Emotional labor demands, stratification, and mental health pathways in Europe: Evidence from the European working conditions survey

This study examines the distribution of emotional labor demands across occupations, genders, and employment arrangements in Europe, and investigates the mechanisms through which emotional labor demands are associated with mental health outcomes. Using data from the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey (N = 43,850), we construct an Emotional Labor Demands Index and test hypotheses derived from Hochschild’s emotional labor theory and the Job Demands-Resources model. Results reveal that women face significantly higher emotional labor demands than men, even within the same occupational categories. Mediation analysis provides evidence that work stress is the primary pathway linking emotional labor demands to mental health: the indirect association through stress fully accounts for the overall relationship (indirect effect = −7.35, bootstrap 95% CI [−7.74, −6.97]). A supplementary analysis confirms that end-of-day exhaustion constitutes a second significant mediating pathway. Consistent with the JD-R model, job resources, particularly social support, are associated with weaker links between emotional labor demands and poor mental health. However, job control alone does not significantly moderate the emotional labor demands–wellbeing relationship, and precarious employment is not associated with stronger links between emotional labor demands and mental health. These findings contribute to understanding emotional labor demands as a gendered occupational health risk and highlight the importance of social support in mitigating their negative consequences. • Pan-European analysis of emotional labor demands in 43,850 workers. • Women face higher emotional labor demands within the same occupations. • Work stress fully mediates the emotional labor demands-wellbeing link. • Social support weakens the emotional labor demands-wellbeing link. • Gender inequality reflects demand distribution, not differential susceptibility.