Laughter, fado, and dance: employability and emotional management in Randstad Portugal’s Facebook page

Abstract

The new forms of production require an increasing mobilization of the worker. From the way the worker presents himself, to his relationship with his colleagues and superiors, this effort requires a vast set of individual traits, among which the workers’ own emotional behaviour. The goal of this investigation is to understand what leads human resources management to wish to intervene in this area, by trying to identify the framework underpinning workers’ conduct. With this goal in mind, we will carry out a critical analysis of a set of press articles and videos posted on Randstad Portugal’s Facebook page inspired by the theoretical grid of Critical Management Studies. The article starts by examining a few concepts proposed in this Facebook page, like emotional intelligence, as well as a few socio-managerial practices presented as recipes for increasing productivity. It then focuses on the limits imposed on the sociability originated by these very practices, meant to avoid the excesses that divert them from their managerial prerogatives. Finally, through the description of a dance choreography, the article analyses how the expression of emotions is subject to a repertoire whose coordination lines reflect the organization of the company.