On Identifying The Intrinsic Value Of Emotional Wellbeing And Mental Labour

Wherever we are, whoever we may be, and whatever our agenda, we all must work. Some of us work for a living, to survive, and put food on the table. Some of us work to increase our wealth, even if we are financially safe. Others work to maximise their life experience by keeping everything how they like it and building on what they have. Labour is not a simple thing that has one or two variations. It‘s a wide-ranging aspect of all our lives and manifests in many forms. One way to look at the whole is to split it into three distinct categories. These can be isolated as to their range of influence.  
 
Physical Labour – This is the one we usually think of when we talk about work. It’s often hard and tiring, it requires a lot of energy and a good rest. It could be manual work, like in a manufacturing line, or landscape work like building or gardening. These are generally well-paid jobs that reward people for their provision of energy and time. Other kinds of manual work are not well-paid but are considered natural parts of life, childcare, housekeeping, cooking for the family, caring for elderly relatives, and much more do not offer a salary or income but are necessary parts of our lives.  
 
Cognitive Labour – This is also often very hard work. It’s not just the muscles that require energy; the brain does too. When we think for a living, we’re expected to use our learning and intelligence to solve problems of various complexity. Sometimes it’s simply inputting numbers and letting the program do the rest, other times it’s inventing schedules, timetables, and ordering patterns that can make the most out of what’s available. These jobs are often well-paid too, when we’re in the employ of another. It doesn’t get paid well when it’s done for the self, entrepreneurs and family heads alike must use their brain all the time to put things in place.  
 
Emotional Labour – This is the one that’s often hidden. In the way that some of us have strong bodies with big muscles and what they like to call big bones, and some of us have highly intelligent minds, some of us have massive emotional lives. While emotional labour might be a matter of five minutes in the shower to sort yourself out for some, it can be the exact opposite for others.  
 
Depending on our experience, our upbringing, our tolerance tools, and our thoughts about ourselves and the world, taking control of our mood and motivation is often like wrestling a buttered pig. Stress levels are not always rewarded in work, some notoriously low-paid work like kitchens are stressful and low-paid. Public-facing people and civil workers may be given a good salary once they qualify for intellectual labour too. Stress and emotional upset at home cannot be rewarded, only prevented and protected as often as possible. 
 
Physical, cognitive, and emotional labour are connected in the way they directly affect each other and feedback into themselves through this connection. When one is tired, or unwell, the other two fall back in a kind of psychological and physiological harmony. The thoughts and feelings we have directly influence our internal chemistry which then influences our mechanical processes. When our physical or cognitive self is compromised because of low mood, this can cause the mood to deteriorate further. Catching the problem before it takes root is near impossible as we tend to tip suddenly after long periods of rewarding stoicism.  
 
It can reduce our ability in all forms of labour if any one kind is unable to be put into action. Even though our emotions and feelings are invisible and they may not be like those of our peers, they must be cared for like our bodies and brains. If our emotions are healthy, it’s not necessarily the case for someone else. We can forget this more often, above other kinds of labour. With any work done, any job, there is a balance of physical, cognitive, and emotional labour that is usually specific to the role. Hopefully, we find something that fits our personality, yet often we find ourselves working a job we don’t fit in with just to get the income.  
 
Finding the stairs to the right level when our mood is low requires significant cognitive effort. It sometimes needs not just the individual effort but the group effort of therapists, family, and/or friends. Sometimes the person with an emotional problem can’t even see the logical route out, can’t see the issue with how their emotions are reacting in their body, and are content to repeat the hurtful narrative that frames the hormonal and physical response. Getting through this barrier and then retraining the mind to avoid that downward spiral is like sculpting a David from marble all over again. In the most serious cases, it’s just not immediately possible. It can sometimes feel like the marble is cracked all the way through.  
 
Maintaining emotional wellbeing at work is vital as the emotional labour of workplace activity cannot be understated. During stressful periods of activity or prolonged repetitive labour, emotional work is taking place. The mind may want to fight the monotony in any number of ways, damaging our ability to concentrate. When we’re tired, our emotions may begin to dwell on this and draw down on our motivation. This affects work too. The interpersonal dynamics of the workplace require a constant emotional formula. We’re not just paid to do our job, we’re paid to get on with people and be helpful. This can be extremely taxing emotionally when others make this difficult for us. As in for some, being fake nice and passive is easy, where for others, being genuine and responsible is the only sustainable option.   
 
The exploitation of labour therefore doesn’t always focus on the physical. We’re used to hearing about underpaid labourers whose brute strength is undervalued and whose experience and understanding is put down to basic common sense. When this happens, it’s a power dynamic fuelled by economic disparity. Where one person wants to find employment, the other wants to pay as little as possible. If someone is desperate enough, if the disparity is large enough, there will be people willing to take on that kind of work.  
 
Emotional exploitation is rarely focussed on. This is likely because firstly we’re taught to keep our personal lives at home, and secondly, we each experience our emotional lives differently and to varying amplitudes. When extra stress and worries are placed on people at work, when they’re still turning up even though something terrible is happening at home, or when certain processes are designed poorly, we’re often not rewarded at all. Salaries and payments are based on production and application. The cognitive and physical labour that can be quantified can be valued intrinsically. What about the emotional toll of any kind of work, both from the job and what they’re expected to handle to do it? This invisible, dark energy like influence, has a direct relationship with the very things people are willing to pay for.  
 
Recognising emotional labour as real labour doesn’t just help individuals; it reshapes how we understand work, value, and wellbeing. When we honour the emotional dimension of human life, we create environments where all forms of labour; physical, cognitive, and emotional can flourish together. How would you set about providing for emotional labour, not just in reward but in recognition and in the design of future jobs?  

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