Starbucks' Green Apron Service pushes emotional labor to its limits

Arlie Hochschild coined the term 'emotional labor' in 1983 to describe the workplace cost of managing feelings as part of a job. Starbucks' Green Apron Service program, which requires baristas to perform emotional labor beyond traditional service roles, is testing the boundaries of the concept. The program demands that employees engage in deeper emotional connections with customers, potentially increasing the psychological toll. Hochschild's original framework focused on jobs like flight attendants, but Starbucks' approach extends emotional labor to the fast-food industry, raising questions about its impact on workers.