:: COMPARE ::
The short answer
Same activity, different economy. Emotion work is done for people you love; emotional labour is done for a wage, under an employer's rules about what you must appear to feel. Hochschild drew that line herself and still defends it.
Side by side
| Aspect | Emotional labour | Emotion work |
|---|---|---|
| Paid | Yes | No |
| Rules set by | An employer | Nobody, or both of you |
| Can be refused | Not easily | In principle |
| Hochschild's term for it | This one | That one |
What each one means
Managing your own feelings, and producing the display of them, because your job requires it and pays for it — Hochschild's term for feeling sold as part of a wage. In wider use since the 2010s it also covers the same management done unpaid in private life, a broadening Hochschild objects to.
Full definition of Emotional Labour →The contrast above sets out how Emotion work differs from Emotional Labour on the points that actually matter.