Abstract

Police work involves substantial emotional labor by officers, who must control their own
emotional displays and those of citizens, who often are encountered at their worst—injured,
upset, or angry. Although policing often is viewed as masculine work that focuses on fighting
crime, it also requires that officers maintain order and provide diverse services, which officers
tend to disdain as feminine activities. This article explores the varieties of emotional labor, the
rules regulating emotional displays in policing, and the role of gender in shaping these
occupational and organizational norms. It identifies variations in the norms regulating emotional
labor across policing assignments, interactional situations, and the gender of both the officers
and the citizens in an encounter. It also reviews coping mechanisms for regulating emotions—
including socialization, organizational rituals, humor, and off-duty social activities—and the
dilemmas that norms related to emotional labor pose for women officers.