Interspecies Emotional Labour: Unspoken Expectations of Professionalism in Guide Dog Work

This book explores the topic of interspecies emotional labour through the work of guide dogs and their instructors. The skill of managing emotions to present oneself with the professionalism is referred to as emotional labour.

Extending practitioner knowledge and emotional labour theory to Anthrozoology and Animal Organization Studies discourse, this multispecies ethnography draws on the author's work with guide dogs, and those of the professionals she interviewed, to introduce multiple case studies that explore the enmeshed dynamics and practices involved in emotional labour within multispecies workplaces. It presents new insights into why the emotional labour strategies a human or dog worker utilise are important, and how these can directly impact an individual's working success and well-being. Despite the centrality of emotional labour performances in multispecies workplaces, it has fallen under the radar of academic and practitioner attention until recent years, making this an innovative, timely addition to existing discourse.

This book will appeal to practitioners and academics interested in understanding and improving emotional labour education and practices to support more sustainable interspecies work.