Emotional work is a new form of work based on a professional management of emotions in a public (employment) sphere. It is especially characteristic for the service sector, which includes labour with people. A particular version of emotional work is the so-called service with a smile, representing an inseparable part of ideal business. Under the intense conditions of modern market economies, a smile, i.e. selling emotions, becomes one of the main competitive rules and strategies. Services that require a great share of emotional work are predominated by a female labour force. Despite its social usefulness the emotional work often remains unacknowledged and underestimated.Under certain circumstances it has negative psychological effects, while it may bring some psychological rewards to the so-called 'emotional workers'. A share of the employed in the service sector is increasing in Slovenia, raising a question of emotional work here as well. It is possible to detect increased endeavours of the service companies, as well as the state, to offer qualitative services in order to increase the customers' contentment. Services with a smile are a constituent part of the (successful) business of McDonald's or McDonald's Slovenija and the leading commercial network in Slovenian market - Mercator.
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