Lesson 4: Emotions and Moods

Learning ObjectivesAfter studying this chapter, you should be able to:1. Differentiate between emotions and moods.

2. Discuss whether emotions are rational and what functions they serve.

3. Identify the sources of emotions and moods.

4. Show the impact emotional labor has on employees.

5. Describe affective events theory and its applications.

6. Emotional intelligence.

7. Identify strategies for emotion regulation and their likely effects.

8. Apply concepts about emotions and moods to specific OB issues.

Differentiate Between Emotions and Moods

• In the past, emotions were ignored in OB

• Myth of rationality• Managers worked to make emotion-free environments.

• Emotions were believed to be disruptive.• Emotions interfered with productivity.

• Now we know that emotions can not be separated from the workplace.

LO 1

Differentiate Between Emotions and MoodsLO 1

Differentiate Between Emotions and Moods

•Six essentially universal emotions1. Anger2. Fear3. Sadness4. Happiness5. Disgust6. Surprise

LO 1

Differentiate Between Emotions and Moods

•May be placed along a spectrum of emotion

Happiness Surprise Fear Sadness Anger Disgust

LO 1

Disgust

Discuss Whether Emotions Are Rational and What Functions They Serve

Decision Making

Thinking Feeling

LO 2

Discuss Whether Emotions Are Rational and What Functions They Serve

LO 2

• Do emotions make us ethical?

• Research on moral emotions questions the previous belief that emotional decision making is based on higher-level cognitive processes.

• Our beliefs are shaped by our groups, resulting in an unconscious feeling that our shared emotions are “right.”

• People who are behaving ethically are at least partially making decisions based on their emotions and feelings, and this emotional reaction will often be a good thing.

Identify the Sources of Emotions and Moods

• Personality • Moods and emotions have a trait component.• Affect intensity – how strongly people experience their

emotions.

• Time of Day • There is a common pattern for all of us.

• Happier in the midpoint of the daily awake period.

• Day of the Week• Happier toward the end of the week.

LO 3

Identify the Sources of Emotions and Moods

• Weather

• Illusory correlation – no effect.

• Stress• Even low levels of constant stress can worsen moods.

• Social Activities• Physical, informal, and dining activities increase positive

moods.

LO 3

Identify the Sources of Emotions and Moods

•Sleep • Poor sleep quality increases negative affect.

•Exercise•Does somewhat improve mood, especially for depressed

people.

LO 3

Identify the Sources of Emotions and Moods

•Age•Older people experience fewer negative emotions.

•Gender•Women tend to be more emotionally expressive, feel

emotions more intensely, have longer-lasting moods, and express emotions more frequently than do men.

LO 3

Show the Impact Emotional Labor Has on Employees

• Emotional labor – an employee’s expression of organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions at work.

• Emotional dissonance occurs when employees have to project one emotion while simultaneously feeling another.• Can be very damaging and lead to burnout.

LO 4

Show the Impact Emotional Labor Has on Employees

•Types of Emotions• Felt: the individual’s actual emotions.•Displayed: required or appropriate emotions.

• Surface acting: hiding one’s inner feelings and foregoing emotional expressions in response to display rules.

•Deep acting: trying to modify one’s true inner feelings based on display rules.

LO 4

Describe Affective Events Theory and Identify Its Applications

LO 5

Describe Affective Events Theory and Identify Its Applications

• An emotional episode is actually a series of emotional experiences triggered by a single event.

• Current and past emotions affect job satisfaction.

• Emotional fluctuations over time create variations in job performance.

• Emotion-driven behaviors are typically brief and variable.

• Both negative and positive emotions can distract workers and reduce job performance.

LO 5

Describe Affective Events Theory and Identify Its Applications

• AET offers two important messages:

1. Emotions provide valuable insights into how workplace hassles and uplifting events influence employee performance and satisfaction.

2. Emotions, and the events that cause them, should not be ignored at work because they accumulate.

LO 5

Emotional Intelligence

• Emotional Intelligence is a person’s ability to

1. Perceive emotions in the self and others.

2. Understand the meaning of these emotions.

3. Regulate one’s emotions accordingly in a cascading model.

LO 6

Identify Strategies for Emotion Regulation and Their Likely Effects

•Emotion regulation involves identifying and modifying the emotions you feel.•Effective emotion regulation techniques include:•Acknowledging rather than suppressing

emotional responses to situations.•Re-evaluating events after they occur.•Venting.

•Changing your emotions takes effort, and this effort can be exhausting.

LO 7

Identify Strategies for Emotion Regulation and Their Likely Effects

•Selection•EI should be a hiring factor, especially for social

jobs.

•Decision Making•Positive emotions can lead to better decisions.

•Creativity•Positive mood increases flexibility, openness, and

creativity.

LO 7

Identify Strategies for Emotion Regulation and Their Likely Effects

•Motivation•Positive mood affects expectations of success.•Feedback amplifies this effect.

• Leadership•Emotions are important to acceptance of

messages from organizational leaders.

•Negotiation •Emotions can affect negotiations.

LO 7

Identify Strategies for Emotion Regulation and Their Likely Effects

• Customer Service• Emotions influence customer service.

• This influences repeat business and customer satisfaction.

• Emotional contagion = “catching” emotions

• Job Attitudes

• A good day at work tends to be followed by a good mood at home and vice versa.

• This usually dissipates overnight.

LO 7

Identify Strategies for Emotion Regulation and Their Likely Effects

•Deviant Workplace Behaviors•Negative emotions lead to workplace deviant

behaviors.•Actions that violate norms and threaten the

organization.•Safety and Injury at Work•Don’t do dangerous work when in a bad mood.

LO 7

Apply Concepts about Emotions and Moods to Specific OB Issues

•How Managers Can Influence Moods•Use humor and praise to increase employees’ positive moods.• Being in a good mood oneself can result in morepositivity and better cooperation.• Selecting positive team members can have a contagion effect.

LO 8

Implications for Managers• To foster effective decision making, creativity, and motivation in

employees, look to model positive emotions and moods as much as is authentically possible.

• Provide positive feedback to increase the positivity of employees.

• In the service sector, encourage positive displays of emotion, which make customers feel more positive and thus improve customer service interactions and negotiations.

• Regulate your intense emotional responses to an event by recognizing the legitimacy of the emotion and being careful to vent only to a supportive listener who is not involved in the event.

• Be careful not to ignore co-workers’ and employees’ emotions; do not assess others’ behavior as if it were completely rational.