newly released survey data from mcmaster university has revealed the unique supports human service workers need in the face of increasing stress caused by the pandemic.
these workers often have encounters with patients or clients that require them to display what is referred to as “emotional labour,” where they must express certain emotions while having to regulate and even supress their own true feelings.
it was clear early in the pandemic that front-line workers like health-care and social service workers would face additional pressures, however, as the pandemic wore on, that pressure seemed to extend beyond this group, says diana singh, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of sociology, who led the research.
“emotional labour has long been an invisible but psychologically impactful requirement in human service work, but the pandemic elevated that requirement to an extent people hadn’t seen or experienced before,” she says.
research has shown that without proper workplace supports, emotional labour can cause many problems which include burn-out, reduced job satisfaction and overall well-being and becoming detached from feelings.
working in partnership with the canadian mental health association hamilton branch, a partner organization with
mcmaster’s community research platform
and the
initiative for advanced research on mental health and society
, singh and her team developed the “emotions matter study” to examine employee well-being and the impact of covid-19 and get insights on how to better support workers not normally viewed as “frontline.”