Reciprocal Emotion Management: Working Together to Maintain Stratification in Private Law Firms

Using qualitative evidence, the concept of reciprocal emotion management is introduced and the role it plays in the reproduction of status inequality in the workplace is illustrated. Reciprocal emotion management is the reciprocal effort of similar others to manage one another's emotions. Three norms that exist in the workplace are also identified: professionalism, deference, and caretaking, and it is proposed that as paralegals strive to appear professional, they display deference to attorneys and accept having deference withheld. Reciprocal emotion management is one mechanism through which they are able to manage their emotional reactions to the status inequity in their daily interactions with attorneys. Ironically, pursuit of professionalism in these ways tends to perpetuate their marginal or inferior status in law firms.