Caring labor

Caring has two different aspects: the motivation of caring for other people and the activity of caring for them. Furthermore, good-quality care depend s on the developing relationship between a carer and the person cared for. In paid employment, however, relationships are usually assumed to be reduce d to an exchange transaction and motivation to be simply monetary, provokin g concern about whether paying for care diminishes its quality and authenti city. Similar issues have arisen in the context of emotional labor more gen erally. Much emotional labor, however, is of a transitory nature in which n o long-term relationship is set up between worker and customer. This articl e argues that because of the relationship that tends to develop, paid carin g may not be so different from unpaid caring. Rather, caring occupations sh ould be seen as part of a whole class of occupations that are not fully com modified, in which workers have motivations that are not purely monetary an d also care about the results of their work.