Emotional Labor
Managing your emotions as part of your job requirements (service workers smiling despite abuse) or managing others' emotions in relationships (the "default therapist" in a partnership).
Emotional labor (Hochschild, 1983) was originally about workplace emotional performance — flight attendants smiling, customer service reps staying calm. It's since expanded to describe the unequal distribution of emotional management in relationships.
At work: high Agreeableness + high Extraversion people naturally provide more emotional labor, which can lead to burnout in service roles. At home: one partner typically does more emotional management (remembering birthdays, initiating difficult conversations, monitoring the relationship's health).
Unrecognized emotional labor is a top predictor of relationship dissatisfaction and burnout. Understanding personality traits (Big Five) helps identify who in a team or relationship is carrying disproportionate emotional load.
Measure your Emotional Labor profile
Take the free EQ Dashboard test to discover where you fall. Instant results, no signup required.
Take the Free EQ Dashboard Test