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Emotions

Role of EMOTIONS in workplace behaviour


"Given the obvious role that emotions play in
our work & everyday life, it might surprise
you that, until recently, the topic of emotions
had been given little or no attention within
the field of OB. But organizations are
never emotion-free & emotions are an
inseparable part of everyday life.
Employees bring their emotions to work
everyday & no study of OB could be
complete without considering role of
emotions in workplace behavior.

There are 2 types of emotions that an individual


experiences:
Positive emotions are the constructive emotions
that are able to enhance performance. Eg: happiness/joy,
surprise, enthusiasm, love, hope, pride,etc.
Negative emotions are those that interfere with an
employee's ability to do his or her job effectively
& can reduce employee performance. Eg: anger,
fear, sadness, disgust, anxiety, guilt, nervousness,
envy(jealousy), frustration, hate, grief, disappointment,
embarassment, shock, etc.
Displaying ve emotions like sadness,to the point of
crying is so toxic to a career that we should leave the
room rather than allow others to witness our emotional
display.

6 FUNDAMENTAL BASIC SET OF EMOTIONS


Research has identified six universal emotions common to
all of us:
Anger,
Fear,
Sadness,
Happiness/Joy,
Disgust,(extreme dislike)
&
Surprise
Eg: Emotions shown in our workplace
I get angry after receiving a poor performance appraisal.
I fear that I could be laid off as a result of a company cutback.
I'm sad about one of my co-workers leaving to take a new job in
another city.
I'm happy after being selected as employee-of-the-month.
I'm disgusted with the way my supervisor treats the women on
our team.
I'm surprised to find out that management plans a
complete restructuring of the company's retirement program"

Three related terms: affect,


emotions, and moods
Three terms that are closely intertwined. These
are affect, emotions, and moods.
Affect: A generic term that covers a broad range of
feelings that people experience. Affect covers
both emotions & moods.
Emotions: Intense feelings/reactions directed at
someone or something. Eg: if someone is rude to u,
the intense feeling of anger comes & goes fairly
quickly, in a matter of seconds i.e. u show
emotion (anger) toward a specific
object(colleague).
Moods: Feelings that tend to be less intense than
emotions and that cant be attributed to a specific
event. Eg: when ure in a bad mood, u can feel

Diff b/w emotions &


moods
1. Emotions are specific
reactions to a person(seeing a
2.
3.

4.

5.

friend at work may make you feel glad) or a particular


event(dealing with a rude client may make u feel angry).
Moods, in contrast arent usually directed at a person or any
single event.
Emotions are caused by specific event. But the cause
for moods is often general & unclear.
Emotions are very brief in duration(seconds or
minutes).Moods, on the other hand last longer than
emotions(hours or days).
Emotions are usually accompanied by distinct facial
expressions like blushing, restlessness,etc. Moods, on
the other hand are generally not indicated by distinct
expressions.
Emotions are action-oriented in nature i.e. they may lead
us to some immediate action. Moods, on the other hand are
cognitive in nature i.e. they may cause us to think for a
while.

Relationship b/w emotions & moods


Emotions & moods can mutually influence each other
& are closely connected.
An emotion, if its strong & deep enough, can
turn into a mood.
Eg: Getting your dream job may generate the emotion
of joy, but it can also put you in a good mood for
several days.
Thus, positive or negative emotions are more
likely to translate into positive or negative
moods.
Eg: Similarly, if ure in a bad mood, you might blow up
even in response to a mild comment by a colleague.

GENDER AND EMOTIONS

"Women show greater emotional expression than


men and experience emotions more intensely.
This is bcauz of the different ways men and
women have been socialized. Men are taught to
be tough and brave; and showing emotion is
inconsistent with this image. Women, on the
other hand, are socialized to be nurturing.
But women should avoid being emotional at work
bcauz it will undermine how others rate them.

What functions/role do emotions serve?

Emotions control our thinking, behavior &


actions as they provide important information
about how we understand the World around us.
Thus, emotions help our thinking/ reasoning
process & makes us rational.
Eg: if a manager takes a decision about firing an
employee without regarding the employees
emotions, it would not be fair.
So, good decision-making is to employ both
THINKING & FEELING in our decisions.

