There is an emotional proletariat in public service. This class of worker is employed in lower ranking, lower paid jobs that are disproportionately performed by women. While this study focuses on the Korean context, findings also raise awareness to the U.S. context. An investigation of two distinctly different missions—national tax officials and police officers—reveals how the combination of gender and rank produces differential outcomes in regard to emotive demands. Women in lower grades suffer more emotional exhaustion and feel less pride in their jobs than women and men in higher ranks. The pattern provides evidence that emotional exhaustion is less about individual failure and more about predictable job characteristics. After describing findings, the conclusion speculates about generalizing to the American context.
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