Emotional labor of Filipino nurses and their commitment to the profession - Matociños, Allison M.; Tolentino, Maria Catalina; Asuncion, Ronahlee A.; Guerzon, Ester; Gaddi, Rebecca S.; University of the Philippines Diliman. School of Labor and Industrial Relations (Quezon City : School of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of the Philippines Diliman, 2021.)
"This study pays tribute to the health workers, specifically the nurses, the COVID-19 pandemic heroes in the Philippines. This study analyzes the nurses' concept of emotional labor, their experiences and how they respond to the situations. It also intends to discover how the ideas mentioned above impact the nurses' commitment to their profession. It includes their aspirations on how their employers could ease their difficult emotional labor experiences. The participants in this study are 12 Filipino nurses. They are working in public and private hospitals in Metro Manila whose job descriptions entail high management of emotions to provide service to their patients. This study explored the concept using the collected narratives from the respondents, guided by a semi-structured questionnaire. The results revealed that nurses describe emotional labor as a wide range of emotions felt at work, resilience, compassion fatigue, connection with their patients, and the nature of their respective workplaces' physical and social environment. They arrived at the concepts due to their experiences, such as interaction with various stakeholders, performing tasks simultaneously, satisfaction from witnessing recovered patients, cooperation in the unit and happiness upon receiving tokens of appreciation. Coping mechanisms include using communication, denial, remaining silent, and anger towards the current system. Despite their emotional labor experiences resulting in anger and denial, nurses remain positive and grateful for what they have. They could adapt to challenges in their personal lives because of the lessons they learned in their profession. They also appreciate the knowledge they acquire every day and have genuinely accepted their roles as healthcare providers. The results validate the concepts of ""deep acting,"" wherein the individual internalized the required emotion and in a result, matches the outward expression as explained in the writings of Hochschild (1983), Morris & Feldman (1996), and Guy (2008) in their studies about emotional labor. At the start of their careers as licensed nurses, they expressed contrasting emotions - separate from what they show from what they feel. This divide of emotions enabled them to internalize their roles as nurses deeply. The nurses acknowledged that their experiences predominantly contributed positively to their profession and helped them transcended above their personal lives, despite some challenges. They aspire to feel more appreciated by their current and future employers, use standard facilities and equipment, and establish a core-group to safeguard their well-being, especially during crises. Moreover, they aspire to receive better compensation. For those who are union members (5 of them are union members in both public and private hospitals), the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) are the venues for granting better compensation and benefits. The Sikolohiyang Pilipino's concept, kapwa (shared identity) and pakikiramdam, guided this study. Through this cultural value present among Filipinos, nurses show their commitment to the profession by recognizing the sacrifices entailed with their discipline. By aiding their patients towards a better state of health, they also take care of their patients' families and communities. Hence, their emotional labor experiences reinforced their commitment to the profession and their aspiration for a progressing national health system."
Thesis (Master of Industrial Relations)--University of the Philippines Diliman
Includes bibliographical references (pages 191-197).
Keywords: Nurses -- Philippines; Nurses -- Attitudes; Public service employment -- Philippines -- Psychological aspects