emotional labor

American  

[ih-moh-shuh-nl ley-ber] / ɪˈmoʊ ʃə nl ˈleɪ bər /

noun

1. the sum of small acts performed by one person to make other people’s lives more pleasant and to protect them from negativity, including hiding the effort required to do so.

2. the suppression of negative emotion and the assumption of a polite and cheerful facade at work, especially by employees in the service industry, as waitstaff, flight attendants, sales clerks, etc.

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Etymology

Origin of emotional labor

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

emotional labor

It’s more emotional labor for you, with little actual payback.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

This is emotional labor too, worrying about the next renter and the next, and the one after that.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026

With “Beef,” Lee links the potential liabilities women face by locking into long-term relationships to the realities of the capitalist trap, which draws women into not only unpaid housework but uncompensated emotional labor, too.

From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026

Moving forward, my emotional labor is to make sure that I remain full — full of creativity, joy, faith, emotional health, esteem, curiosity, rest, courage and the vibrancy of life itself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2025

She could not determine whether she was checked by fear or him, or by inertia—by dislike of the emotional labor of the "scenes" which would be involved in asserting independence.

From Main Street by Lewis, Sinclair