The meaning of emotional labor: a study of nurses

Barbara Brandi is Doctoral student in Sociology at the Faculty of Philosophy, Literature and Human Sciences (FFLCH) of the University of São Paulo (USP) under the supervision of Dr. Nadya Araujo Guimarães. Her doctoral research articulates reflections on the emotional labor performed by nursing professionals and social relations of gender/sex, race and class. During her master's degree, she sought to understand the emotional labor performed by nursing professionals in the context of so-called "COVID ICUs". Since 2021, she has been participating in the Workshop on the Economic Sociology of Work (OSET) at the University of São Paulo (USP) and in the international project "Who cares? Rebuilding care in a post-pandemic world".

Isabelle Chariglione is Psychologist, Neuropsychologist and Professor. She is Specialist in Gerontology by the Brazilian Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology. She is currently a Professor at the Institute of Psychology, in the Graduate Program in Developmental and School Psychology (PGPDE) and one of the coordinators of the Laboratory of New Epistemologies and Human Development - LabNEDH at the University of Brasília.

Presentation

"We start from the assumption that emotional work is consubstantial with nursing work, and that the specific way in which it interweaves with technical work is essential to characterize work practices in this professional field. Emotional work can be defined as all the activities involved in assessing, understanding and managing emotions in the course of work. Just as it is part of nursing work to replace dressings, hygienize patients and administer medication, it is also part of nursing work to build trust, create welcoming environments and care for the patient. To confirm this research hypothesis, interviews were conducted with nurses in a pediatric intensive care unit in the state of São Paulo. The presentation aims to show the emotional labor, as well as the gender, race, class relations and hierarchies that are integral to the work performed."