Emotional Labor On and Off Water

Abstract

This article focuses on the emotional labor requirements of crew working within the intra-provincial ferry system in Newfoundland and Labrador, on Canada's North Atlantic coast. The argument draws on fieldwork interviews with crew and passengers, participant observation on the most intensive daily maritime commuting route in the province, and documentary sources. It builds on the theoretical framework first laid out by Arlie Russell Hochschild in her 1983 book The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling. As is the case of examples of emotional labor in other economic sectors, the crew working in this public transportation system regularly modulate their own emotional reactions in order to interact effectively with passengers and coworkers who are often contending with frequent delays and uncertainties in this ferry system, which can be considered an example of precarious aquamobility.