"Emotionally available” work and burnout risk: Emotional labour and organisational conditions in a distance-learning university
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| Thursday, October 29, 2026 |
| 4:35 PM - 4:40 PM |
Overview
Psych - in - 3 (mins)
Presenter
Prof Nisha Harry
University Of South Africa
“Emotionally available” work and burnout risk: Emotional labour and organisational conditions in a distance-learning university
4:35 PM - 4:40 PMAbstract
1. Aim
This study aimed to examine how emotional labour is organised within a South African distance-learning university and how organisational conditions shape the risk of staff burnout in digitally mediated academic and professional work.
2. Content
Digitally mediated systems have reshaped academic and professional work in distance-learning universities, intensifying expectations of emotional availability and care. A qualitative research design was employed, drawing on 840 open-ended responses from an institutional staff well-being survey completed by academic and professional staff at a South African distance-learning university. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed three interrelated organisational conditions: continuous emotional availability, moralised professional care, and the erosion of emotional recovery. Emotional labour was sustained through institutional communication norms and professional identities rather than individual choice, contributing to cumulative exhaustion over time.
3. Goals
The study seeks to reframe emotional labour as an organisational and pedagogical condition rather than an individual responsibility, highlighting its implications for staff well-being, burnout risk, and the long-term sustainability of teaching and student support in digitally mediated distance education.
This study aimed to examine how emotional labour is organised within a South African distance-learning university and how organisational conditions shape the risk of staff burnout in digitally mediated academic and professional work.
2. Content
Digitally mediated systems have reshaped academic and professional work in distance-learning universities, intensifying expectations of emotional availability and care. A qualitative research design was employed, drawing on 840 open-ended responses from an institutional staff well-being survey completed by academic and professional staff at a South African distance-learning university. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed three interrelated organisational conditions: continuous emotional availability, moralised professional care, and the erosion of emotional recovery. Emotional labour was sustained through institutional communication norms and professional identities rather than individual choice, contributing to cumulative exhaustion over time.
3. Goals
The study seeks to reframe emotional labour as an organisational and pedagogical condition rather than an individual responsibility, highlighting its implications for staff well-being, burnout risk, and the long-term sustainability of teaching and student support in digitally mediated distance education.
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Nisha Harry (Dlitt et Phil) is an Associate Professor at the University of South Africa, in the Department of Industrial and Organisational Psychology. She is a registered psychologist and Counsellor with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), as well as an affiliate with the Society for Organisational and Industrial Psychology (SIOPSA). Her notable achievements were the Executive Deans achievers award for contribution to publication and research in higher education in the School for Economic and Management Sciences (CEMS). Her duties include supervising intern psychologists, masters and doctorate students. Prof Harry has achieved recognition as a researcher by publishing in international and national journals and also has attended conferences and presented at national and international level. Her research focus areas are employee wellness, positive psychology, career psychology and organisational development.
