiltoninterna$onalhotelchains)
• Baum’sar$cle’sproposalthatExperien3alIntelligence(ExQ)isanindicatorofthisdifferenceintermsofworkplaceskills,itexpandstheno$onofEmo$onalintelligenceasitencompassesculturalandexperien$alfactorsinshapingtheeffec$venessoftheservicedeliveryandhasimplica$onsfortraininganddevelopment(e.g.specificneedsofemployeesindevelopedcountries…(buttoadapttotheWesternisedmodelratherthanchange/enrichit?)
From low skilled work to experien2al intelligence? • …‘thefirstrequirementforworkersinatransforma$on(experience)businessisthattheytrulycare’(PineandGilmorep.182).
• BaumextendsPineandGilmore’sworkontheexperien$aleconomywonderinginwhatwayseconomicandculturalcontextinfluenceontheExperien$alintelligenceofemployees?IEasadevelopmentofEmo$onalIntelligence?BaumNicksonandotherauthorschallengedthelong-las$ngconcep$onthatworkinhospitalityis“lowskilled”
• Westerncentricunderstandingofwhatskillsareworthof:• “ratherrecogni$onoftheimportanceofwhatcanbestyled‘genericskills’(communica$on,problemsolving,ICT,languages)withinhospitalitywork(Baum,2006)aswellasbothemo3onal(Hochschild,1983)andaesthe3c(Nickson,Warhurst,&Witz,2003;Warhurst,Nickson,Witz,&Cullen,2000)dimensionsasfeatureswithinthebundlingofhospitalityskills.”
Beyond technical skills
• Burns’sdefini$onofhospitalityskillsseekstogobeyondthepurelytechnicalcapabili$esthatthoseusingunskilledor‘lowskills’descriptorsassume.ThiscanbelinkedtoRitzer’s(2004)dramaanalogyfortheserviceworkplaceinthesensethatworkinginsuchanenvironmentrequiresmorethananabilitytooperateatatechnicallevel.Emo$onaldemandsaremadeofemployeestoconstantlybeinaposi$ve,joyfulandevenplayfulmood.Anabilitytocopewithsuchdemandsmustberecognisedasarealskill.
• Technologycannotsubs$tuteforwelcomingemployees(Poon1993,p.262).
Defini2on of emo2onal intelligence
• ‘Thecapacityforrecognizingourownfeelingsandthoseofothers,formo$va$ngourselves,andformanagingemo$onswellinourselvesandinourrela$onships’(Goleman1998,p.317).
• Emo$onallabourandemo$onalintelligencearenotenough:needtoadd“theskillsdemandsofaesthe$clabour(Warhurstetal.2000andNicksonetal.(2003)thatistheskillsrequiredtolook,soundandbehaveinamannerthatiscompa$blewiththerequirementsofthejob(andtheaesthe3cofbrand)andwiththeexpecta$onsofyourcustomers(seeBaum2006,p.130)
• Aesthe$clabourisnotjustaboutappearancethoughbutalsoabouttheculturaldemeanourandbehavioursexpectedincustomersinterac$ons(doseofculturalandeduca$onalcapitalforthemtobeabletochatwithclientsaboutcertainmusic/poli$cs/economicthemes…)
Differences between developed/developing countries employees • 1.Havingstood/ornotintheshoesofthoseguestsbeforebecominghospitalityemployees(sharedexperienceofconsumerandserver-meaningthespecificexposuretothe”interna$onalizedmodeloftheexperience”,lessersocialdistance)
• RitzCarlton’smoho‘weareLadiesandGentlemenservingLadiesandGentlemen’
• 2.Digitalandtechnologicalgapbetweentwogroupscrea$ngsocialdistance• 3.Learningalanguage(English),widerculturalcommunica$ons,orlearnaboutWesterncookerymayrequireextralearningandskillsfordevelopingcountriesemployeesininterna$onalchains,thusnoseamlesspassagebetweendomes$ctocommodifiedhospitalityservices(thisismorerelevantindevelopedcountriesnowthatmigrantscons$tutebigsec$onofworkforce)
Social distance and Experien2al intelligence
”Thebundleofaddi$onallearningandskillsdevelopmentrequiredwillvaryfromcontexttocontextbutcouldincludelanguages;moregeneralcommunica$onskills;e$quehe;culinaryandbeverageculture;useandapplica$onofequipment,facili$esandtechnologyandarangeofothertangibleandnontangibleareas”(Baum2006:132)• Theexperienceeconomyisnotsolelyabouttheexperiencesdemandedbyconsumers.Itis,equally,aboutthetypeofexperiences,culturalandsectorspecific(inthiscase,hospitality-related)thatemployeesbringintotheworkplace.
