Emotional labour and cord blood collection: frontline perspectives
Journal of Health Organization and Management
ISSN: 1477-7266
Article publication date: 10 June 2020
Issue publication date: 16 July 2020
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine emotional labour in the work of frontline staff (FLS) of the Canadian Blood Services' Cord Blood Bank (CBB), contributes to understandings of emotional labour by allied healthcare workers and suggests implications for healthcare managers.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative interviews with 15 FLS were conducted and analyzed as part of a process evaluation of donor recruitment and cord blood collection in Canada.
Findings
Emotional labour with donors and hospital staff emerged as a vital component of FLS' donor recruitment and cord blood collection work. Emotional labour was performed with donors to contribute to a positive birthing experience, facilitate communication and provide support. Emotional labour was performed with hospital staff to gain acceptance and build relationships, enlist support and navigate hierarchies of authority.
Research limitations/implications
The results indicate that FLS perform emotional labour with women to provide donor care and with hospital staff to facilitate organizational conditions. The findings are based on FLS' accounts of their work and would be enhanced by research that examines the perspectives of donors and hospital staff.
Practical implications
Attention should be paid to organizational conditions that induce the performance of emotional labour and may add to FLS workload. Formal reciprocal arrangements between FLS and hospital staff may reduce the responsibility on FLS and enable them to focus on recruitment and collections.
Originality/value
This paper addresses a gap in the healthcare management literature by identifying the emotional labour of allied healthcare workers. It also contributes to the cord blood banking literature by providing empirically grounded analysis of frontline collection staff.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr Heidi Elmoazzan for supporting this research and the staff and managers of the Canadian Blood Services' Cord Blood Bank for their generous participation. The research project, from study design to submission, was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research-Health System Impact Fellowship and Canadian Blood Services.
Citation
Haw, J., Polzer, J. and Devine, D.V. (2020), "Emotional labour and cord blood collection: frontline perspectives", Journal of Health Organization and Management, Vol. 34 No. 5, pp. 587-601. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-10-2019-0305
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited