The toll of tertiary educators’ emotional labor due to academic misconduct

Academic misconduct is an emotionally charged issue for students and educators. Educators dealing with student academic misconduct perform emotional labor to execute their expected workplace roles which impacts their emotional and physical health. Hochschild’s emotional labor theory is applied to tertiary educators facing academic misconduct, as their work with students and colleagues is managed by their employer organization in order to shape another’s emotions. Tertiary educators’ responses to two open-ended survey questions on academic misconduct and integrity gave voice to their emotional labor driven experiences and concerns. Via qualitative case study analysis, responses showing tertiary educators’ emotional labor and its ramifications were presented within three theoretical themes: institutional regulation of emotions, emotion reactions, and organization cohesion maintenance. Respondents shared how academic misconduct impacted their emotions, professional emotional reactions, reporting likelihood, and job longevity. They shared concerns for their employer and student relationships. Positive, practical steps to address educators’ emotional labor related to academic misconduct included rectifying structural organizational inadequacies, providing academic integrity training, and bolstering collegial support. Clinical trial number: Not applicable.