Search

Managing Emotions for Others: Challenges and Coping Strategies Among Online Game Companions

Author(s)

Fei Xia

Affiliation(s)

Institute of Psychology, Segi University, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

Abstract

With the development of the digital economy and the platform economy, online gaming companions have gradually emerged as a new service profession; this work relies not only on gaming skills but also requires consistent emotional management. However, existing research has largely focused on average players, e-sports athletes, and gaming addiction, with relatively little attention paid to the emotional labor of gaming companions. This study uses the semi-structured interview method to ask 10 online gaming companion. Then, using the thematic analysis, we investigated the emotional challenge, the corresponding strategy and the influence on the mind of their work. In this study, we found that online game companion mainly felt pressure from communication with client, job requirements and mood management. They deal with pressure by immediately adjusting their mood and cognitive reappraisal. Even if you continue emotional labor for a long time, you will often lose interest in the game or feel a little emotional fatigue compared with the serious mental health problem. This study contributes to the emotional labor research in the online gaming companion industry, and can provide psychological support and work management reference for people working on the platform.

Keywords

Online Game Companion; Emotional Labor; Emotion Regulation; Occupational Stress; Platform Work

References

[1] Qin, Z. (2022). “Paid Companionship”: a study on the phenomenon of gaming accompaniment under the perspective of emotional consumption. Sports & Social Psychology, 2(3), 11. https://doi.org/10.37420/j.ssp.2022.031 [2] Ehrlich, R. (1984). [Review of The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling, by A. Hochschild]. Theory and Society, 13(5), 731–736. http://www.jstor.org/stable/657250 [3] Wharton, A. S. (2009). The sociology of emotional labor. Annual Review of Sociology, 35, 147–165. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-115944 [4] Gosserand, R. H. (2003). An examination of individual and organizational factors related to emotional labor(Doctoral dissertation, Louisiana State University). Louisiana State University Digital Commons. https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2079 [5] Zhang, X. (2019). A review of emotional labor. 2019 2nd International Conference on Financial Management, Education and Social Science. http://166.62.7.99/conferences/LNEMSS/FMESS%202019/19FMESS035.pdf [6] de Castro, A. B., Agnew, J., & Fitzgerald, S. T. (2004). Emotional labor: relevant theory for occupational health practice in post-industrial America. AAOHN Journal, 52(3), 109–115. https://doi.org/10.1177/216507990405200307 [7] Balan, J., & Kumar, D. R. (2017). Stress in Nursing Profession And The Emotional Labour Strategies. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.801176 [8] Vashdi, D. R., Katz – Navon, T., & Delegach, M. (2021). Service Priority Climate and Service Performance Among Hospitality Employees: The Role of Emotional Labor and Workload Pressure. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/19389655211029912 [9] Lee, Y.-H., & Lin, H. (2010). ‘Gaming is my work’: Identity Work among Internet-Hobbyist Game Workers. Work, Employment & Society. http://ntur.lib.ntu.edu.tw/handle/246246/208814 [10] Poulus, D. R., Nicholson, M., Obine, E., Drew, M., Fisher, K., Vella, S., Seidler, Z. E., & Sharpe, B. (2026). Mental health and well‐being in esports: A scoping review. Applied Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.70055 [11] Ferro, L., Cariello, M., Colombesi, A., Adduci, C., Centonze, E., Baccini, G., & Cristofanelli, S. (2023). The Well-Being of Social-Health Professionals: Relationship Between Coping Strategies, Emotion Regulation, Metacognition and Quality of Professional Life. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3446637/v1 [12] Uhrecký, B., Gurňáková, J., & Marcinechová, D. (2021). “We Ought to Be Professionals”: Strategies of Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Emotion Regulation of Emergency Medical Services Professionals in Confrontation with the Death of a Newborn in Simulated Task. Qualitative Health Research, 31(13), 2364–2377. https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323211037644 [13] Uhrecký, B., Kučerová, V., & Paksi, D. (2025). “You treat your stress by doing what you’re supposed to do”: a qualitative inquiry into emotion regulation of paramedics and paramedic students in critical incidents. BMC Emergency Medicine, 25(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12873-025-01228-6 [14] Ikhide, J. E., & Ogunmokun, O. A. (2023). Emotional regulation strategies, eustress, and personal initiative-taking: evidence from frontline journalists. International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion, 14(1), 24. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijwoe.2023.130235