Emotional labour and burnout in the hair and beauty industry: A narrative review

Abstract

Hair and beauty work involves more than a service for aesthetic maintenance. Salon workers represent a source of informal care and social support for clients which requires effective inter- and intra-personal skills. The frequent interaction with multiple clients quintessential to salon work can be understood as emotional labour. Both emotional labour and informal caregiving are risk factors for burnout. Salon workers listen and respond to clients who may reveal confronting personal information, and this may increase the risk of workers experiencing compassion fatigue, also known as vicarious trauma. In this narrative review, we examine 47 studies that have investigated emotional labour and informal caregiving in salon work. We consider factors that contribute to burnout and compassion fatigue, along with protective buffers that may alleviate adverse outcomes. Themes identified relate to Vulnerability factors; Nature of the work role; and Structural issues in the workplace. Few studies of compassion fatigue were found, although some studies discussed exposure to distressing disclosures as risk factors. Further research is needed to investigate compassion fatigue as well as factors that promote wellbeing in salon workers.

Keywords

• Emotional labour
• Social support
• Informal caregiving
• Burnout
• Compassion fatigue
• Hair and beauty