‘We deal with human beings’
| Author | Laura Huey,Hina Kalyal |
| Date | 01 September 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1461355717717996 |
| Published date | 01 September 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
International Journal of
Police Science & Management
‘We deal with human beings’:
2017, Vol. 19(3) 140–147
ª The Author(s) 2017
The emotional labor aspects of
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criminal investigation
DOI: 10.1177/1461355717717996
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Laura Huey
Department of Sociology, University of Western Ontario, Canada
Hina Kalyal
Department of Sociology, University of Western Ontario, Canada
Abstract
Dealing with emotions is a central feature of everyday police work. This is especially the case in relation to criminal
investigation work, in which police investigators must grapple with both their own emotions and those of the victims and
families with whom they deal. Despite the importance of emotional labor in understanding criminal investigation work,
this aspect of their work remains understudied. This study is based on data from 13 in-depth qualitative interviews with
members of the Canadian police services. Within it, we explore how officers engage in emotional labor, as well as its
impact on these individuals. Although our results are preliminary in nature, they do reveal how managing emotions
according to organizationally sanctioned display rules can affect officers’ well-being, and highlight the need for future
research to enable police organizations to deal more effectively with this form of work-related stress.
Keywords
Criminal investigation, emotional labor, stress, policing, trauma
Submitted 09 Jan 2017, Revise received 20 May 2017, accepted 01 Jun 2017
The term ‘emotional labor’ was coined by the sociologist
interviews, the investigators spoke candidly of the delicate
Arlie Hoschild (1983) to describe the means by which
balance they must often strike between managing their own
workers regulate emotions to perform occupational tasks
emotions in order to, on the one hand, conform with police
according to workplace norms. Although previous studies
culture and perform their work efficiently and effectively,
have considered the emotional labor aspects of police work
and on the other hand, present an empathetic face to vic-
more generally (Martin, 1999; Tracy, 2005), few research-
tims, victims’ families and, in some cases, suspects. In
ers have considered the degree to which emotion manage-
doing so, they revealed both the toll that emotionally dif-
ment is an integral part of the work of criminal
ficult cases can take upon their own mental and emotional
investigators (Steinross and Kleinman, 1989).
well-being, and on the boundary-setting and other strate-
Within this article, we employ Hoschild’s concept to
gies they employ to manage the emotional aspects of
explore the extent to which various forms of investigative
their work.
work rely on practitioners’ abilities to deal with complex
emotions, both their own feelings and those of the indivi-
duals they encounter. The material presented is based on
an analysis of data drawn from 13 in-depth qualitative
Corresponding author:
interviews conducted with Canadian criminal investigators
Laura Huey, Department of Sociology, Room 5401, Social Science Centre,
in the fields of forensic identification, property crimes,
University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5C2.
major crimes, sex crimes and homicide investigation. In
Email: lhuey@uwo.ca
Huey and Kalyal
141
Emotional labor in policing
the clearest illustrations of emotional labor in the case of
policing relates to interactions involving unpleasant inci-
The concept of emotional labor was developed by Arlie
dents like verbal abuse by a member of the public. Here the
Hochschild (1983) while studying the work of flight atten-
officer cannot react the way he or she would normally do in
dants and bill collectors, who were expected to keep a
such a situation, due to the overt or covert control of the
constant check on their personal emotions to meet customer
police command over the officer’s response (Chapman,
expectations, and adhere to officially defined norms of
2009). Such organizational control mechanisms are
emotional expression (Rafaeli and Sutton, 1987). Accord-
referred to as display rules (Grandey, 2000). In the case
ing to Hochschild (1983), emotional labor comprises ‘the
of overt display rules, these are established through orga-
management of feeling to create a publicly observable
nizational policies (Schaible, 2006), whereas covert rules
facial and bodily display’ (p. 7). Highlighting the transac-
are conveyed through the behavior and actions of organiza-
tional nature of emotional labor, Hochschild also contends
tional members (Diefendorff and Richard, 2003). The
‘Emotional labor is sold for a wage and therefore has
unequal power relationships arising from such interactions
exchange value’ (p. 7). In itself, the definition has reso-
become a source of emotional strain for the officer
nance for understanding how employee behavior could be
(Grandey, 1999).
explained in terms of the invisible norms governing it.
Although emotional labor is not necessarily considered
However, the deeper significance of Hochschild’s con-
harmful, and has even been deemed emotionally healthy by
struct lies in its explanatory power: it provides a means
some scholars (Shuler and Sypher, 2000), it can lead to
of better understanding the ways in which service organi-
negative psychosocial effects, mainly due to loss of control
zations direct not only the physical actions of their employ-
over a private act, such as the regulation of one’s emotions
ees, but also employee emotions, aspects of which are, in
(Hochschild, 1983). The complex nature of policing gives
fact, considered an integral component of their job.
rise to other contradictions that culminate in a high degree
As a matter of greater concern, it has been pointed out
of emotional labor. For instance, officers are expected to
that because emotional labor requires an effort on the part
suppress their felt emotions to influence suspects (Rafaeli
of the employee to reach organizational goals, it leads to
and Sutton, 1987) and deliver a professional service (Tsai
commoditization of feelings, as emotions are exchanged as
and Huang, 2002). The emotive dissonance arising from the
an aspect of labor power (Hochschild, 1979). Hence, in
conflict between felt and real emotions may have detrimen-
view of the above, it would appear that, through her
tal consequences for officers, including burnout (Wharton,
research, Hochschild (1983) has provided a useful refer-
1993), self-alienation (Mumby and Putnam, 1992), cyni-
ence point for indexing not only how people shape and
cism (Ashforth and Humphrey, 1993), exacerbation of the
manage their feelings, but also how social structure and
negative experience (Butler and Gross, 2004), impaired
institutions try to constrain these efforts (Wharton, 2009).
personal relationships (Chapman, 2009) and deterioration
This is even more important when considered against the
of physical health (Barak, 2006). Under such circum-
centrality of emotional labor in contemporary job descrip-
stances, it is easy to understand how police work may entail
tions. In this context, it has been pointed out that although
a great deal of emotional labor.
the requirement for emotional labor may not be explicitly
As we noted previously, despite the fact policing is typically
defined in a job description, it is now implicitly considered
viewed as one of the most stressful of occupations (Copes,
a part of many occupations (Hsieh and Guy, 2009;
2004), very little research has examined the role of emotional
Mastracci et al., 2006). It would appear that, depending
labor as an aspect of the criminal investigation side of policing,
upon the nature of the job, organizations tend to prescribe
or on its potential impact on officers within this unique occu-
certain rules for the display of emotions for management of
pational...
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