New UNIC-Athens study shows Europe’s women bear higher emotional labour burden at work

A landmark study of nearly 44,000 workers across 35 European countries has uncovered stark gender inequalities in the emotional demands of the workplace, and mapped the pathways through which those demands erode mental health. Published in Social Science & Medicine, one of the world’s leading social science and public health journals, the research by Prof. Dr Nikolaos Antonakakis of the University of Nicosia, UNIC Athens provides some of the strongest evidence to date that emotional labour demands constitute a gendered occupational health risk requiring targeted policy attention.

Women face higher emotional demands, even in same jobs

Using data from the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey, the study constructed a novel Emotional Labour Demands Index measuring how frequently workers must hide their feelings, handle angry clients, navigate emotionally disturbing situations and manage interactions with the public.

The findings are striking: women reported significantly higher emotional labour demands than men (scoring 0.39 versus 0.32 on the standardised scale), and this gap persisted after statistically controlling for occupational category. Within the same jobs, women faced demands equivalent to 12.5 per cent of a standard deviation above those of their male counterparts, a meaningful difference that accumulates over the course of a working life.

The largest within-occupation gender gaps appeared among professionals and technicians, where women’s emotional labour demands substantially exceeded men’s. Conversely, men reported higher demands in manual occupations such as plant operation and craft work, consistent with forms of “masculine emotional labour” involving the suppression of vulnerability.

Work stress: the primary pathway to mental health harm

The study went beyond documenting the problem to identify how emotional labour demands translate into mental health consequences. Through formal mediation analysis, the research demonstrated that work stress is the primary mechanism: the indirect effect of emotional labour demands on wellbeing through stress fully accounted for the overall negative relationship. A supplementary analysis confirmed that end-of-day exhaustion serves as a second significant pathway. Together, these findings indicate that the toll of emotional labour does not arise from the interpersonal work itself, but from the stress and depletion it generates.

Social support emerges as most effective buffer

Drawing on the widely used Job Demands–Resources theoretical framework, the study tested whether workplace resources could weaken the link between emotional labour demands and poor mental health. The results were clear: social support from colleagues and managers significantly buffered the negative association, while job autonomy alone did not. This suggests that supportive work relationships, not simply giving workers more control over their schedules, are what matter most for protecting the wellbeing of those in emotionally demanding roles.

Surprise finding: precarious employment not a multiplier

Contrary to expectations, workers in precarious employment arrangements, namely, those on temporary contracts or employed in very small firms, did not experience a stronger negative link between emotional labour demands and mental health. While precarious employment was associated with lower wellbeing overall, it did not amplify the specific harm caused by emotional demands. The finding was consistent across three different measures of precarity, suggesting that the mental health consequences of emotional labour are pervasive across employment types.

“Our results send a clear message to policymakers and employers: emotional labour is not a soft skill, it is a measurable occupational demand with real consequences for mental health, and it falls disproportionately on women,” noted Prof. Dr Nikolaos Antonakakis, Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance, School of Business, University of Nicosia, UNIC Athens.

“The good news is that the research points directly to what works. Organisations that invest in genuine social support, such as team-based peer networks, responsive management, and recognition of invisible emotional work, can meaningfully protect the wellbeing of their workforce. Gender-neutral policies alone will not close this gap; we need to address the unequal expectations placed on women to manage the emotional climate of the workplace.”

Policy implications

The study identifies three evidence-based directions for policy and practice.

Firstly, emotional labour demands should be formally recognised as a distinct psychosocial hazard within EU occupational health frameworks, particularly for customer-facing sectors.

Secondly, because the gender gap in emotional demands persists within occupations, organisations must look beyond job design to address the informal norms that assign disproportionate emotional responsibility to women.

Thirdly, investment in supportive workplace relationships, including structured peer support, accessible management and adequate recovery time, offers the most promising route to mitigating the mental health toll of emotionally demanding work.

About the study

• Title: Emotional Labor Demands, Stratification, and Mental Health Pathways in Europe: Evidence from the European Working Conditions Survey
• Author: Nikolaos Antonakakis, University of Nicosia, UNIC Athens, antonakakis.n@unic.ac.cy
• Journal: Social Science & Medicine (2026)
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119202
• Data: 2015 European Working Conditions Survey (N = 43,850 workers, 35 countries)