Emotions and Stress

on the Job

Chapter 4

Learning Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Distinguish between emotions and moods.

Describe the effects of emotions and moods on
behavior in organizations.
Describe ways that people manage their
emotions in organizations.
Identify the major causes and consequences of
stress.
Identify various organizational resources for
managing stress.
Identify various ways that we can manage our
own stress as individuals.
Copyright 2003, Prentice Hall

Emotions and Moods

Emotions:
Emotions Overt reactions that express
feelings about events.

Emotions always have an object.

There are six major categories of emotions.
Expression of major emotions is universal.
Culture determines how and when people
express emotions.
Display Rules:
Rules Cultural norms about the appropriate
ways to express emotions.

Mood:
Mood An unfocused, relatively mild
feeling that exists as background to our
daily experiences.
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Categories of Emotion

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Emotions, Moods, and Job

Performance

People in highly emotional states have lower job performance.

Especially true in the case of negative emotions.

People showing high positive affectivity make better decisions

than those showing high negative affectivity.

Being in a positive mood helps people recall positive things and

being in a negative mood helps people recall negative things.

People report greater satisfaction with their jobs while they are in
a good mood.

Being in a good mood leads people to judge the work of others

more positively.

People who are in a good mood also tend to be more generous

and are inclined to help their fellow workers.

People who are in a good mood are inclined to work more

carefully with others to resolve conflicts.

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Managing Emotions in
Organizations
Emotional Dissonance:
Dissonance Inconsistencies
between the emotions we feel and the
emotions we express.
Emotional Labor: The psychological effort
involved in holding back ones true
emotions.
Organizational Compassion:
Compassion Steps taken
by organizational officials to alleviate the
suffering of its employees or others.
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Organizational
Compassion

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Stress

Stressor:
Stressor Any demand, either physical or
psychological in nature, encountered during the course
of living.
Stress:
Stress The pattern of emotional states and
physiological reactions occurring in response to
demands from within or outside an organization.
Cognitive Appraisal:
Appraisal A judgment about the
stressfulness of a situation, based on the extent to
which someone perceives a stressor as threatening
and capable of coping with its demands.
Strain:
Strain Deviations from normal states of human
functioning resulting from prolonged exposure to
stressful events.

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Stress

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Causes of Stress
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Occupational demands
Conflict between work
and nonwork
Stress from uncertainty
Overload and
underload
Responsibility for
others
Lack of social support
Sexual harassment

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Occupational Demands

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Making decisions
Constantly monitoring
devices or materials
Repeatedly exchanging
information with others
Working in unpleasant
physical conditions
Performing
unstructured rather
than structured tasks
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Work vs. Nonwork

Role Conflict:
Conflict

Incompatibilities
between the various
sets of obligations
people face.
Rule Juggling:
Juggling The
need to switch back
and forth between the
demands of work and
family.
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Stress from Uncertainty

Role Ambiguity
Uncertainty
about what one
is expected to
do on a job.
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Overload and Underload

Quantitative Overload
Qualitative Overload
Information Anxiety
Quantitative Underload
Qualitative Underload

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Overload
Quantitative Overload:
Overload
The belief that one is
required to do more
work than possibly can
be completed in a
specific period.
Qualitative Overload:
Overload
The belief that one lacks
the required skills or
abilities to perform a
given job.
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Information Anxiety
Pressure to store and process a great deal of
information in our heads and to keep up constantly
with gathering it.

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Underload
Quantitative Underload:
Underload
The boredom that results
when employees have so
little to do that they find
themselves sitting around
doing nothing much of the
time.
Qualitative Underload:
Underload
The lack of mental
stimulation that
accompanies many
routine, repetitive jobs.
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Responsibility for Others

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Social Support
The friendship and support of others, which
help minimize reactions to stress.
Sources:
Cultural norms
Social institutions
Friends and family

Benefits:

Boosting self esteem

Sharing information
Providing diversion
Giving needed resources

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Sexual Harassment
Unwanted
contact or
communication
of a sexual
nature, usually
against women

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Statistics about Stress

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Stress Effects

Task Performance:
Performance
Some individuals perform at higher
levels in times of high stress.
For most people, however, higher levels
of stress lead to lower levels of job
performance.

Desk Rage:
Rage Lashing out at others in
response to stressful encounters on
the job.
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Burnout
A syndrome of
emotional, physical,
and mental
exhaustion coupled
with feelings of low
self-esteem or low
self-efficacy, resulting
from prolonged
exposure to intense
stress, and the strain
reactions following
from them.
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Characteristics of Burnout
Physical Exhaustion:
Exhaustion Includes low energy levels
and feeling tired much of the time, as well as
symptoms of physical strain such as frequent
headaches, nausea, poor sleep, and changes in
eating habits.
Emotional Exhaustion:
Exhaustion Depression, feelings of
helplessness, and feelings of being trapped.
Depersonalization:
Depersonalization A pattern of behavior marked by
becoming cynical toward others, treating others as
objects, and holding negative attitudes toward
others.
Feelings of Low Personal Accomplishment,
Accomplishment both in
the past and in the future.

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Components of Burnout

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Stress and Health

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Organizational Resources
Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs):
(EAPs) Plans that
provide employees with assistance for various personal
problems (e.g., substance abuse, career planning, and
financial and legal problems).
Wellness Programs:
Programs Company-wide programs in which
employees receive training regarding things they can
do to promote healthy lifestyles.
Absence Control Programs:
Programs Procedures that give
employees flexibility with respect to when they can take
time off work.
Stress Management Programs:
Programs Systematic efforts to
train employees in a variety of techniques that they can
use to become less adversely affected by stress.

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Managing Stress

Manage your time

Eat a healthy diet and be
physically fit
Relax and meditate
Get a good nights sleep
Avoid inappropriate selftalk
Control your reactions
Take a time out
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Time Management
The

practice of taking control over how you

spend time.
Effective practices:
Prioritize your activities:
activities Distinguish between
tasks that are urgent and important.
Allocate your time realistically:
realistically Accurately
assess how much time needs to be spent on
each task.
Take control of your time:
time Make a to do list
and carefully keep track of what you have to
accomplish. Unless something urgent comes
up, dont let yourself be distracted.

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Assigning Priorities

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The Good Sleep Habit

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Schedule your sleep

Dont go to bed after
strenuous activity
Avoid stimulants
before bedtime
Dont eat or work in
bed
Clear your mind
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Stress Prevention
Approaches

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