Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle claims that we become who we are by habit. In his famous work, Nicomachean Ethics, he explains that someone does not happen to be courageous, for instance. They have to be in a situation that requires them to exercise courage; furthermore, this cannot be a one-time occurrence. Otherwise, we might have once been and no longer are courageous. Thus, the belief that they would act courageously is insufficient for them to be courageous. The idea that our habits create us is one way to examine our lives. What habits have we generated in how we live and interact with others? Are we really generous? Are we truly friendly?
How we treat others reveals some of the habits we have created. This does not mean snapping at someone demonstrates we’re awful; we could have been having a rough day. But this means that if we regularly snap at people, that action is part of who we are. And something we should work to change. It’s important to examine ourselves to see what our habits and actions reveal about us. In light of this idea, we should consider how we treat service workers individually and as a society. The phrase “service worker” is a bit mysterious. When we say it, we tend to think of only certain kinds of workers, often those not paid well. Think about all the jobs that provide a service in one way or another. These include beauty advisors, estheticians, hairdressers, restaurant servers, nurses and doctors, tattoo artists, lawyers, trash collectors, etc.
As you can see, the number of workers who provide services to others is varied. Yet the term “service worker” seems to cut along class distinctions in how people are treated. However, one thing that affects many jobs that provide a service is the implicit expectation of additional labor. These expectations may appear in different ways and be more or less demanding depending on the job, but they are relatively pervasive, especially in the beauty and fashion industries. These two types of additional labor are aesthetic and emotional.
Imagine going to a shop to buy a new suit, and the salesperson is disheveled. You may believe this person to be of less help than someone well put together. And in itself, this judgment isn’t entirely unreasonable. Why would we trust them to do ours if someone cannot do their own makeup? But we often take this expectation too far and demand more from people, especially those with less means. While appearances can impact people's perceptions of others in any industry, some industries, such as clothing and beauty retail, make special efforts to hire those who look a certain way for customer-facing roles. It extends beyond hiring to expectations of clothing, makeup, and hairstyle choices. To give a name to the extra work some people perform for their jobs, professors Chris Warhurst and Dennis Nickson, who research different aspects of employment, have termed it “aesthetic labor.” Sociology Professor Eileen Otis explains aesthetic labor as “the effort individuals in service industries invest so that their bodies reflect middle- and upper-class notions of style, comportment, poise, and grace.”
As mentioned, emphasis on body types, skin color, and makeup is often used covertly to hire particular applicants and pass on others. In an article in Psychology Today from 2023, Bobby Hoffman, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Central Florida, writes, “Numerous studies suggest that attractive individuals have employment advantages including landing better jobs, earning higher pay, and receiving more favorable performance evaluations than less-attractive peers.” Appearance may also be used to relegate some employees to positions in the backroom, out of sight. People who want or need these jobs often commit to spending extra time and money to make sure their appearance fits the company brand, but this additional labor comes at their own expense.
In addition to aesthetic labor, many workers are expected to provide emotional labor to their clients. Not only are tattoo artists, cosmetologists, and makeup artists supposed to provide their “official” services, but they must also listen to clients discuss their life situations and problems, with the expectation of offering empathy and even advice. It’s common, for instance, for people to refer to their hairdresser as their therapist. As many of us have experienced, it can sometimes be draining to listen to a close friend or family member talk about a problem, so we can only imagine that this can be tough to handle when you’re trying to focus on being excellent at your primary talent with a significant number of daily clients.
Now that we’ve defined them, we can see that the expectation that service workers will provide this additional labor is strange. Of course, some more extroverted people may naturally engage in conversations, but that doesn’t mean it should be expected, let alone demanded. Part of the demand derives from our attitude toward service workers; clients expect them to bend over backward for them, listen to all their stories, and do all this and more with a smile.
To disclose the exploitative practices against cosmetologists, hairdresser-turned-philosopher Margaret Ferguson co-founded the nonprofit Beyond the Chair with Leah Miller, a hairstylist and data scientist. This organization’s stated mission is “education and addressing labor discrepancies for beauty workers, such as cosmetologists, barbers, estheticians, nail technicians, and makeup artists.” Beauty workers who use skills and knowledge to apply beauty products to clients often receive low wages, zero health benefits, and poor working conditions. In 2017, Ferguson experienced career-halting health issues that highlighted the labor conditions and lack of protections for those in the beauty worker industry, which directly contributed to her leaving full-time cosmetology. These people usually believe in the efficacy of beauty products they use but frequently feel disconnected from the beauty industry conglomerates that bring in billions of dollars worldwide.
Now, no one expects the CEO of a giant beauty industry company to visit salons, but these large companies might speak up for the work that is done in salons. These companies could do more to help bridge the gap between the product and beauty worker by providing more pathways to get on the other side from the worker side. Beyond the Chair is only one example of a group that advocates for the rights of beauty workers, which could help them overcome the high costs of aesthetic and emotional labor often thrust upon them. We all need to be more aware of how we individually treat beauty workers, and companies could also become more aware of how they and their representatives interact with them.
Some people may be surprised by or overlook this tendency to expect additional labor to be thrust upon those in the service industry. In contrast, some people might believe it is simply part of their job as service workers. Regardless of where you fall on this spectrum, reflecting and examining your treatment of people is critical. We may not realize that we expected too much of someone. Of course, each worker is different. Some may thoroughly enjoy conversing with you while performing a service, and others may find it distracting. We need to recognize that not all workers are the same and that it may be worth asking them.
