Happy Labour Day!
Labour
According to the fine folks at Google, labour is defined as “work, especially hard, physical work.”
The origins of Labour Day in Canada, a.k.a. Labor Day in America, go back to the late 1800s when workers went on strike, petitioning for regulations on the length of the workday. It’s a fascinating story, easily found via the search engine of your choice. However, the meaning behind the word “labour” is particularly interesting.
Many define labour as the work that leaves you with a sore back or blistered hands at the end of the day. Did you wear work boots, use tools, and come home with physical wear and tear? That definitely sounds like labour.
Sending emails, answering phone calls, and meeting clients? Not so much.
And before we go any further, this is by no means intended to negate or lessen the hard, physical toll that physical labour takes on people. That being said, hard work and labour is not a zero sum game, but rather something we all typically experience in our own ways.
What often gets ignored or perhaps underestimated is the impact of the mental wear and tear of one of those ‘email and client’ -based jobs. Can emotional labour really be compared to the physical pains left behind from the job site? Working through challenging decisions or fast-paced pressure situations as part of your day-to-day job is often glazed over if that work is done while sitting in an ergonomic chair. Why are we so quick to dismiss the impact that this constant cognitive chaos can have?
First, what exactly is emotional or mental labour?
For the purposes of this article, in rough terms, it is the act of showing up with emotional and mental intent to work through what might be a challenging situation. It involves using critical thinking, empathy, and strategic thought to assess the current scenario, and then finding a path forward that leaves those involved in a better position.
As Realtors, we are fully engaged in emotional labour on a daily basis. Engaging in that effort is the foundation of what it means to be an agent—working on behalf of another.
There are worried phone calls, stressed emails, and failed inspections. The long-awaited showing for this afternoon is cancelled at the last minute. The home the buyer makes an offer on receives a second offer, and the home is gone. What happens next? What are we going to do!?
Instagram will paint a picture of constant victories. It’s all SOLD posts, new listing promos, and the incessant announcement of the latest award being won. Sorry Realtors, but it’s true. :)
What it doesn’t show—because how could it? — is the emotional labour that goes on in the background. Ask any active Realtor, and they will likely be quite happy to share stories of challenges, turmoil, and emotional roller coaster rides.
Emotional Labour Day.
At the end of a day, after 119 emails, 32 phone calls, and a few million texts, the mental load of that emotional investment is not to be underestimated. Then we wake up the next day and do it again. Not to worry, the weekend is almost here. TGIF, right?! Wait...we don't get weekends??
The compounding impact of that emotional investment is something that isn’t talked about enough. And the same applies to any similar career where the labour involves something other than using tools or wearing work boots.
Sidebar. We aften find ourselves wearing gloves and doing physical labour too. Dump runs, garden clean-ups and furniture moving are often part of the gig too.
That emotional cargo can and will impact our thought processes, mental health, and, if we’re not careful, our relationships with the people who matter most.
So, for you Realtors, on this Labour Day, and any other day for that matter, don’t underestimate the impact that investing your emotional effort can and will have. Take pride in your work, but also take pride in how you decompress from the cognitive demands of what we do. Especially as we wrap up the second consecutive year of historically challenging real estate market conditions!
Go play golf. Spend an hour away from your phone with your friend at a café. Have a picnic with your kiddos. Be aware of the pressure valve that is your ability to handle the human element of what we do.
Have a Labour-free Monday :)