Some common strategies that organizations use to help their staff deal with the demands of emotional labor

·  Use buffering – Companies may assign front-end personnel to manage the emotional demands and needs of customers. By the time customers reach back-end workers, they can concentrate on business.

·  Teach 'display' rules 

These are organizationally approved norms or standards that workers learn through observation, instruction, feedback, and reinforcement. Staff are taught how to act, and they may even be given scripts to use when dealing directly with clients. Therapists are taught to act neutrally, retail workers are taught to act positively, and bill collectors are often taught to act aggressive. Combining these display rules with company culture is very important.

·  Offer staff assistance programs 

Organizations invest in the care and development of their workers by providing access to stress management and emotional health services. This strategy recognizes that emotional labor can be hard work.

·  Teach problem-solving techniques 

To move workers beyond using scripts or relying on other display rules, some companies help their staff solve problems more effectively. This helps people build confidence, and reduce their negative reactions to angry or unpredictable situations. The better that workers are able to deal with problems, the more likely they are to resolve interpersonal issues before they lead to negative emotions.

·  Improve emotional intelligence 

The ability to recognize other people's emotions is an effective way to reduce the burden of emotional labor. Building empathy  and using other emotional intelligence  tools help reduce the likelihood that emotional conflict will lead to emotional exhaustion.

·  Share knowledge 

One of the most effective ways to help people deal with the realities of emotional labor is to share success stories. Allow staff to learn how others successfully deal with the impact of emotional conflict.

·  Bring emotional labor into the performance evaluation process 

Organizations can recognize the importance of emotional labor by measuring workers' emotional effort factors and commitment to customer service. How well do workers deal with angry people? What type of attitude do they bring to work every day? Do they show tolerance and patience? When workers are rewarded for their emotional labor, it provides an incentive for them to show organizationally accepted emotions more often.

 

Reference : 

Mindtools.com. (2009). Emotional Labor: Helping Workers Present a Positive Face. [online] Available at: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_44.htm.[Accessed on 21 May 2021]