Three Dimensions of Labor: Cognitive Labor Differentiated from Emotional and Physical Labor

This study attempted to break limitations of traditional dimensions of labor, as pronounced in the physical and emotional labor, and propose a third dimension of cognitive labor. Evaluators estimated the tendency of the three types of labor in references of episodes, which illustrate various occupations such as professorship for cognitive labor, service-work for emotional labor, and construction-work for physical labor. The three labors were identified by extraction in factor analysis. On the three coordinates of labor, distances were measured between pairs of episodes. Supported with data, a dimension of cognitive labor was differentiated, constituting the three dimensions of labor as cognitive, emotional, and physical. With the independence of the three dimensions of labor, the demand and supply for each dimension are expected to be positively managed in balance for labor markets. The adoption of cognitive labor dedicates to the change of maps in labor conflicts, where traditionally problems were depicted mostly by physical and emotional labor.