Addressing emotional labour in higher education teaching: institutional solutions for effective teaching, workloads and wellbeing

While essential to effective teaching and supporting student wellbeing, engaging in high amounts of emotional labour can have negative impacts on instructor wellbeing and performance. Research also shows that this labour is practised unequally within the academy, with wellbeing and workload impacts unevenly felt. Whilst these imbalances are increasingly documented, few studies explore how to address the varied impacts of emotional labour in the profession. To address this, the article focuses on solutions, presenting options that address the inequity and wellbeing impacts associated with emotional labour in higher education teaching, whilst also recognizing its importance pedagogically. With much of the current solutions literature focusing on supporting individuals in ‘managing their emotions’, this article instead argues for structural solutions to be undertaken institutionally. Three categories of solutions are explored – institutionally facilitated self-efficacy, assessment and recognition of workload impacts, and the development of programmes that increase perceived and real institutional support.