• Importantimplica$onsfortheimpactofpoorEQindevelopingcountriesandforworkersthemselves…needtobere-trained?
High/low skill divide: does it apply to hospitality? • “Burns(1997)ques3onsthebasisforcategorisinghospitalityemploymentintoskilledandunskilledcategories,arguingthepostmodernistcasethatthissepara$onissomethingofasocialconstruct.Thisconstructisrootedin,firstly,manpowerplanningparadigmsforthemanufacturingsectorand,secondly,inthetradi$onalpoweroftradeunionstocontrolentryintotheworkplacethroughlengthyappren$ceships”
• AndersonandRuhs(2010)arguethatskillsaresociallyconstructedandthatwhenitcomestotherecruitmentofmigrants(e.g.intheUKmarket)employersprefermigrantsratherthanlocalsonthebasisofassump$onsontheirhumanresourcecharacteris3csratherthanskillsperse(e.g.reliability/flexibility/greaterdependencybecauseofmigra$onstatus)
Is it about ‘look’ and a]tude, or about disposability of workers?? • ‘Wehadtogothroughagroomingcheckbeforewewenttowork.Theycheckedyourshoes,theycheckedyourhair,ithadtobe$edbackwithadarkhairbobbleandboysweresentawaywithdisposablerazorsbeforetheywereallowedtogotowork…oneguy…gotsentbackbecausehedidn’tpassthegroomingcheck’.(citedinWarhurstandNickson2007:112)
• Thetemporaryagencyemployedmoresubtlestrategiesofwagededuc$onsanduseofunpaidlabourinthemanagementofworkshi:s.OnoneoccasionIwasaskedtoremaininthe‘recrui$nghall’or‘prepara$onroom’ofthehotel‘LushCafe’(wherethewaitersusuallygetreadyexpec$ngtobecalledtotheshiJbytheagencymanager)becausetherewassomethingwrongwithmyclothes.Withtheexcuseofanimproperdetailinmywai$nguniform(thesolesofmyshoeswereofadifferentcolour,insteadofbeing‘completelyblack’!),Ihadtowaitinthehallforonemorehourun$litcametolightthattheworkerIwassupposedtoreplacewasavailablesothatmyshiJwasnotneededanymore(Alber$2011)
Training or inheri2ng so_ skills?
• InWarhustandNickson(2007)ssurveyofemployeesacrosshospitalityandretailmostdeclaredthattrainingoftechnicalskillswasmoreprominentthatthatofsoJskills,howeversomeexamplesremained:forthosewhoreceivedit,62%indresssenseandstyle,60%inbodylanguage,and29%inmake-upandgrooming
• 16percentoftheorganiza$onstriedtomouldthevoiceandaccentoftheemployeesbytraining
• …sometraininginemployeeappearanceisprovidedbycompaniesthoughcompaniesarekeenertorecruitthantraintherightappearance.Thisfindingechoessimilarresearchinrela$ontoaftudes(CallaghanandThompson,2002).
• Priorskillforma3onandthepossibilityofthisforma$onhavingdiscriminatoryoutcomesthenbecomeconsequen$alissuesforbothaftudesandappearance(outsourcingofskillsreproduc$oncosts/’buying’workersalreadytrained??)
