Chapter FOUR

Emotions
and
Moods

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

Emotions—Why Emotions Were Ignored
in OB
 Emotions are critical factor in employee behavior.
 The “myth of rationality”
 Emotions of any kind are disruptive to
organizations.
– Original OB focus was solely on the effects of strong
negative emotions that interfered with individual and
organizational efficiency.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 What Are Emotions?

Affect
A broad range of emotions that people experience

Emotions Moods
Intense feelings that are Feelings that tend to
directed at someone or be less intense than
something emotions and that lack
a contextual stimulus

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
 Aspects of Emotions
 Biology of Emotions
– Originate in brain’s limbic system
 Intensity of Emotions
– Personality
– Job requirements
 Frequency and Duration of Emotions
– How often emotions are exhibited
– How long emotions are displayed
 Functions of Emotions
– Critical for rational thinking
– Motivate people

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Mood as Positive and Negative Affect

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Sources of Emotions and Moods
 Personality
 Day and Time of the Week
 NOT Weather
 Stress
 Social Activities
 Sleep
 Exercise
 Age
 Gender

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Positive Moods are
Highest
• At the End of the
Week
• In the Middle
Part of the Day

Negative Moods are

Highest
• At the Beginning
of the Week
And show little
variation throughout
the day

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Gender and Emotions
 Women
– Can show greater emotional expression
– Experience emotions more intensely
– Display emotions more frequently
– Are more comfortable in expressing emotions
– Are better at reading others’ emotions
 Men
– Believe that displaying emotions is inconsistent with
the male image
– Are innately less able to read and to identify with
others’ emotions
– Have less need to seek social approval by showing
positive emotions

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 External Constraints on Emotions

Organizational Cultural
Influences Influences

Individual
Emotions

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Emotional Labor
A situation in which an employee expresses
organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal
transactions.

Emotional dissonance—Inconsistencies between the

emotions we feel and the emotions we project.
© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
 Felt vs. Displayed Emotions

Felt Emotions
An individual’s actual emotions

Displayed Emotions
Emotions that are organizationally
required and considered appropriate in
a given job

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Note: Higher
emotional labor
equals more
highly paid jobs
(with high
cognitive
requirements)

•Internals (Internal locus of control)

Individuals who believe that they
control what happens to them.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Affective Events Theory (AET)
 Work events trigger positive and negative emotional
reactions
– Personality and mood determine the intensity of the
emotional response.
– Emotions can influence a broad range of work performance
and job satisfaction variables.
 Implications of the theory ACT
– Individual response reflects emotions and mood cycles.
– Current and past emotions affect job satisfaction.
– Emotional fluctuations create variations in job satisfaction
and performance.
– Both negative and positive emotions can distract workers
and reduce job performance.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Affective Events Theory (AET)

Source: Based on N.M. Ashkanasy and C.S. Daus, “Emotion in the Workplace: The New E X H I B I T 8–6
Challenge for Managers,” Academy of Management Executive, February 2002, p. 77.
© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
 Emotional Intelligence

 Self-awareness = Know how you feel

 Self-management = Manage your emotions and
impulses
 Self-motivation = Can motivate yourself and persist
 Empathy = Sense and understand what others feel
 Social Skills = Can handle the emotions of others

Research Findings: Characterize high

performers, high EI scores, not high IQ
scores.
© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
OB Applications of Emotions and Moods
 Emotions and Selection
– Emotions affect employee effectiveness.
 Decision Making
– Emotions are an important part of the decision-making
process in organizations.
 Creativity
– Positive mood increases creativity.
 Motivation
– Emotional commitment to work and high motivation are
strongly linked.
 Leadership
– Emotions are important to acceptance of messages
from organizational leaders.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

OB Applications . . . (cont’d)
 Interpersonal Conflict
– Conflict in the workplace and individual emotions are
strongly intertwined.
 Negotiation
– Emotions can impair negotiations.
 Customer Services
– Emotions affect service quality delivered to customers
which, in turn, affects customer relationships.
 Job Attitudes
– Can carry over to home
 Deviant Workplace Behaviors
– Negative emotions lead to employee deviance
(actions that violate norms and threaten the
organization).
© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter Check-up: Emotions and Moods

Lucy has a high need for achievement and likes

to come to work and focus on her job only. If
you were Lucy’s manager, how could you get
her to feel more emotion at work? Would you
want her to? Why or why not? Discuss with a
classmate.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

Chapter Check-up: Emotions and Moods

Discuss with your neighbor how low positive

affect is the same or different as high

negative affect.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

Chapter Check-up: Emotions and Moods

Roberto comes to class and sits quietly

looking content and relaxed. The teacher is
guessing that Roberto is:

Low on negative affect

High on positive affect
High on negative affect
Low on positive affect
Discuss with a neighbor why Roberto, who is
seemingly happy but calm, isn’t just low on
positive affect.
© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
Chapter Check-up: Emotions and Moods

Do you think there could be emotional and mood

implications for telecommuting? If yes, how so?

Discuss with a classmate.

Hint: Consider
this woman!

Why might she

NOT always feel
this way?
© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.