Emotional Labor is the Work

The moment I saw the internal email—with a subject line that hinted at bad news—I felt that familiar knot in my stomach.

“Oh no… the customer’s not going to be happy about this.”

It was something they had requested multiple times.

We had agreed to make the change.

Reminders were sent.

And yet… the change didn’t happen.

I could’ve just sent an email.

But I knew that wouldn’t be enough.

So, I picked up the phone—feeling like it weighed 10 kilos—and delivered the news while the email went out.

As expected, the customer was upset.

It was a tough conversation.

-Acknowledging the frustration.

-Apologizing.

-Sitting in the discomfort.

-Waiting until it softened enough to discuss next steps.

Every time I go through one of these “hot calls,” I remind myself of something Seth Godin wrote in Linchpin:

“It turns out that digging into the difficult work of emotional labor is exactly what we’re expected (and needed) to do. Work is nothing but a platform for art and the emotional labor that goes with it.”

Linchipin, Seth Godin

This, too, is the work.

Have you found your own way to handle emotional labor at work?

A quote? A mantra? A mindset that helps you lean in?

I’d love to hear it.