Week 8: Workplace Identity

This week, from looking back at my findings from the survey, something that surprised me is that, a lot of people said they feel like a different person when they are working. Before that, I was thinking that emotional labor is mostly about controlling feelings, like not talking back or staying quiet. But now I feel it’s deeper than that. Some workers said they become more careful, more obedient, or even try to make themselves “invisible.” It’s not just hiding emotions in one moment, but more like slowly changing how they act all the time. Especially for factory or cleaning work, they don’t need to smile like service workers, but they still need to adjust themselves to fit the job. This makes me think emotional labor is not only about what you show, but also about how work can change you. After some time, the way you act at work kind of becomes normal, and maybe you don’t even notice the difference anymore.