Understanding Display Rules & Emotional Labour at Work: Cost, Consequences, and Coping Strategies

Imagine you work as a barista at Starbucks. A customer walks in on a bright sunny morning, eagerly anticipating your warm welcome, the comforting aroma of freshly brewed coffee, and your excited request for their name – which per pre-established rules, is always hand-written on the renowned coffee cup. However, that day you wake up feeling off, and show up to work as your true self – an individual battling different kinds of life stressors. You decide not to greet the client, you refrain from engaging in small talk, and avoid taking their name.

The customer looks up at you and asks: “Is something wrong?” 

This scenario highlights the significance and ever-so-faint yet important presence of display rules and emotional labour in workers’ lives.

In this article, we will provide insights on display rules, discover the complexities of emotional labour, and uncover the costs, consequences, and coping strategies that lie beneath the surface. Understanding the world of emotions in the workplace can transform how you perceive workers’ professional masks.

Defining Display Rules and Emotional Labour

Cropanzano, Weiss, and Elias (2003) state that Display Rules are the formal and informal norms that regulate how we express emotions in the workplace. These guidelines prescribe and proscribe the exhibition of certain emotions, serving as a set of instructions for employees on how to convey their feelings in various professional contexts.

Hochschild (2012) defines Emotional Labour as the process by which individuals manage their emotions and expressions to fulfill the emotional requirements of their job. This involves aligning one’s outward demeanor and emotional display with the expectations and standards set by the organization, often necessitating the suppression or accentuation of certain emotions to meet specific workplace objectives. 

Let’s go back to the Starbucks example… 

After the uncomfortable customer asks you if something is wrong, you feel a pang of guilt and realize the behaviour you displayed was far from what is expected of you as a Starbucks barista. So you take a deep breath and swallow your negative mood.

With a slightly forced smile, you reply, “I’m so sorry. It’s just been a busy morning, but I’m here to make your coffee experience enjoyable. Can I get anything else for you today?”

The customer’s expression softens, and they seem appreciative of your effort to connect with them despite the initial hesitation. After they receive their drink, you engage with them in a friendly and professional manner, communicating that you hope they enjoy the rest of their day.

This example demonstrates how you, as an employee, ultimately decide to adhere to display rules and put yourself through the process of managing your emotions and expressions in the workplace to deliver the expected barista service.

Display Rules: The Heart of Emotional Labour

Display rules serve as the invisible threads that connect organizations with their customers, shaping the emotional exchanges that occur within their walls. These rules dictate not only how we interact with customers but also how we manage our own emotions in response to workplace demands. While they are essential for maintaining customer satisfaction, internal harmony, and healthy employee interactions, display rules can also give rise to emotional labour.

Sciotto and Pace (2022) understand that these rules often require employees to behave positively or maintain professional detachment, depending on the nature of their roles. For example, cruise line workers would be expected to radiate positivity, while practicing psychologists would be expected to maintain emotional detachment. 

Emotions, in their various forms, permeate the fabric of all workplaces, transcending industry boundaries and hierarchies. These intangible yet potent forces have the capacity to influence not only individual attitudes and behaviours but also shape the dynamics of entire organizations. 

In the intricate world of work, emotions are woven into the very essence of human interaction, from the daily exchanges between colleagues to the complex interplay of power dynamics and decision-making processes.

Within the confines of a workplace, emotions are not mere ephemeral experiences but rather critical components that can make or break the success of a team or organization. They have the power to build bridges of trust and cooperation or erect walls of mistrust and discord.

The Dimensions of Emotional Labour

Kim and Wang (2018) explain that jobs that demand emotional labour typically share three key dimensions.

1. Face-to-Face Interaction: Workers engage in direct communication with the public, requiring them to convey specific emotions to customers.
2. Emotional State Production: Employees are responsible for eliciting particular emotional states in others, often to meet organizational objectives.
3. Employer Control: Organizations can exert control over employees’ emotional activities through training and supervision, guiding them in adhering to display rules.

The Cost of Emotional Labour

Emotional labour, while necessary in specific work contexts, can exact a toll on individuals and organizations. Let’s explore the consequences of emotional labour:

• Cognitive Dissonance: According to Jeung, Kim, and Chang (2018), when employees must portray emotions that contradict their genuine feelings, cognitive dissonance arises. This mental discomfort and stress stems from holding conflicting points of view, leading to decreased job satisfaction and increased stress levels.
• Increased Stress: A study that sought to find a correlation between emotional labour and cortisol concentration found that employees who engage in surface-level acting, where they “fake” emotions to align with display rules, present higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol (Qi et al., 2017). 
• Fatigue: Managing one’s emotions according to display rules requires continuous self-control and effort, often leading to emotional exhaustion, reduced performance, and burnout.
• Reduced Self-Efficacy: Thurrott (2021) explains that faking emotions can contribute to impostor syndrome, feelings of inadequacy, and a diminished sense of job accomplishment.

