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Healthcare work is, by nature, an activity full of intense emotions and therefore, is opportune ground for exploring emotions in the workplace in different contexts of nursing care. It is a very fertile terrain if care is focused on the emotions of the client, nurses, healthcare teams, and on the interaction of all actors involved. This article presents a theoretical reflection exploring the concept of emotional labor in the context of nursing care. Theoretical references from several fields of knowledge, namely sociology and nursing, have been adopted to conceptualize the theme. Studies on emotional labor have contributed toward the understanding of the key issue of emotional management in healthcare institutions and both its positive and negative impact on clients and professionals. The development of the theme of emotional labor in nursing has given rise to numerous theoretical approaches and perspectives explaining this concept.

Objective: To analyze nurses’ experiences in the front line of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic regarding the performance of emotional labor (EL), aiming at its characterization and identification of support strategies and development opportunities of nurses and practices. Methods: Qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory study, with content analysis of eleven written narratives and reports from a focus group composed of nurses with experience in caring for patients with COVID-19 from different Hospital Centers in Lisbon, Portugal. Results: Five themes were extracted: 1) Challenges experienced by nurses in the frontline; 2) Emotions experienced by nurses in service care; 3) Emotional responses of nurses and patients: impact on care; 4) EL of nurses in the patient care process; 5) Opportunities for development in the face of the emotional challenge required of nurses in combating COVID-19. Final considerations: The nurses demonstrated the ability to transform this profoundly emotional experience positively.