Abstract

Purpose: The present study examines physicians’ emotional labor from a distribution science perspective, conceptualizing emotional labor as an operational cost embedded in the delivery of healthcare services. Rather than treating emotional labor solely as an individual psychological burden, the study frames it because of how healthcare services are distributed across patients, time, and organizational structures. Research design, data and methodology: Using a systematic literature review approach, this study synthesizes prior research on emotional labor, healthcare service delivery, resilience, and coworker support. The review reorganizes fragmented findings into a logistics-based framework in which emotional demands emerge along service pathways and are moderated by individual and organizational buffering mechanisms. Results: The reviewed literature indicates that uneven service distribution intensifies physicians’ emotional labor, while resilience and coworker support function as stabilizing moderators that absorb and redistribute emotional strain. These mechanisms reduce service-related emotional bottlenecks and contribute to more sustainable healthcare delivery. Conclusions: By integrating emotional labor research with distribution and logistics concepts, this study contributes to the Journal of Distribution Science by reframing emotional labor as a systemic service-distribution issue rather than an isolated individual problem. The findings highlight the importance of designing healthcare delivery systems that distribute emotional demands more sustainably.