Stuck in the middle: The emotional labours of case managers in the personal injury compensation system

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Case managers within injury compensation systems are confronted with various emotional demands. OBJECTIVE: Employing the concept of emotional labour, this paper explores distinctive aspects of these demands. METHODS: The findings are drawn from focus groups with 21 Australian case managers. RESULTS: Case managers work was characterised by extra-role commitments, emotional control, stress and balancing tensions arising from differing stakeholder expectations about outcomes related to compensation and return to work. CONCLUSIONS: By examining the experiences of case managers, the findings add to the literature on the emotional labour of front line service workers, especially with r..