Now that we’ve identified emotional labor as important, when will it start to be commoditized?
The history of work is one of realizing certain skills are important–and then exploiting them.
Work is hard. But we don’t always realize how hard it is or, indeed, that some forms of labor are work at all. If you stand on your feet or stare at a screen all day, you can point to bodily strain. But if a task is something more mental, the difficulty is often invisible–which can make it hard to evaluate or celebrate those who perform such tasks.