Emotions and Moods

(T1 – Chapter 4)

BITS Pilani
Pilani | Dubai | Goa | Hyderabad
MBAHL ZG511, Managing People and Organizations -
Lecture No. 5
 Learning Objectives

• Differentiate between emotions and moods

• Identify the sources of emotions and moods
• Impact of Emotional Labor
• Affective Events Theory (AET)
• Emotional intelligence
• OB Applications of Emotions and Moods

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What are Emotions and Moods?

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 The Six Universal Emotions

• Anger
• Fear
• Sadness
• Disgust
• Joy
• Happiness

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Basic Moods: Positive and Negative Affect

• Emotions cannot be neutral. Being

neutral means non emotional.

• Emotions when categorized (i.e. +ve

or -ve) reflect "mood
states".

• Mood states affect perception

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The Function of Emotions
Do Emotions Make Us Irrational?

• Expressing emotions publicly may be damaging to social status

• Emotions are critical to rational decision-making
• Emotions help us understand the world around us

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Sources of Emotions and Moods

• Personality

• Time of Day

• Day of the Week

• Weather

• Stress

• Social Activities

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Sources of Emotions and Moods (contd.)

•Sleep

•Exercise

•Age

•Gender

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 Video on Emotions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XsWQKqcahM

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Emotional Labor

An employee's expression of organizationally desired emotions during

interpersonal transactions at work.

•Emotional Dissonance
Inconsistencies between the emotions people feel and the emotions they project

•Types of Emotions:
Felt: the individual's actual emotions
Displayed: Emotions that are organizationally required or considered appropriate
in a given job

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Emotional Labor

Displaying Fake Emotions: We "act" to keep our job

Surface Acting
Hiding one's inner feelings and giving up emotional
expressions in response to display rules.

Deep Acting
Trying to modify one's true inner feelings based on display
rules.

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 Affective Events Theory

• A model suggesting that workplace events cause emotional reactions on the

part of employees, which then influence workplace attitudes and behaviors.

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 Emotional Intelligence (EI)

A person's ability to: EI is controversial and not

- be self-aware, i.e. wholly accepted
recognizing own
- Case for EI:
emotions when
experienced • Intuitive appeal;
predicts criteria
that matter; is
- detect emotions in biologically-based.
others, and - Case against EI:

- manage emotional cues • Too vague a

concept; can't be
and information measured; its validity
is suspect
• EI plays an important role
in job performance.

Watch: https://www.hbrascend.in/video/the-explainer-emotional-intelligence/
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 Example

• HDFC life has a specially designed program to

develop EI of their senior managers.

• The development programs are designed to

run for over a year and include assessment,
classroom learning, action projects,
experiential learning, and coaching.

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 HBR articles on EQ

• Can you really improve your emotional intelligence?

https://www.hbrascend.in/video/the-explainer-emotional-intelligence/

• Emotional intelligence has 12 components. Which do you need to work on?

https://hbr.org/2017/02/emotional-intelligence-has-12-elements-which-do-you-n
eed-to-work-on

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 OB Applications of Emotions and Moods

• The Selection Process

• Decision Making
• Creativity
• Motivation
• Leadership
• Negotiation
• Customer Service
• Work-Life Satisfaction
• Deviant Workplace Behaviors
• Safety and Injury at Work

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 Case: Is It Okay to Cry at Work?

• As this chapter has shown, emotions are an inevitable part of people’s

behavior at work. At the same time, it’s not entirely clear that we’ve reached a
point where people feel comfortable expressing all emotions at work. The
reason might be that business culture and etiquette remain poorly suited to
handling overt emotional displays. The question is, can organizations
become more intelligent about emotional management? Is it ever appropriate
to yell, laugh, or cry at work?

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 Case: Is It Okay to Cry at Work?
• Some people are skeptical about the virtues of more emotional displays at the
workplace. As the chapter notes, emotions are automatic physiological
responses to the environment, and as such, they can be difficult to control
appropriately. One 22-year-old customer service representative named Laura,
who was the subject of a case study, noted that fear and anger were routinely
used as methods to control employees, and employees deeply resented this use
of emotions to manipulate them. In another case, the chairman of a major
television network made a practice of screaming at employees whenever
anything went wrong, leading to badly hurt feelings and a lack of loyalty to the
organization. Like Laura, workers at this organization were hesitant to show their
true reactions to these emotional outbursts for fear of being branded as “weak”
or “ineffectual.” It might seem like these individuals worked in heavily emotional
workplaces, but in fact, only a narrow range of emotions was deemed
acceptable. Anger appears to be more acceptable than sadness in many
organizations, and anger can have serious maladaptive consequences.
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 Case: Is It Okay to Cry at Work?
• Others believe organizations that recognize and work with emotions
effectively are more creative, satisfying, and productive. For example, Laura
noted that if she could express her hurt feelings without fear, she would be
much more satisfied with her work. In other words, the problem with Laura’s
organization is not that emotions are displayed, but that emotional displays
are handled poorly. Others note that use of emotional knowledge, like being
able to read and understand the reactions of others, is crucial for workers
ranging from salespeople and customer service agents all the way to
managers and executives. One survey even found that 88% of workers feel
being sensitive to the emotions of others is an asset. Management consultant
Erika Anderson notes, “Crying at work is transformative and can open the
door to change.” The question then is, “Can organizations take specific steps
to become better at allowing emotional displays without opening a Pandora’s
box of outbursts?”
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 Question

• What factors do you think make some organizations ineffective at managing

emotions?

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 Solution

• Emotions and moods are a natural part of an individual’s makeup. Where

managers err is in ignoring co-workers’ and employees’ emotions and
assessing others’ behavior as if it were completely rational. Managers who
understand the role of emotions and moods will significantly improve their
ability to explain and predict their co-workers’ and employees’ behavior.

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 Question

• Research shows that acts of co-workers (37 percent) and management (22
percent) cause more negative emotions for employees than do acts of
customers (7 percent). What can Laura’s company do to change its
emotional climate?

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 Solution

• Laura’s company can set up a training program for managers and others
about the proper way to handle employees’ emotional concerns as they are
displayed. Since Laura’s company recognizes displayed emotions, the initial
difficulty in training personnel is overcome. From there, the company can
focus on improving communication, training employees for development of
Emotional Intelligence, and providing opportunities for open discussion of
emotions with prepared and concerned managers.

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Question Session
End of Lecture