The Managed Heart by Arlie Russell Hochschild Summary
Overview of The Managed Heart
Hochschild's groundbreaking exploration of "emotional labor" revolutionized sociology, winning the Charles Cooley Award by exposing how our feelings become commodities in capitalism. What happens when your smile is no longer yours? Discover why this work remains essential across academic and professional spheres.
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Key takeaways
The Emotional Assembly Line: When Feelings Become Products
Picture yourself on an airplane, watching a flight attendant smile graciously as a passenger berates her over a minor inconvenience. Behind that unwavering smile lies a profound concept that transformed our understanding of modern work. When sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild observed a young Delta Airlines recruit writing down instructions to "smile like you really mean it," she identified something revolutionary - emotional labor. This concept names something we all experience but struggled to identify: the work of managing our feelings to meet job requirements and social expectations. As our economy has shifted from manufacturing to services, roughly one-third of American workers now face substantial demands for emotional labor, including half of all working women. These jobs span various sectors - from the secretary creating a cheerful office to the social worker showing appropriate concern to the salesman generating excitement in potential buyers. Emotional labor represents a specific kind of work - the effort to induce or suppress feelings to create a particular outward appearance that produces the proper state of mind in others. While physical labor alienates factory workers from their bodies, emotional labor alienates service workers from their feelings. Consider the flight attendant's job. Beyond pushing meal carts and organizing evacuations, flight attendants perform the crucial emotional labor of creating passenger contentment. Their smiles become "on them but not of them" - extensions of makeup and uniform rather than genuine expressions. This commercialization of feeling affects different genders and social classes distinctly. Women, traditionally managers of feeling in private life, find themselves particularly suited for jobs requiring emotional labor.
Acting and Emotional Rules: The Performance of Feeling
The Exchange and Commercialization of Emotions
When Systems Collapse: Breaking Points and Resistance
Reclaiming Authenticity in a Commercialized World
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"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
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From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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