Few institutions or organizations in America make a substantial, impactful impression on our society as a whole (Tschannen-Moran & Gareis, 2015). The American educational system is one of them. The leader of our schools is the principal, an essential position (Fullan, 2014; Leithwood et al., 2004; Wallace Foundation, 2013). This role comes with a myriad of responsibilities (Tschannen-Moran & Gareis, 2015), which are emotionally demanding and lead to emotional labor.
The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore how principals experience and understand emotional labor in Title I elementary school settings by asking them about their daily interactions. In addition, I seek to understand how they manage emotional labor, if they do, and what experiences, if any, prepared them for dealing with it. This gained knowledge will assist in addressing the cited consequences of emotional labor on the position, such as stress, emotional exhaustion, burnout and leaving the profession.
The results showed that principals do experience emotional labor. However, they do not recognize it as such. The term “emotional labor” has not been codified within the profession providing a lexicon for discussions of experiences or methods of managing it. Principals need to be trained on ways to mitigate the negative effects of emotional labor.