The Convergence of Institutional Logics on the Community College Sector and the Normalization of Emotional Labor: A New Theoretical Approach for Considering the Community College Faculty Labor Expectations

Little empirical research has systematically focused on, or interrogated, the labor expectations set forth for community college faculty. Thus, in this paper, we present a theoretical argument, which we formed by (re) reading several community college focused studies through various theoretical lenses. Ultimately, we merged two theories—institutional logics and emotional labor—and argue that multiple institutional logics converge within the community college sector in ways that normalize the expectation of emotional labor from community college faculty. Unlike corporate entities that tap into emotional labor for profit, community colleges rely upon faculty members' emotions to compensate for insufficient public investments.