Caring or Complaining? Emotional Management and Performative Legal Consciousness Among Undocumented Domestic Workers in Belgium

Abstract

This article draws on the concepts of legal consciousness and emotional management to examine how trade union affiliated undocumented domestic workers in Brussels interpret and respond to workplace abuse. It introduces the concept of ‘performative legal consciousness’ to highlight how workers’ perception of law as an acceptable remedy is informed by the desire to maintain a sense of belonging in their network and a positive worker identity, which can be achieved through enactment of appropriate behaviour and emotional expression. Although participants are aware of existing formal legal protection, they often avoid legal confrontation. Instead, they prefer relying on inward focus emotional coping strategies to mitigate the harm – rather than addressing the source of such harm – and preserve workplace harmony. Legal action is typically only considered when abuse escalates to a level that causes a feeling of humiliation, which threatens both the self-worth and social belonging they strive to preserve.