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The expression of suppression: Loss and emotional labour in narratives of organisational change

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Melanie Bryant  and
Julie Wolfram Cox
Melanie Bryant
Affiliation:
Department of Management, Monash University, Churchill VIC, Australia
Julie Wolfram Cox
Affiliation:
School of Management, RMIT University, Melbourne VIC, Australia
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Abstract

This paper focuses on themes of emotionality and emotional labour derived inductively from retrospective narratives constructed by employees who experienced rapid organisational change and specifically addresses the question: ‘How do people talk about the need to “dull down” their emotions during situations of organisational change?’ We highlight themes of loss associated with retrospective displays of emotion and argue that loss and emotion management are most typically associated with issues concerning transition from the past or resistance to the future. We show how emotional labour serves both to mute and, ironically, to heighten emotions in the talk of change and extend studies of emotional labour beyond the service encounter and into the realm of organisational change.

Keywords

emotional labourlossorganisational changenarrativesretrospection
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , September 2006 , pp. 116 - 130
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2006

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