Research project Emotions and rituals in practitioner-client interaction in a heterogenous society

How can strong emotions be part of everyday work practices? The project studies the challenges faced by priests, deacons, veterinarians, veterinary assistants, obstetricians, midwives, directors and actors in an increasingly heterogeneous and divided society.
A priest holding a baby during a christening ceremony.

Photo: Mostphotos/Rickard Jonsson

These occupations manage life altering situations in client interactions on a daily basis by means of ‘existential rituals’ as when a midwife delivers a baby or a priest leads a funeral. 

Directors and actors work deliberately to stage existential rituals and therefore act as a template to illuminate the work of occupations with less rehearsed and predetermined rituals.

The researchers employ a multi-method qualitative design, including shadowing, interviews and collaboration with representatives from selected occupations. The project is path breaking in integrating a situational and contextual approach to emotional processes with cross-occupational comparisons allowing for uncovering processes and strategies common to existential rituals with different challenges. Existential rituals are important to study since they make up the glue of social cohesion in our society.

The aim of the project is to explore the development and maintenance of existential rituals as part of everyday work routines, inquiring: 1) How do practitioners utilize symbolic productions in performance? 2) How do practitioners manage their own and clients' emotions? and; 3) How does status and power influence empathic work practices? 

Project managers

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