ECEC educators needed for important survey on emotional labour

The University of Sydney is conducting important research into the emotional labour undertaken by early childhood educators in the course of their role. 

‘Emotional labour’ is the term used to describe how employees manage their emotions to meet the requirements of an occupation or role. For example, a flight attendant may be required to be friendly and kind even if a passenger is rude or hostile. The attendant may genuinely enjoy their role and meeting the needs of passengers, thus such expressions can be genuine. 

Additionally, the attendant may understand the benefits of such emotional expressions for calming their anxious or hostile passengers such that it makes engaging with them and their role expectations more manageable. 

In another example, in an attempt to be reassuring, a nurse is positive and cheerful when a patient is worried about their test results and health condition.

While emotional labour has been studied extensively in other occupational areas, it is relatively new and under-researched in early childhood education and care (ECEC). 

This research aims to investigate how educators use emotional labour in their work with families, and how this labour impacts educator wellbeing.

The survey is anonymous and should take approximately 15 minutes to complete, with an option to participate further in the research at the end of the survey.

Full details of this study are located in the Participant Information Statement.

To complete the survey, which is open only to those who are working in long day care or preschool services, please see here.