EMOTIONS & MOODS

THE MYTH OF RATIONALITY AT WORK

Keep a damper on emotions at work because they are “irrational”

Emotions of any kind are disruptive…not constructive
Create an “emotion-free” organization

AFFECT
A broad range of feelings that people experience.
Affect can be experienced in the form of emotions or moods.

EMOTIONS
Intense feelings directed toward someone or something

MOODS
Less intense feelings that lack a specific cause or stimulus
 EMOTIONS & MOODS DEFINED

EMOTIONS
Caused by a specific event
Very brief in duration (seconds or minutes)
Usually very specific…anger, fear, sadness, happiness, disgust, etc.
Usually accompanied by distinct facial expressions (visual cues)
Action-oriented (plan to do something)

MOODS
Cause is often general and unclear
Last longer than emotions (hours or days)
More general (either positive affect or negative affect)
Generally not indicated by distinct expressions
Cognitive in nature (thinking or brooding)
 BASIC EMOTIONS

UNIVERSAL EMOTIONS R. DESCARTES

“Six simple and primitive passions”

WONDER, LOVE, HATRED, DESIRE, JOY, SADNESS

THE EMOTIONAL CONTINUUM

HAPPINESS – SURPRISE – FEAR – SADNESS – ANGER – DISGUST

BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATION OF EMOTIONS

LIMBIC SYSTEM … when active, you see things in a negative light

Inactive limbic system = experience positive emotions (happiness, joy)
Active limbic system = negative emotions dominate (anger, guilt)

When you encounter negative information…how do you react to it?

 SOURCES OF EMOTIONS & MOODS

1. PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY PREDISPOSES US TO CERTAIN MOODS & EMOTIONS
SOME PEOPLE FEEL ANGER AND GUILT MORE READILY THAN OTHERS
OTHERS FEEL CALM AND RELAXED NO MATTER WHAT THE SITUATION

BOBBY KNIGHT v. BILL GATES

High “AFFECT INTENSITY”

CRIES EASILY
LAUGHS UNCONTROLLABLY
GETS MAD AND ANGRY

DO YOU LET YOUR FEELINGS “SHOW?” -- EXTRAVERTS

HIDE MY EMOTIONS -- INTROVERTS

 SOURCES OF EMOTIONS & MOODS - 2

2. TIME OF DAY AND WEEK

WEEKLY CYCLE
NEGATIVE MOODS
– HIGHEST ON SUNDAYS & MONDAYS (BEGINNING OF THE WEEK)

POSITIVE MOODS
-- HIGHEST AT THE END OF THE WEEK (THURSDAY – SATURDAY)

DAILY CYCLE
People are generally in lower spirits in the morning.
During the day, our moods improve and then decline in the evening.

There is really no significant difference between “morning” or “evening” persons…

the daily rise-and-fall pattern is the same for both groups.
 SOURCES OF EMOTIONS & MOODS - 3

3. THE WEATHER

DO WE HAVE MORE POSITIVE MOODS ON BRIGHT, SUNNY DAYS THAN RAINY ONES?
CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF - MOOD AND THE WEATHER ARE NOT RELATED

4. STRESS
Stressful daily events negatively affect employees’ moods.
The effects of stress are cumulative…even if the stress isn’t severe.
Constant, prolonged exposure to stress leads to depression and negative feelings .

5. SOCIAL INTERACTION
Social activities increase positive mood and have little effect on negative mood

PHYSICAL, INFORMAL, EPICUREAN – Activities strongly associated with positive mood.

FORMAL MEETINGS, SEDENTARY ACTIVITIES – not as likely to generate positive moods

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS HAVE LONG-TERM HEALTH BENEFITS – people live longer!

BE HAPPY --- AND BE HEALTHY!

 SOURCES OF EMOTIONS & MOODS - 4

6. SLEEP

SLEEP QUALITY AFFECTS MOOD (75% not getting enough sleep)

SLEEP-DEPRIVED WORKERS
– greater feelings of fatigue, anger, and hostility…impaired decision-making & alertness

7. EXERCISE

Exercise modestly enhances people’s positive mood…most pronounced for depressed people.

8. AGE

YOUNG PEOPLE DO NOT EXPERIENCE MORE POSITIVE MOODS THAN OLDER PEOPLE

NEGATIVE EMOTIONS SEEM TO OCCUR LESS AS PEOPLE GET OLDER

“Emotional Experience” tends to improve with age – as we age, we feel fewer negative emotions.
 SOURCES OF EMOTIONS & MOODS - 5

9. GENDER

CONTRASTED WITH MEN, WOMEN ARE…

MORE IN TOUCH WITH THEIR FEELINGS

SHOW GREATER EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION
EXPERIENCE EMOTIONS MORE INTENSELY
MORE LIKELY TO DISPLAY POSITIVE & NEGATIVE EMOTIONS (except anger)
ARE BETTER AT READING NONVERBAL CUES

CAUSES OF THIS?

