this post was submitted on 30 May 2026
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What 'emotional labor' actually means — and how Starbucks is testing its limits (qz.com)
submitted 4 weeks ago by squirrel@lemmy.blahaj.zone to c/feminism@beehaw.org
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Arlie Hochschild coined the term in 1983 to describe a specific workplace cost. Starbucks' Green Apron Service is pushing it further than she imagined

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[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 11 points 4 weeks ago (4 children)

Traditional emotional labor asks a worker to smile. Starbucks' Green Apron Service, rolled out nationally in August 2025, asks something more layered. According to CX Dive, the program's operating standards include five key customer service moments: warmly greeting customers, offering glassware or a mug, crafting beverages with a message on the cup, making connections during handoff, and keeping cafes welcoming and clean.

The cup-writing requirement has drawn particular scrutiny. Several supervisors have said that writing on the cup is part of the "Five Key Moments" and that baristas can be disciplined or let go for missing any of these steps, according to The Takeout. A 2025 Business Insider investigation found that "a serious infraction of the rules, like a profane message or repeatedly forgetting to mark a customer's cup, can lead to termination."

I thought they just wrote or misspelled your name on the cup? Now they have to write a phrase or they're fired? Who wants this?

[–] ranandtoldthat@beehaw.org 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Nobody wants it. But im guessing most people don't know it's a mandate that people can be fired for, and assume their Starbucks is special.

[–] vinceman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 3 weeks ago

I just assumed they spend like 10 minutes writing messages at the start of a shift tbh. That's how the one coffee place I went to used to do it. This is crazy fucked lmao

[–] jarfil@beehaw.org 3 points 3 weeks ago

Now we know how they'll get from serving coffee, to this prediction from 2006:

[–] Quexotic@beehaw.org 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

"Eat the rich" "no gods, no masters" etc, etc

[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 points 3 weeks ago

OK if these are the messages I get why management is so on top if staff to write them, that's sick as fuck

[–] solo@piefed.social 1 points 3 weeks ago

The following is barely relevant to this conversation, but when you said about misspelling names on coffee cups, it reminded me of this video: When you order coffee with an Irish name