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Abstract

Drawing from Hochschild’s concept of ‘emotional labour’, this article explores the roles performed by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) masseuses in a large spa complex in a Chinese metropolis. Through an ethnographic study it was found that such roles were constantly shifting according to the dynamics of the service encounter and such shifts exhibited different forms of emotional labour that can actually accumulate exchange value in the form of psychological and economic benefits. Moreover, the masseuses had a very strong social identity as massage ‘experts’ that appeared to buttress the negative outcomes often associated with emotional labour. The findings suggest that emotional labour is not a stable and static process as previously thought and that future research needs to take more into account the agency of the worker.

Keywords

agency emotional labour ethnography identity impression management massage roles

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