So why Emotional Laborist? When naming this blog, I went through a few iterations that ranged from boring (Pheebkat’s Blog) to corny (Phun with Pheebkat) to obnoxious (Pheebkat’s Philosophy). I first heard the term “emotional laborist” about a month ago while listening to Seth Godin’s book The Icarus Deception (thank you to Maria Ogneva for the recommendation). Godin describes the type of work my peers and I do as emotional labor. Instead of wielding physical tools to create things, we create art by using our minds. I used to be slightly embarrassed when I was around my colleagues in the field. They did the “real” work and helped our customers directly day in and day out. I just worked on a computer at HQ. Godin helped me better understand that emotional labor is just as, if not more, important in this day and age. My customers are my colleagues and my network — my emotional labor creates value for my customers and I am proud of that!