Emotional labour is the unspoken labour in the workplace

Do you notice some days are harder than others to get through even though the tasks may be the same?

Emotional labour may be your kryptonite, understand and acknowledge it and make it your superpower.

Emotional labour is often invisible yet deeply impactful. It is the ongoing effort employees and leaders make to regulate emotions, maintain composure, and manage relationships, whether it’s calming a frustrated client, navigating workplace tensions, or showing empathy in moments of stress.

Unlike tasks that can be measured in outputs or deadlines, emotional labour is harder to quantify, yet it underpins trust, collaboration, team, business and organisational culture.

For leaders, recognising emotional labour is vital. Ignoring it risks burnout, disengagement, and resentment. Valuing it fosters psychological safety and acknowledges the full human experience of work.

When emotional effort is recognised as part of performance, rather than leaving it to be the elephant in the room, it validates people’s contributions and encourages a culture of empathy and balance.

🍃 Emotional labour is real work and deserves recognition

🍃 Ignoring emotional effort will erode trust and wellbeing and is not sustainable.

🍃 If emotional labour is not acknowledged it can build up then is more likely to blow up

🍃 Leaders who acknowledge it strengthen psychological safety

🍃 Recognising emotional labour is not invisible labour, prevents burnout and disengagement

🍃 Valuing emotional labour fosters a culture of empathy, care and autonomy

Reflective questions to ponder:

⭕ How do I acknowledge and validate the emotional labour my team invests daily?

⭕ What systems or practices could I put in place to share emotional labour more fairly?

⭕ Do I model healthy boundaries, so my team knows it’s safe to do the same?