EMOTIONS & MOODS

THE MYTH OF RATIONALITY AT WORK Keep a damper on emotions at work because they are irrational Emotions of any kind are disruptivenot 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 specificanger, 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 informationhow 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 personsthe 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 cumulativeeven if the stress isnt 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 hostilityimpaired decision-making & alertness

7. EXERCISE
Exercise modestly enhances peoples positive moodmost 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, DONT 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 SMILEAND 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 THEYRE 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 attractionso women dont 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 youre 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 ITS BIOLOGICALLY BASED - its neurological and affects decision-making

CAUTIONS
ITS TOO VAGUE/TOO BROAD - no one is sure what this concept is - is it intelligence? self-discipline? empathy? or self-awareness? IT ISNT MEASURED CONSISTENTLY - we havent used good methodology IS IT VALID? - its so closely related to personality and intelligence - when you control for these factors, there isnt anything left thats unique

HOW MANAGERS MIGHT USE EMOTIONS AND MOODS - 1

SELECTION Air Force - hires with high EI scores 2.6 times more successful, lower turnover LOreal 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 conflictyou cant 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