'I just love youth work!': Emotional labour, passion and resistance

TY - JOUR

T1 - 'I just love youth work!'

T2 - Emotional labour, passion and resistance

AU - de St Croix, Tania

PY - 2013/5

Y1 - 2013/5

N2 - This article is inspired by findings from a small-scale study in which grassroots street-based youth workers talked about their love and passion for their work and their affection for young people. Emotional engagement could be seen as intrinsic to youth work and necessary for building relationships with young people, but how might we think about workers’ emotions as youth work is increasingly governed by market principles? This article explores the relevance of emotional labour, the theory that workers’ emotional efforts are controlled and exploited by employers in the pursuit of profit. Such analyses have a renewed relevance as private sector organisations and practices enter youth work, but may not adequately account for the potentially positive political role of emotions. The article concludes by suggesting that passion might play a role in resisting the dehumanisation of youth work.

AB - This article is inspired by findings from a small-scale study in which grassroots street-based youth workers talked about their love and passion for their work and their affection for young people. Emotional engagement could be seen as intrinsic to youth work and necessary for building relationships with young people, but how might we think about workers’ emotions as youth work is increasingly governed by market principles? This article explores the relevance of emotional labour, the theory that workers’ emotional efforts are controlled and exploited by employers in the pursuit of profit. Such analyses have a renewed relevance as private sector organisations and practices enter youth work, but may not adequately account for the potentially positive political role of emotions. The article concludes by suggesting that passion might play a role in resisting the dehumanisation of youth work.

M3 - Article

SN - 0262-9798

SP - 33

EP - 51

JO - Youth and Policy

JF - Youth and Policy

IS - 110

ER -