Labour, body, and social conflict: the “digital smile” and emotional work in call centres

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to look into some of the contributions of the sociology of bodies/emotions in order to understand the manifestations of social conflict linked to new labour scenarios, as a starting point from which to understand the processes of social structuration. Specifically, the purpose here is to explore a few of the meaningful dimensions of conflicts associated with the Call Centres sector in Argentina. Based on this objective, the following argumentative strategy is proposed. Firstly, several general theoretical considerations underpinning the analysis will be made. Secondly, the processes of work insecurity observed in the sector from the emergence of precarious bodies will be described. Thirdly, the ?potentiality for collective action? of the bodies-that-work will be especially problematized, emphasizing the issue of ?emotional work?, as a privileged standpoint for its interpretation. In the conclusions, we will recast the phrase ?slavery of the souls? (Colectivo Situaciones 2006) in order to problematize, from the perspective of the actors, the meaning of the social mechanisms previously linked between digital and emotional work.