Reframing emotional labor: A mixed-methods study of animal health technologists

Similar to other health care workers, animal health technologists (AHTs) face emotionally demanding expectations nursing patients and supporting family members. We explore how AHTs experience emotional labor and whether they cope by reframing their work as meaningful and valuable. This study uses a two-phase, exploratory mixed-methods design with data from 12 online interviews and 292 online questionnaires from AHTs. The results show that the emotional labor of caring for clients and conflict with coworkers is associated with greater depression and reframing work as satisfying reduces depression. We discuss how reframing can be an effective coping strategy to improve mental health.