Labouring the emotions: expanding the remit of nursing work?

Abstract

Emotional labour has been an important topic of debate in nursing because of its perceived importance to those involved in the delivery of health care and to those patients who receive that care. The purpose of this paper is to consider what, if anything, this discussion has contributed to the sociological analysis of health care. A number of contributions to that analysis emerge. First, the discussion has revealed that emotional labour is a sizeable component of health care work which makes considerable demands on those delivering health care. Second, emotional labour has consequences for the position of women, for nurses and for patients, in the health care workplace and in wider society. Finally, the discussion on emotional labour has revealed a tension between the generally accepted theoretical move towards holism in health care and the practical reality of applying holistic health care in a society which continues to hold the scientific/biomedical paradigm in high regard.