“Lumugar Ka.” Alternative Narratives in Enduring Emotional Labor among Officers in a Philippine City Jail

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Abstract

This paper analyzes the alternative narratives in the experience of emotional labor (Hochschild 1983) among officers operating an overpopulated and undermanned city jail with dilapidated facilities. A year’s worth of qualitative data from the jail officers point that emotional labor is highly stressful but essential. The shared principle among officers is that feelings must be kept personal and the professional must only consist of the rational. Because of this, emotional labor is continually subdued under the principles of rank in uniform service— reifying emotional labor as a standard feature of their profession. Thoughts from these propose that the officers’ sentiments of relative professional devaluation and demoralization are symptoms of this reification of emotion management. A fascinating point raised by officers is that even though emotional management is draining, they said that they are willing to continue enduring emotional labor as long as there are various coping strategies available for them because it is an integral part of their roles as officers.

Author

• Hannah Glimpse Nario-Lopez, University of the Philippines - Diliman