THE DIFFERENT WAYS MEN AND WOMEN HAVE BEEN SOCIALIZED IN SOCIETY
MEN EXPECTED TO BE TOUGH, BRAVE, DON’T CRY, ETC.
WOMEN EXPECTED TO BE NURTURING, WARM, AND FRIENDLY (Smile?)
WOMEN JUST HAVE A BETTER ABILITY TO READ OTHERS & PRESENT THEIR
EMOTIONS THAN MEN
WOMEN MAY HAVE A GREATER NEED FOR SOCIAL APPROVAL & A HIGHER
PROPENSITY TO DISPLAY POSITIVE EMOTIONS, SUCH AS HAPPINESS.
 EXTERNAL CONTSTRAINTS ON EMOTIONS

1. ORGANIZATIONAL EXPECTATIONS

JOB REQUIREMENTS

DISNEY -- LEARN TO SMILE…AND ACT HAPPY!

DOCTORS & AIR-TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS – NEVER SHOW EMOTIONS & GET EXCITED
EVANGELISTS, SPORTS ANNOUNCERS, LAWYERS – SHOW EMOTIONS T/B EFFECTIVE

THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT – EVEN IF THEY’RE RUDE, IGNORANT, AND DEMANDING

LEARN TO PROJECT ONE EMOTION WHILE FEELING ANOTHER (…put on a “Happy Face”)
(Emotional Dissonance) Felt emotions v. Displayed emotions

SURFACE ACTING ... Deals with DISPLAYED emotions (…VERY STRESSFUL ON THE PERSON)
DEEP ACTING … Deals with FELT emotions

2. CULTURAL INFLUENCES

Americans value enthusiasm

Chinese consider negative emotions ro be useful and constructive
Norms for expressing emotions differ across cultural groups
Americans – smiling is a sign of friendliness – viewed positively
Muslins - smiling is a sign of sexual attraction…so women don’t smile at men
Japanese - smiling indicates a lack of intelligence (…an ignorant airhead!)
French – make no effort to hide their personal feelings about customers
 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

People who know their own emotions and are good at reading others’ feelings.
Managers high in EI seem to be better managers

FIVE DIMENSIONS

Self-awareness
Being aware of what you’re feeling
Self-management
The ability to manage your own emotions and impulses
Self-motivation
The ability to persist in the face of setbacks and failures
Empathy
The ability to sense how others are feeling
Social Skills
The ability to handle the emotions of others
 PROS & CONS OF
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
STRENGTHS
INTUITIVE APPEAL
- being street smart and socially intelligent makes sense
IT PREDICTS JOB PERFORMANCE
- correlations found are significant N=59
IT’S BIOLOGICALLY BASED
- it’s neurological and affects decision-making

CAUTIONS
IT’S TOO VAGUE/TOO BROAD
- no one is sure what this concept is…
- is it intelligence? …self-discipline? …empathy? …or self-awareness?
IT ISN’T MEASURED CONSISTENTLY
- we haven’t used good methodology
IS IT VALID?
- it’s so closely related to personality and intelligence
- when you control for these factors, there isn’t anything left that’s unique
 HOW MANAGERS MIGHT
USE EMOTIONS AND MOODS - 1
SELECTION
Air Force - hires with high EI scores …2.6 times more successful, lower turnover
L’Oreal – salespersons with high EI scores outsold traditionally-hired salespeople

DECISION-MAKING
Negative mood persons made more accurate decisions , but…
Depressed people make poorer decisions than happy people
Positive mood people are more likely to use heuristics or “rules of thumb” and
less likely to explore all possible options, etc.

CREATIVITY
Positive mood people are more creative than negative mood people
- more flexible and open in their thinking
But, positive moods may allow people to relax & not engage in critical thinking

MOTIVATION
Giving people feedback about performance affects mood, which impacts motivation
 HOW MANAGERS MIGHT
USE EMOTIONS AND MOODS - 2
LEADERSHIP
Effective leaders rely on emotional appeals to help convey their messages
When they become excited & enthusiastic, it energizes their subordinates
By arousing emotions and linking them to an appealing vision – getting the workers
to accept change is more likely

NEGOTIATION
Negotiators who feign anger have an advantage over their opponent, because the
opponent concludes that no more concessions are likely (short-term effect) .
However, poor performance as a negotiator will lead to negative feelings which will
impact future relationships (longer-term relationships)

CUSTOMER SERVICE
High quality service often puts workers into an “emotionally dissonant” position
which leads to stress, lower job satisfaction, and burnout.
When employees are cranky and out of sorts, it has a negative impact on customers.
But, positive worker attitudes can also be “caught” by customers (emotional
contagion) …leading to higher sales and greater loyalty to the company.
 HOW MANAGERS MIGHT
USE EMOTIONS AND MOODS - 3
CONFLICT
Successfully resolving conflicts between coworkers will involve emotions.
The manager must try to get the parties to work through the emotional elements in
the conflict…you can’t ignore emotions and only look at the rational and task
concerns.

JOB ATTITUDES
People who had a good day at work tend to be in a better mood when they go home.
People who had a stressful day have a hard time relaxing at home in the evening.

DEVIANT WORK BEHAVIOR

Negative emotions can lead to a number of deviant work behaviors which harm or
threaten the organization and its members.
Envy and resentment lead to hostile acts and behaviors.
 HOW CAN MANAGERS
INFLUENCE MOODS?

IMPROVE MOODS BY *

SHOWING A FUNNY VIDEO CLIP

GIVING WORKERS A SMALL BAG OF CANDY

HAVE THEM TASTE A PLEASANT BEVERAGE

USE HUMOR IN THE WORKPLACE

GIVE SMALL TOKENS OF APPRECIATION

SELECT POSITIVE TEAM MEMBERS (Contagion effect)

* These techniques seem to work best with the millenial generation