Emotion work describes the act of changing or maintaining the level, quality, or appropriateness of feelings and emotions. This concept was developed by Arlie Hochschild in the 1970s who stated that emotion work is “inducing or inhibiting feelings so as to render them ‘appropriate’ to a situation.” It is essentially emotional management; a conscious effort on managing emotions in order to maintain and fulfill social relationships.
Examples of emotion work include talking about emotions with others, showing affection, and being apologetic.