Founder Gold Line Positive Solutions Simi Valley, California
Presentation Description: Public safety telecommunicators are required to interact with the public and expected to provide "service with a smile" (even over the phone). This is referred to as emotional labor – regulating one’s emotions and the emotions of others as a requirement and expectation of the job. This includes either faking feelings (surface acting) or changing one's inner feelings (deep acting) to match the situation. Use of one or both strategies can have positive and negative impacts on the public safety telecommunicator. This session helps participants identify when they are using emotional labor and learn ways to combat the negative consequences.
Detailed Description: Frontline workers in roles that involve direct interaction with the public are often characterized by the expectation of providing 'service with a smile.' This requirement necessitates the regulation of both their own emotions and those of others. Public safety telecommunicators are no exception, even though their interactions primarily occur over the phone. The emotional labor they perform is conveyed through their tone of voice and choice of words.
In addition to regulating emotions, call-takers engage in cognitive processes where they may either feign their emotions, a practice known as surface acting, or genuinely alter their inner feelings, referred to as deep acting. Both of these strategies are employed to align their emotional responses with the requirements of the situation.
During this session, we will explore common scenarios in the 9-1-1 workplace, allowing participants to recognize when they are employing surface acting or deep acting. Participants will also gain an understanding of the effects of these strategies on their well-being and overall health. They will discover how striking a balance between these two approaches can be beneficial.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will learn the definition of emotional labor, which is the regulation of emotions in the workplace that require the employee to display acceptable emotions established by their organization.
Participants will learn the definitions of surface acting (faking feelings) and deep acting (changing inner feelings) and how they are displayed through our voice and choice of words.
Participants will learn several techniques to utilize surface acting and deep acting, and understand that a balance of both is the best strategy for lowering the impact of emotional labor.
