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Emotional-Labor Laws
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Emotional-Labor Laws

The New Yorker · Jun 3, 2026, 10:00 AM

Key takeaways

  • Following multiple reports of gross violations, the United States Department of Emotional Labor would like to issue the following reminders:
  • Emotional labor is labor, and should be compensated as such.
  • While the Emotional Labor Department encourages being there to support your friend, protections must be in place to prevent abuse.

Photograph from Getty Save this story Save this story Save this story Save this story Just as the Department of Labor protects workers’ rights, promotes workplace safety, and advances job opportunities, the Department of Emotional Labor seeks to insure that vulnerable groups, such as customer-service employees, eldest daughters, and anyone whose co-workers think that D.E.I. is an outdoorsy retailer, are not exploited by being forced to take on an undue amount of work to make employers, customers, or emotionally immature parents more comfortable.

Following multiple reports of gross violations, the United States Department of Emotional Labor would like to issue the following reminders:

Emotional labor is labor, and should be compensated as such. The minimum wage for emotional labor was originally introduced by Sir Thomas More in his 1522 work “Four Last Things,” in which he coined the phrase “a penny for your thoughts,” effectively establishing the going hourly rate for emotional labor as one cent. Adjusting for inflation over the past 503 years, that penny is now equivalent to approximately $1,250, which is a more than reasonable fee for defusing tension upon being asked when you’re planning on having kids after you’ve been trying for three years.

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