Steps to Manage Emotional Labour Efficiently

Organizations can take proactive measures to help employees navigate the challenges of emotional labour and mitigate its negative effects. Here are some actionable strategies:

• Buffering: Assign front-end personnel to manage the emotional demands of customers, allowing back-end workers to concentrate on business tasks. This approach reduces the emotional burden on employees.
• Teach Display Rules: Provide employees with organizationally approved norms and standards for emotional expression. Offer training, feedback, and reinforcement to ensure workers can effectively manage emotions while interacting with customers.
• Offer Staff Assistance Programs: Invest in the well-being of your employees by providing access to stress management and emotional health services. Recognize that emotional labour can be psychologically taxing.
• Teach Problem-Solving Techniques: Equip employees with problem-solving skills to handle challenging situations effectively. Empower them to resolve interpersonal issues before they escalate, reducing negative emotional responses.
• Improve Emotional Intelligence: Foster emotional intelligence in your workforce to enhance their ability to recognize and manage other people’s emotions, as well as their own. This skill reduces emotional conflicts and exhaustion.
• Share Knowledge: Encourage employees to learn from success stories and best practices in dealing with the impact of emotional labour. Create a culture of mutual support and shared experiences.
• Incorporate Emotional Labour into Performance Evaluations: In performance evaluations, employers should acknowledge the emotional effort employees invest in adhering to display rules and organizationally accepted emotional expression. This recognition should stem from a deep understanding of how demanding it can be for employees to don a professional mask for their employer. By assessing and rewarding emotional labour in performance evaluations, we are not just measuring the positive outcome of their interactions with customers, but also valuing the emotional energy they invest.

Display Rules and Emotional Labour are Here to Stay

Display rules and emotional labour are integral parts of the modern workplace. While these rules are essential for maintaining customer satisfaction and organizational harmony, they can also lead to detrimental consequences for employees and organizations alike. The cost of emotional labour, such as cognitive dissonance, increased stress, fatigue, and reduced self-efficacy, are significant. 

However, by implementing proactive strategies and creating a supportive work environment, organizations can help employees navigate the complexities of emotional labour more efficiently. By recognizing the importance of emotional intelligence, sharing knowledge, and incorporating emotional labour into performance evaluations, organizations can mitigate the negative effects and promote a healthier, more fulfilling work experience for their staff.

In a world where emotional labour is an inevitable part of many jobs, it’s crucial to prioritize the well-being of employees. By doing so, organizations can foster workplaces where employees can manage their emotions effectively, minimize the costs of emotional labour, and ultimately thrive in their roles. In turn, this will create a more harmonious and satisfying experience for both customers and employees, ensuring long-term success and sustainability.

About the Author

Neha Yadav is a Learning & Development Consultant with a passion for fostering growth and innovation across diverse industries, including hospitality, retail, education, and agro. She runs comprehensive programs that encompass professional development, well-being, and workplace engagement, among other topics. Neha has also developed her expertise in designing and executing large-scale talent development strategies and leading high-performing teams. Her advocacy for learner-centricity and lifelong learning empowers talented individuals to take control of their futures. She has contributed content on Employee Wellbeing & Workforce Management topics for The Humans of HR.

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References

Cropanzano, R., Weiss, H. M., & Elias, S. M. (2003). The impact of display rules and emotional labor on psychological well-being at work. In P. L. Perrewe & D. C. Ganster (Eds.), Emotional and Physiological Processes and Positive Intervention Strategies (Vol. 3, pp. 45–89). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1479-3555(03)03002-6

Hochschild, A. R. (2012). The managed heart: Commercialization of human feeling(1st ed.). University of California Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1pn9bk 

Jeung, D.-Y., Kim, C., & Chang, S.-J. (2018). Emotional labor and burnout: A review of the literature. Yonsei Medical Journal, 59(2), 187–193. https://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2018.59.2.187 

Kim, S., & Wang, J. (2018). The role of job demands–resources (Jdr) between service workers’ emotional labor and burnout: New directions for labor policy at local government. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(12), 2894. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15122894 

Qi, X., Ji, S., Zhang, J., Lu, W., Sluiter, J. K., & Deng, H. (2017). Correlation of emotional labor and cortisol concentration in hair among female kindergarten teachers. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 90(1), 117–122. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-016-1179-6

Sciotto, G., & Pace, F. (2022). The role of surface acting in the relationship between job stressors, general health and need for recovery based on the frequency of interactions at work. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(8), 4800. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19084800

Thurrott, S. (2021, January 10). Impostor syndrome and why it happens | banner. https://www.bannerhealth.com/healthcareblog/better-me/impostor-syndrome-feel-like-fraud