The Cost of Caring: Empathic Relationships and Emotional Labour in Early Childhood Leadership

This article further explores some of the outcomes of research (Hodgkins 2023) based in England, that examined the impact of empathic relationships on early childhood practitioners. Participants held various job titles, such as early years educator, learning support assistant, and nursery manager, and came from diverse early childhood settings in England. Of the nine participants, four had positions with management responsibility, either as the setting manager or deputy manager. Participants kept reflective diaries of their empathic interactions with children and families, which were followed up with semi-structured interviews. The research revealed significant emotional labour for practitioners and underscored the need for more emotionally supportive supervision in the profession. It also highlighted the unique stress on those with management responsibility, who support children, families, and staff. In this article, the researcher and an early years manager who participated in the original (Hodgkins, 2023) study, examine the role of empathy for managers and emphasise the need to acknowledge and support early childhood leaders.