What is Emotional Labour?

This profile analyzes emotional labour through the leadership experience of my mentor, Linda Steel, a Catholic school board trustee working within a historically male-dominated institution. While emotional labour is often framed as invisible or secondary to formal decision-making, Linda’s leadership demonstrates that it is central to how educational governance actually functions. Her experience reveals that emotional labour is not only gendered but deeply embedded in advocacy, mentorship, and public service.

Arlie Hochschild (1983) defines emotional labour as the effort to manage one’s own and others’ feelings in order to meet social or professional expectations. It involves suppressing certain emotions and displaying others to maintain institutional stability. While Hochschild’s work focused on service industries, the concept is highly applicable to political and educational leadership (Guy and Newman, 2004).

Through my interview with Linda, it became clear that emotional labour is not an abstract theory but a daily practice.

Emotional Labour Through a Parenting Lens

When asked how she separates her identity as a parent from her role as a trustee, Linda responded,

I suppose the answer is — I don’t. [laughs softly]. If something wouldn’t be good for my child, it’s probably not good for anyone’s child. I use that lens intentionally. We have a duty of care, and I apply the same standard I would use for my own children to everyone else’s.

This lens strengthens her advocacy, particularly in moments of crisis. In one case, she described a violent young child whose mother was desperately seeking placement in a specialized program. Linda wrote the letter that secured access to services, which ultimately allowed the student to reintegrate successfully into a regular school. This example illustrates emotional labour as advocacy: listening to distressed parents, navigating institutional barriers, and persistently pushing for outcomes.

However, emotional labour is not always aligned with personal instinct. During current budget deliberations, Linda described the likely cancellation of transportation for a specialty music program.

Right now, our board is finalizing the 2025–26 budget. We have several specialty programs — one of them is the St. Mary’s Choir & Orchestra Program for grades 5–8. It's unfunded by the government, and it costs us roughly $5,000 extra per student. There are only about 230 students, so it’s a significant expense. I anticipate we’ll have to cut transportation for that program. As a parent, I’d be shouting and advocating to keep it. But as a trustee, I can’t justify spending that much when our regular elementary schools have unmet needs. That’s a case where the broader community has to come first.

As a parent, she would advocate for it, but as a trustee, it is an expenditure that cannot be justified when other schools have unmet needs.

This tension reveals a central contradiction: emotional labour involves not only empathy but restraint. Emotional labour is not simply about expressing care; it is equally about regulating one's own emotions in order to exercise fair judgment.

Gendered Leadership and the “Old Boys’ Club”

Linda openly described working within what she calls an “old boys’ club.” She explained:

Well, I’ve always had a big mouth. [laughs] Speaking up has never been my issue — I think I was born that way. What I had to learn was how to speak up without constantly putting certain people on edge. Sometimes I ignore that and speak up anyway. I’ve always seen myself as an equal. In many cases, they just had to get used to me. The biggest thing is not internalizing things when they don’t go your way or when you’re pressured to conform. You ask yourself, ‘Could I be doing better?’ And if you know you’re doing your best and it needs to be said, you don’t back down. Sometimes you have to be tenacious.

Her statement reflects confidence, but it also signals the emotional regulation required to survive in male-dominated environments. She had to learn how to speak up “without constantly putting certain people on edge.” This is emotional labour in its gendered form: calibrating tone, delivery, and assertiveness so that one's authority is accepted rather than penalized. (Guy and Newman 2004).

Linda also noted a generational divide. Older male trustees more closely resemble traditional exclusionary power structures, while younger male colleagues demonstrate more egalitarian attitudes. This observation suggests that emotional labour is shaped not only by gender but by institutional culture and generational change.

Public Pressure, Crisis, and Burnout

The pandemic intensified emotional labour dramatically. Linda described receiving hundreds of emails demanding contradictory policies: mask mandates versus anti-mask positions, distancing versus reopening. Trustees were pulled in opposite directions.

During the pandemic — absolutely. Hundreds of emails: ‘Wear masks!’ ‘Don’t wear masks!’ ‘Distance!’ ‘No distancing!’ We were pulled in both directions. Eventually, I wrote a letter to the entire system explaining our legal obligations. Even if people didn’t like the answer, they understood the reasoning. That helped.

Rather than disengage, Linda was proactive in explaining the board’s obligation. Even when parents disagreed, understanding the reasoning reduced hostility. This is emotional labour as conflict mediation and institutional translation.

She also described parents calling “crying, yelling, swearing,” needing someone to guide them through the system. Listening, validating, and helping them navigate bureaucracy requires emotional endurance. While such accessibility strengthens democratic governance, it risks burnout if not bounded.

Importantly, Linda acknowledges limits. Occasionally, she must gently tell parents that what they are asking is “not happening.” Boundary-setting becomes an essential survival strategy.

Faith, Purpose, and Sustaining Leadership

I’m Catholic — I pray. I talk with my peers. Our chair, …he and I talk almost every day. Knowing I’m not carrying everything alone helps. We work collaboratively—not ‘us vs. them.’ When someone stumbles, we help each other.

Emotional labour is taxing. Linda sustains herself through faith, peer support, and collaborative leadership. During her own breast cancer treatment, colleagues supported her. This reciprocity is crucial. Emotional labour becomes less burdensome when it is shared collectively rather than borne individually (Kark, et al., 2023).

Linda also emphasized how post-pandemic behavioural crises in schools have deepened her sense of purpose. Classrooms are now evacuated regularly due to violent episodes, a situation she described as rare before COVID. Supporting children experiencing anxiety, trauma, and behavioural dysregulation has intensified both the emotional demands and moral urgency of her work.

Why Emotional Labour Matters

Linda’s leadership shows that emotional labour is not simply about being “nice” or compassionate. It is political. It shapes budgeting, advocacy, conflict resolution, and institutional legitimacy.

However, emotional labour remains unevenly distributed. Women leaders are often expected to absorb conflict, perform empathy, and maintain relational harmony while also meeting formal governance expectations (Guy and Newman, 2004).

If emotional labour continues to be treated as an inherent personality trait rather than real labour, women risk disproportionate exhaustion. Institutional recognition is necessary. This could include clearer workload expectations, formal acknowledgment of pastoral and mediation work, and shared responsibility for community communication.

Conclusion

My mentorship with Linda has reshaped my understanding of emotional labour. It is not peripheral to leadership; it is foundational. Through empathy, boundary-setting, advocacy, and resilience, Linda demonstrates how emotional labour operates as both a burden and a tool.

Linda's experience reveals that emotional labour is structurally embedded within educational governance rather than optional; that it remains deeply gendered within historically male-dominated institutions; and that sustaining this work requires both personal boundaries and institutional support. Recognizing emotional labour as real work rather than an assumed feminine trait is therefore essential if educational governance is to become both more equitable and more resilient.