EMOTIONS

Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 7-1

 Why Were Emotions Excluded
from OB Study?

• Myth of rationality –
emotions were the
antithesis of rationality
and should not be seen
in the workplace
• Belief that emotions of
any kind are disruptive
in the workplace
Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 7-2
 Emotional Terminology
Affect
 A generic term that encompasses a broad range of
feelings that people experience
Emotion
 Intense feelings that are directed at someone or
something
 Short termed and action-oriented.
Mood
 Feelings that tend to be less intense and longer-lasting
than emotions and often lack a contextual stimulus
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 Affect, Emotions, and Moods

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 The Spectrum of
Basic Emotions

Happiness Surprise Fear

Sadness Anger Disgust

• Classifying Moods: Positive and Negative Affect

• Mood States: General groupings of affective emotions
• Positivity Offset: Generally, at zero input, people are in
a positive mood
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 The Functions of Emotions

• Emotions and Rationality

 Emotions are critical to rational
thought: they help in understanding
the world around us.
• Evolutionary Psychology
 Theory that emotions serve an
evolutionary purpose: helps in
survival of the gene pool
 The theory is not universally
accepted

Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 7-6

• Biology of Emotions
 Originate in brain’s limbic system

• Intensity of Emotions
 Personality
 Job requirements

• Frequency and Duration

 How often emotions are exhibited
 How long emotions are displayed

• Functions of Emotions
 Critical for rational thinking
 Motivate people

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 Sources of Emotions and Moods

Day of Week and Time of Day

 More positive interactions will likely occur mid-day and
later in the week

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 (2)
Weather
 No impact according to research
Stress
 Increased stress worsens moods
Social Activities
 Physical, informal, and epicurean activities increase
positive mood
Sleep
 Lack of sleep increases negative emotions and impairs
decision making
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 (3)

Exercise
 Mildly enhances positive mood
Age
 Older people experience negative emotions less
frequently
Gender
 Women show greater emotional expression,
experience emotions more intensely and display more
frequent expressions of emotions
 Could be due to socialization
Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 7-10
 Emotional Labor
An employee’s expression of
organizationally desired
emotions during interpersonal
transactions at work
• Emotional dissonance is
when an employee has to
project one emotion while
simultaneously feeling
another

Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 7-11

 Felt vs. Displayed Emotions
• Felt Emotions:
 the individual’s actual emotions

• Displayed Emotions:
 the learned emotions that the organization requires
workers to show and considers appropriate in a given
job
 Surface Acting is hiding one’s true emotions
 Deep Acting is trying to change one’s feelings based
on display rules

Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 7-12

 Emotional Intelligence
A person’s ability to:
 Be self-aware (to
recognize his or her
own emotions as
experienced),
 Detect emotions in
others, and
 Manage emotional
cues and information.
Moderately associated with
high job performance

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 Affective Displayed Theory

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 OB Applications of
Emotions and Moods
• Selection – Employers should consider EI
a factor in hiring for jobs that demand a
high degree of social interaction

• Decision Making – Positive emotions can

increase problem-solving skills and help us
understand and analyze new information
• Creativity – Positive moods and feedback
may increase creativity
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 • Motivation – Promoting positive moods
may give a more motivated workforce
• Leadership – Emotions help convey
messages more effectively
• Negotiation – Emotions may impair
negotiator performance
• Customer Service – Customers “catch”
emotions from employees, called emotional
contagion
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 • Job Attitudes – Emotions at work get
carried home but rarely carry over to the
next day

• Deviant Workplace Behaviors – Those

who feel negative emotions are more likely
to engage in deviant behavior at work
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 How Can Managers
Influence Moods?
• Use humor to lighten the
moment
• Give small tokens of
appreciation
• Stay in a good mood
themselves – lead by
example
• Hire positive people
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 Implications for Managers

• Understand the role of emotions and

moods to better explain and predict
behavior
• Emotions and moods do affect
workplace performance
• While managing emotions may be
possible, absolute control of worker
emotions is not
Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 7-19
 Keep in Mind…

• Positive emotions can increase problem-

solving skills
• People with high EI may be more
effective in their jobs
• Managers need to know the emotional
norms for each culture they do business
with

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 NEXT in LINE:

• Perception

• Decision-making

Copyright ©2010 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall 7-21