Skills, class and the re-loca2on of skills
• ConceptofhabitusbyBourdieuandtheno$onthatthemannerofspeech,bodylanguageanddressforexample,producehabitusor‘systemsofdurable,transposabledisposi$ons’(Bourdieu,1990:53and56).Hence,inprac$ce
• -thereisrecogni$onthatwaysofbeingcanbetrainedthroughfamilialsocializa$ontobecome‘internalizedasasecondnature
• Func$onofhabitus:differen$ateanddifferen$a$ng,deno$ngaclass.Thusmannerofspeech,bodylanguageanddressvaryaccordingtoclass.Consequently,notonlyisthenega$veconsequenceofaesthe$clabourintermsoflabourmarketaccessanissuebutalsothe(re-)loca$onofskillforma$on.
• Problemoffamilialloca3onofskillsforma3onreproducingclassinequali3esacrossgenera3ons(e.g.middleclassstudentspreferredbyemployersdisplacingotherworkerswhocouldbeemployed)
Moving beyond rigid categories of skills/labours?
• Beyondemo$ons:‘Affec$velabour’:intangibleservicesbutlabouralwaysembodiedandnotimmeasurable(Dowlingetal.2007)(vs.NegriandHardt2001).Relevantsocialnatureofwork
• Massumi:differencebetweenaffectsandemo$ons:thefirstreferringtomorepre-consciousdynamicsthesecondmoresocial/rela$onal
• Hospitalityworkshowstheimpossibilityofaclearboundarybetweenmaterialandimmaterial,tangible/intangible:researchques$ontheinterpreta$onoftheaffec$veworkinvolvedinthehospitalitysectorasatypeof‘immateriallabour’.Indeedthedifferentformsofworkperformedevenwithinasinglehoteladiverserangeof‘skills’thatblurtheboundariesbetweenmaterialandimmaterialwork.Similarly,their‘products’arenotstrictlydefinableineitherterm.
• S$llformuchhospitalityandretailworkappearanceandaftudeappearmoreimportantthansocalledtechnicalorhardskills
• Thegenderedandracializedlearningofemo$onalandaffec$vework• Thecycleofserviceassembly(MahhewColePhD)
Cri2que of ‘experien2al intelligence’
• Whileitcontextualizeskillsinthewideremploymentrela$onsandcondi$ons(e.g.turnover,lackofcareer,lowpay)itdoesnotsucceedatcri$cizingtheveryexpecta$onsofexperien$alintelligence
• Makesimportantpointofinfluenceofinterac$onwithguestbutendsupreproducingtheideathatworkersindevelopedcountriesareinferiorbecausetheydon’thavetheAmericanisedexperienceofhospitality
• Asiftherecouldnotbealterna$vehospitalityculturesorexperiences?Mereadapta$onstoastandardofexperien$alskills
• Doesnotproblema$zethedominanceofAmericancultureofhospitalityininterna$onalchainsorwhatguestsactuallywant
• Conflatedifferenttypesofsocialskills(onethingistolearnEnglishtoallowcommunica$on,anotheronetoadoptcertainWesternculturaltraits)
Cri2que of Warhurst, Nickson and Witz
• Thetypesofworkinvolvingbothmanualac$vi$esandmoreintangibleformsoflabourinthecustomerserviceindustrieshavebeendefinedintermsof‘aesthe$clabour’(Witzetal.2003),wherebyemployersmobilize,developandcommodifyworkers’bodilycapaci$esasmuchastheirvariouspersonalahributes(includingdeportment,voice,sexualdesirability),withtheaimofproducing‘anaesthe$cstyleofserviceandsensoryexperienceintheencounter’(WolkowitzandWarhurst2010:229).
• ‘Aesthe$clabour’hastheadvantageofrecognisingtheimpossibilitytoseparatethementalandbodilyskillsinvolvedininterac$veserviceworkBUTConceptofEmo$onallabouralreadycontainedastrongelementofembodiment(butnotonlyas‘extension’ofemo$ons):persistenceofabody/minddivideinno$oniofaesthe$clabour?Hochschildaheadofthegame?
• Importantinclusionoftheembodimentofthe‘brand’(organiza$onalmarke$ngaspectsaswellaslabourmanagementperse)
• YOURREADINGOFTHEMANAGEDHEART??