Affective labour, blurred work–leisure boundaries, and intensity of exploitation in the hospitality sector

This article contributes to ongoing debates about the nature and boundaries of work in the post-Fordist economy. It examines the dynamic interplay between affective labour practices, workers’ subjectivity and exploitation. Drawing on 36 in-depth semi-structured interviews with front-of-house hospitality workers in Spain, it proposes a framework that distinguishes between different levels of affective labour, based on workers’ self-investment, and their perception of the boundaries between work and leisure. It argues that workers’ self-investment in customer service is closely linked to how these boundaries are experienced, shaped and negotiated through affective labour practices. Such practices include having intimate conversations and sharing consumption experiences with customers outside of working hours and beyond the workplace. These practices are commonplace within Spain’s informal and non-standardised hospitality sector, blurring the boundaries between work and leisure while extending the scope of workers’ roles and productive time. While these practices contribute to the production of affective atmospheres and generate surplus value, they are not recognised or rewarded as labour as they are perceived as leisure activities. This results in subtle and often overlooked forms of exploitation. Our framework sheds light on how the boundaries of service are socially defined within the employee–employer–customer triad and how this relates to the intensity of exploitation in a service sector where the boundaries between work and non-work are unclear. Without clear boundaries, workers must negotiate how much of their personal qualities, abilities and spare time they are willing to invest.