The emotional burdens of public service: rules, trust, and emotional labour in emergency medical services

Alexander C. Henderson and Erin L. Borry

Public Money & Management, 2023, vol. 43, issue 5, 405-414

Abstract: Street-level emergency medical services (EMS) providers are charged with assisting others in potentially life-threatening incidents while suppressing emotions that would betray the seriousness of the situation. This paper poses a central question about their work: in what ways do aspects of organizational life, like rules and trust, influence the experience of emotional labour? Red tape is shown to increase ‘false face’ emotional labour, while consistent rule administration, supervisor support, and trust decreases false face in the form of hiding emotions.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1080/09540962.2020.1831180

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