Emotional Labor, Emotional Work, and the Question of “Help” in Harm

A frequent debate and misconception about Restorative justice (RJ) is whether it inherently requires harmed parties to exert emotional labor for the primary benefit of those who initiated harm. To explore this question, this chapter first defines and differentiates emotional labor—including extra pressure on members of historically resilient communities to educate or accommodate the feelings and needs of people who have caused harm—from emotional work, which involves shared investment for shared benefit. The chapter further explores types of harm and examines the role of harmed parties and those who initiated harm in healing one another through RJ. Finally, the chapter outlines the importance of facilitators and identifying suitability, pre-work, prompts, and resolution agreements to appropriately attend to healing labor.