Emotional labour amongst women leaders within the consulting industry: a hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore how women leaders within the consulting industry experience emotional labour in South Africa. I followed a qualitative research approach informed by the hermeneutic phenomenological paradigm, making use of a case study approach and in-depth semi-structured interviews with eight women leaders with a minimum of eight years’ experience within the consulting industry, all of whom resided in the Gauteng region. The questions posed to participants aimed to understand the various emotions experienced during pre-set scenarios. The empirical findings suggest that women leaders naturally adopt a transformational leadership style. The empirical research exposes that women leaders within the consulting industry do not have any form of work-life balance. Furthermore, the empirical research reveals that most of the women experience both negative and positive emotions due to the ups and downs exposed to at work, there is no organisational support to overcome these emotions