Description
Book SynopsisIn Juggling Food and Feelings Mary Gatta applies social and structuration theory to the workplace as she analyzes the emotional challenges faced by restaurant workers. Gatta utilizes extensive participatory observation of, and interviews with, restaurant managers and servers to explore how workers deal with emotional experience in the workplace. Positing that we ordinarily maintain an emotional balance, Gatta theorizes that our ability to cope with emotional disturbances in the workplace depends on situated rebalancing scripts used to control feelings. Contributing to the sociology of gender, social psychology, and labor theory this study of occupations expertly reveals the complex typology of emotion management.
Trade ReviewThis study contributes something truly original to the social study of emotions, particularly Gatta's descriptions of the rules and scripts that people draw from as they manage their emotions in public places. . . . This close study of restaurant workers shows us how truly creative people can be as they deal with the constraints and stresses of their jobs and how emotional balancing acts are special skills demanded of service workers like these. -- E. Doyle McCarthy, Fordham University
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Exploring Emotional Balance in Restaurant Work Chapter 2 Building a Theory of Emotional Balance Chapter 3 Inside the Restaurant: A Detailed Description of the Everyday Work Life of a Server Chapter 4 On the Front Line: Emotional Balance Scripts Chapter 5 The Crying Waitress: Gender Expectations and Emotional Balancing Chapter 6 Concluding Remarks: Implications for Future Studies of Emotional Balance Chapter 7 Appendix: A Qualitative Approach to Emotional Balance