People who ignore, dismiss or repress their


emotions, are setting themselves up for
serious illness.
Emotions help us cope with various events in
life. They motivate people to engage in actions that
are important for survival. Eg: Excitement might
motivate us to take on adventurous situations in
which we require energy & initiative.
Every emotion has a useful purpose. Eg: even
ANGER, which is a ve emotion, can actually
help us protect our rights when we feel they
are being violated & serve as a warning for
others not to repeat the same behaviour.
Eg:+ve emotions like empathy helps to provide
better customer service by a service employee.

Organizations also try to keep their


employees HAPPY by keeping sports
facilities/gym on their premises so that
employees can take a break during their
busy workday.
Such activities result in happier, healthier
& more productive employees.

Emotional Intelligence(EI or EQ)


People who are aware of their own emotions and are good at
reading others' emotions may be more effective in their jobs.
Definitions of EI:
Emotional Intelligence(EI) is ones ability to detect & to
manage emotional cues & information. It is a relatively new
area of psychological research.
EI is the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings
and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this
information to guide one's thinking and actions.
Eg: a manager is low on EI/EQ if he is not aware of his
own & others emotions, is moody/experience
frequent mood swings, is unable to generate much
enthusiasm or interest in his employees, overreacts
to problems & so on.
Eg: a manager making a decision to fire an employee without
regarding the employees emotions is a manager low in

Five dimensions of EI:

Self-awareness:

The ability to be aware of/recognizing what


you're feeling. People with greater certainity about their feelings are
better pilots of their lives & understand oneself. Eg: knowing why they
are angry. They take better decisions in their personal(Eg:decisions
like whom to marry) & professional lives(Eg: decisions like what
occupation to choose).

Self-regulation:

The ability to manage/control one's own


emotions and impulses i.e. the ability to say no to impulsive urges.
Eg: customer service representatives in a call centre.

Self-motivation:

The ability to persist in the face of setbacks


and failures & having achievement drive,commitment.

Empathy:

The ability to sense how others are feeling, what others


need or want. This skill is greatly required in caring professions like
teaching, sales representatives & management.

Social skills:

The ability to handle the emotions of others &


handling relationships like interacting smoothly with others. This
personal quality ensures high performance in both personal &
professional life.

OB APPLICATIONS OF EMOTIONS
a) Ability and Selection: Cos should consider EI as a
factor in hiring employees, especially in jobs that demand a
high degree of social interaction. Eg: In retail stores,
salespersons are selected based on their EI scores. Eg: Indian
Army hires officers with high emotional maturity as they work in
life threatening situations.
b)

Decision Making:

It's naive to assume that decision

choices aren't influenced by one's feelings at a particular


moment. Negative emotions can result in a limited search for
new alternatives and a less vigilant use of information. On the
other hand, positive emotions can increase problem solving by
considering 'the heart' as well as 'the head'.

c) Motivation:

People aren't cold, unfeeling machines.


Their perceptions and calculations of situations are filled with
emotional content that significantly influences how much effort
they exert. Moreover, when you see people who are highly
motivated in their jobs, they're emotionally committed.

d) Leadership:

Effective leaders rely on the expression of


feelings to help convey their messages. In fact, the expression of
emotions in speeches is often the critical element that results in
individuals accepting or rejecting a leader's message By arousing
emotions and linking them to an appealing vision, leaders like MODI
& KEJRIWAL increase the likelihood that people will accept change.

e)

Interpersonal Conflict:

Few issues are more


intertwined with emotions than the topic of interpersonal
conflict. Whenever conflicts arise, you can be fairly certain that
emotions are also surfacing. A manager's success in trying to
resolve conflicts, in fact, is often largely due to his or her ability
to identify the emotional elements in the conflict and to get the
conflicting parties to work through their emotions. And the
manager who ignores the emotional elements in conflicts,
focusing singularly on rational and task concerns, is unlikely to
be very effective in resolving those conflicts"

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