People Management Essay

Tom Callaghan
09028777
U54028- People Management in Hospitality & Tourism

Critically evaluate whether the requirement for Emotional Labour in hospitality and tourism work is ethical.

‘Employment situations in which workers as part of their work roles need to convey emotions and preferably to appear as though those emotions are deeply held…(emotions) that are supposed to make the recipient of the emotional labour feel good about the worker and the organisation for which he or she work’ Bryman, (2004: p104)

In order to fully understand the concept behind emotional labour it is pivotal to indentify the significance of ethics. Rothwell (pg98) believes ethics are different to values and competencies. A value is what is good or bad. Ethics on the other hand adds a moral dimension as to whether something is right and wrong. This essay shall endeavour to understand and research as to whether emotional labour a given within hospitality and subsequently is it ethical.

From the studies undertaken by Anderson et al, (2002, pg i) it is evident that the need for emotional labour within the hospitality and tourism industry is a requirement. After extensive research and interviews with managers of such establishments it was noticeable that in the recruitment process, individuals were selected based on their ‘interpersonal skills and the personality (the ‘right’ personality) of the prospective employees, rather than their technical abilities.’ The proposed research suggests that the personality and the ability to interact with customers is the underlying factor on whether a potential candidate is employed. Training can be provided to improve their technological capability, however social interaction skills are the pivotal aspects. The question must be raised, is this ethical? Employers should fairly choose their potential employees carefully however it tends to be based on their curriculum vitae and previous experience and qualifications, not on the basis of whether the interviewer believes the candidate can perform emotional labour. This seems particularly immoral, as there is no requirement or specification made within the job description about the performance of emotional labour. In addition to this the employer can only make a judgment from the brief encounter between the two, a more reasonable method would be to offer a trial shift.

Andersonat et al (2002) identifies that performing emotional labour on a regular basis can result in ‘burnout’, a syndrome of emotional exhaustion and cynicism observed among people who do ‘peoplework’. They believe this has the potential to have a detrimental impact on the workforce as it can lead to a deterioration in the quality of service provided and appears to contribute to job turnover, absenteeism and low morale. In a study also undertaken by Anderson et al (2002) to the service workers about the training received in their current employment and that which they had received during the course of their working lives to assist in their customer service work, revealed that minimal formal training programs had been provided, and little, if any of that training had addressed issues associated with the performance of emotional labour.
Therefore from this research it is apparent that whilst it is necessary to be professional and polite throughout hospitality work, ‘deep acting’ can have negative implications upon the actor and the fact that little or no training is provided to conquer the side affects suggests emotional labour is unethical.
Powell cites Ferguson et al (1997) as saying the principle objective of service workers was ‘not to produce material goods but to produce speech, action and emotion that symbolises ones willingness to ‘do for’ the client.’ Whilst the main aim is to carry out such actions, evidence counter argues this statement. However without the relevant training this appears to be unethical.

‘Disney employees are expected to give the appearance of enjoying their work as much as visitors are enjoying their work as much as the visitors are enjoying their time in the theme park.’ Bryman, (2004) By expressing this emotional appearance throughout a sustainable period of time can be very strenuous. It also requires precision training and a patience to tolerate different scenarios. Likewise Bryman also states ‘the farewell from the airline crew at the end of a 12-hour flight is expected to be every bit as cheery and interested as the initial greeting at departure.’ Due to the nature of the hospitality industry emotional labour is universally accepted because of intangibility of the product. When purchasing an item from a shop the consumer walks out of the shop with a physical object, whereas the hospitality and tourism industry is all about providing a service. Cathy et al (2002) believe due to the intangibility of the industry it is much harder for guests to test or evaluate services than tangible goods. They have no way of knowing how good the service is prior to the purchase. During the stay at a hotel the presence of staff is a constant trend; receptionists, concierge, bar tenders, waiters and house keeping, therefore they provide a large proportion of the experience and therefore should an unpleasant incident occur during the guests stay it could hinder possible customer retention. Thus the importance of emotional labour and the emphasis to remain professional throughout is key.

Hochschild (2002) indentifies different ranges of emotional labour. Surface acting, in which an employee is expected ‘to display the correct emotion’. ‘Deep acting’ in which they ‘feel the emotions they are required to display’ However some customers can sense a feeling of falseness, thus ‘employees are encouraged to practice the inside out smile.’ Hochschild believes that service workers are now required to show their true selves’ in their work which can lead to damaging effects, both physically and mentally. She considers this to have a strong link to physical harm by some industrial workers. In addition Montemurro (2001) cited by Sharpe ‘feeling rules, such as feeling sad at a funeral or happy on one’s wedding day’. Thoits (1990) ‘argued emotional deviance- the inability to of individuals to display the appropriate emotions for the situation- is interpreted as evidence of mental illness.’ The fact that employees are not in control of their emotions whilst working can lead to catastrophic impacts as Hochschild suggests. Anderson et al (2002) site Ashforth and Humphrey (1993, p4) that emotional labour can be seen as ‘an actor performing on stage for an often discriminating audience.’ Larsen and Aske (1992, p4 concludes to say ‘the theatre analogy may be used to describe the role play between the frontline employee in the hospitality industry and the guest in the role of customer and prospective buyer of services.’ One must pose the question is this right? Acting is an art which takes years of perfecting, with minimal training it seems unjust to expect the service worker to continually put on an act, which can have negative effects.

Anderson B, Provis C & Chappel C (2002) The Recognition and Management of Emotional Labour in the Tourism Industry. crc Sustainable Tourism

Baum T. (2006), Human Resource Management for Tourism, hospitality and leisure: An International Perspective. Cengage Learning EMEA 2006

Cathy H. Power T. (2002) Marketing Hospitality John Wiley and sons

Rothwell W. (2010) Effective succession planning: ensuring leadership continuity and building talent from within. AMACOM