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

Melanie Bryant, Julie Wolfram Cox

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

22 Citations (Scopus)

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.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)116-130
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Management and Organization
Volume12
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sep 2006

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Emotional labour
Emotion
Organizational change
Employees
Emotion management
Service encounter

Cite this

Bryant, Melanie ; Wolfram Cox, Julie. / The expression of suppression : Loss and emotional labour in narratives of organisational change. In: Journal of Management and Organization. 2006 ; Vol. 12, No. 2. pp. 116-130.
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Bryant, M & Wolfram Cox, J 2006, 'The expression of suppression: Loss and emotional labour in narratives of organisational change', Journal of Management and Organization, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 116-130. https://doi.org/10.5172/jmo.2006.12.2.116

The expression of suppression : Loss and emotional labour in narratives of organisational change. / Bryant, Melanie; Wolfram Cox, Julie.

In: Journal of Management and Organization, Vol. 12, No. 2, 09.2006, p. 116-130.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

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Bryant M, Wolfram Cox J. The expression of suppression: Loss and emotional labour in narratives of organisational change. Journal of Management and Organization. 2006 Sep;12(2):116-130. https://doi.org/10.5172/jmo.2006.12.2.116

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