I have such a hateboner for how SJWs use emotional labour , because it could have been a useful term . Like if you talk about actual work , emotional labour shouldn ' t be valued less than physical labour . You don ' t have to do physical work to come home exhausted . I ' ve worked costumer service for a phone company , and when the job description is have angry people yell at you every day , it can be draining . Or my friend is a social worker and have to listen to people ' s tragedies and sob stories every day . Just because we sit still in a chair doesn ' t mean it ' s not hard work , like I ' ve heard some people claim . Of course , since you get paid , it ' s not a problem . And if you go into actual activism for free it obviously also can come with real emotional labour , because constantly helping people can be draining . But again , if you want to be an actual activist it comes with the job description . What it ISN ' T is people asking honest questions on social media when you started the discussion . Or you being courteous and asking how someone ' s day has been . Or texting your boyfriend back . Or playing dating sims . All things I ' ve heard . What they ' re doing is basically calling carrying your text books to school physical labour . Sorry for the rant , it just really , really bugs me .