Emotional labor among police officers
Emotional labor refers to managing emotions as part of the job and the consequences of doing so (Hochs chi ld, 1983). It is an important aspect of the work of police officers. For instance, police officers may have to display unfelt emotions or suppress felt emotions to successfully interact with crime victims, suspects and other civilians. Emotional labor can have both detrimental as well as positive consequences for police officers. This paper presents the outcome of a series of quantitative diary studies and an interaction study on emotional labor among Dutch police officers. Emotional labor is related to police-officers’ daily well-being (i.e., burnout and work engagement) and job performance. Practical implications for policing and directions for future research are presented.