Introducing - Digital Emotional Labor

What is it about?

As service shifts to digital platforms, so does emotional labor. This work introduces the concept of digital emotional labor, examining how customer service representatives (CSRs) experience and manage emotion in text-based interactions. Traditional notions like surface and deep acting become less relevant as these interactions grow more fragmented, technical, and uniform. With multiple customers handled at once, and all appearing in the same text format, CSRs often experience customers more as tasks than as people. Emotions haven’t disappeared— CSR still need to adhere to emotional display rules and provide pleasant service, and customers still express frustration, distress, and even incivility—but in digital settings, the emotional tone is more subdued. Without nonverbal cues, and with asynchronous, impersonal communication, the emotional toll is reduced to almost non-existence. CSRs now engage in what we term Robotic Acting: copying, pasting, and lightly adapting pre-written responses to adhere to customers' requests. These responses, which many times include emotionally toned responses, are often neither truly felt nor fully displayed—just typed. Thus, the job has become more cognitive than emotional. Yet a new challenge emerges: rehumanization. CSRs must prove to customers that they are not bots, striving to convey warmth and authenticity within the limits of text alone. This study shows how digital communication transforms emotional labor, shapes CSR well-being, and shifts service interactions from emotional exchanges to task-oriented transactions.

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Why is it important?

This work is expands the understanding of emotional labor into the digital realm, specifically in text-based customer service. As digital interactions become more prevalent, understanding how employees manage their emotions in these mediated environments is crucial for improving their well-being, effectiveness, and organizational practices. It also provides insights into how service providers can better navigate the challenges of online communication, such as perceived dehumanization and emotional dissonance, which are vital for enhancing customer satisfaction and maintaining a humane and effective service workforce.