Emotional Labor among Paralegals

In: The annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Band 561, S. 127-142

Abstract

Despite the invisibility of emotional labor among paralegals, this dimension of work has significant consequences for the reproduction of the labor process in the large bureaucratic firm & for the psychological well-being of paralegals. These legal workers function to support & maintain the emotional stability of the lawyers for whom they work through deferential treatment & caretaking. By affirming the status of lawyers, paralegals also reproduce gender relations in the law firm. Most attorneys who receive caretaking & support are men, & the majority of the legal assistants who provide these emotional services are women. In this way, the emotional labor required of paralegals serves to reproduce the sex-segregated structure of law firms. 26 References. Adapted from the source document.