"It’s all in the Plot" – Narrative explorations of work-related emotions.

This contribution examines how researchers may study work - related emotions in the field by listenin g carefully and emotionally engaging with stories and narratives. The chapter starts from a recognition that emotion (pathos) is a crucial element of story (mythos), something noted a long time ago by Aristotle. Emotions may seem to surface and subside irr egularly in the course of a story, a drama or a conversation, but they have an inner logic that ties them to various plotlines, such as tragic, comic or epic. In particular, we examine how researchers can re - create the emotions of their respondents as well as their own emotions in the field by recollecting and re - engaging with significant stories as well as metaphors that punctuate their research material.