Chapter 4: Workplace Emotions, Attitudes, and Stress Flashcards
Define and contrast emotions and attitudes.
- Emotions: Physiological, behavioral, and psychological episodes experienced towards an object, person, or event.
* Usually brief and occur without awareness.
* Create a state of readiness and stimulate changes in physiological, psychological state, and behavior.
Characteristics:
* Experiences
* Brief
* Operate without awareness - Attitudes: A cluster of beliefs, assessed feelings, and behavioral intentions towards an attitude object (person, object, or event).
* Stable over time and part of cognitive processes.
* Involve evaluations and judgments.
Characteristics:
* Judgments
* Stable
* Learned
What are the key concepts of the Circumplex Model of Emotions and their contributions?
Emotions vary by level of activation:
* Emotions influence our readiness to respond to an event or object.
* Activation levels determine the intensity of our emotional response.
Core effect (Valence):
* All emotions have an associated valence (positive or negative).
* Valence signals whether the perceived object/event should be approached (positive) or avoided (negative).
* Negative emotions typically generate stronger levels of activation.
See exhibit 4.1
Study exhibit 4.1
What are the steps associated with the Model of Emotions, Attitudes, and Behavior?
- Beliefs:
* Perceptions about the attitude object, based on what you believe to be true.
* Acquired from experience and learning.
* Each belief has a valence (positive or negative). - Feeling:
* Represents your conscious positive or negative evaluations of the attitude object. - Behavioral Intentions:
* Motivates you to engage in a particular behavior towards the attitude object.
* Reflects the drive to act based on your feelings and beliefs.
Perceived environment -> [Cognitive process (Attitude): Beliefs->Feelings->Behavorial intentions] -> Behavior. {Emotional process, episode}
Exhibit 4.2
What is cognitive dissonance and how do people reduce it?
Cognitive Dissonance: An emotional experience caused by a perception that our beliefs, feelings, and behavior are incongruent.
* Occurs when attitudes are inconsistent with behavior, leading to discomfort since people prefer to be seen as rational and logical.
Reducing Cognitive Dissonance:
* Change beliefs or feelings: Align beliefs or feelings with behavior.
* Dissonance-reducing strategies:
* Amplify positive features of the selected alternative.
* Highlight problems or weaknesses of the alternative not chosen.
* Indirect strategy: Emphasize the frugality or positive aspects of your decision (e.g., ignoring the high price to reduce dissonance).
What is emotional labor and what are the strategies for displaying expected emotions?
Emotional Labor: The effort, planning, and control required to express emotions that align with organizational expectations during interpersonal interactions.
* Employees may need to show emotions opposite to what they truly feel, creating emotional incongruence.
* This incongruence can cause mental effort, stress, and job dissatisfaction.
* It can lead to psychological separation from self when employees act contrary to their true emotions.
Strategies for Displaying Expected Emotions:
* Surface Acting: Pretending to have the expected emotions by consciously displaying the behaviors associated with those emotions. Disadvantage: Stressful, alienating, and ineffective for emotional labor.
- Deep Acting: Actively changing perceptions or situations to naturally produce the expected emotions and associated behaviors. Employees who engage in deep acting genuinely experience the emotions expected in the situation, reducing the emotional strain of surface acting.
What is emotional intelligence and what are its components?
Emotional Intelligence (EI): A set of abilities to perceive, express, simulate, understand, and regulate emotions in oneself and others.
* Involves recognizing emotions and using them to guide thinking and behavior.
Components of Emotional Intelligence:
Awareness of Our Own Emotions: Ability to perceive and understand the meaning of our own emotions.
* Higher EI leads to better awareness and understanding of emotions.
Management of Our Own Emotions: Involves regulating emotions through practices like deep acting and emotion regulation.
Awareness of Others’ Emotions: Ability to perceive and understand the emotions of others.
* Relates to empathy, including understanding others’ feelings, thoughts, and needs, even when unstated.
Management of Others’ Emotions: Includes actions like consoling, inspiring, reducing stress, and helping others manage their emotions in various situations.
Study Exhibit 4.3 (Dimensions of Emotional Intelligence)
What are the outcomes and development associated with emotional intelligence?
Outcomes of High Emotional Intelligence (EI):
* Effective Teamwork: High EI individuals are better team members.
* Improved Job Performance: Especially in jobs requiring emotional labor.
* Better Decision-Making: Makes better decisions involving others.
* Positive Mindset for Creativity: Maintains a positive mindset, fostering creative work.
* Effective Leadership: Leaders with high EI regulate their own and others’ emotions, enhancing leadership effectiveness.
Limits of EI:
* Does not significantly improve performance in tasks with minimal social interaction.
Development of EI:
* Some organizations offer training programs to improve EI.
* Training typically includes: Teaching the concept of EI, Testing EI at the program’s start,
* Providing ongoing feedback on managing emotions and understanding others’ emotions.
What is job satisfaction?
Job Satisfaction: A person’s evaluation of their job and work context. Involves appraising job characteristics, work environment, and emotional experiences at work.
Key Points:
* Best viewed as a collection of attitudes toward different aspects of the job and work environment.
* Reflects how employees feel about their role, tasks, and workplace dynamics.
What is the relationship between job satisfaction and work behavior? Describe the EVLN model.
Relationship Between Job Satisfaction and Work Behavior:
* Job satisfaction influences task performance, organizational citizenship, employee turnover, and other behaviors.
* The relationship depends on personal attributes and situational factors.
EVLN Model (Exit-Voice-Loyalty-Neglect):
Exit:
* Leaving the organization, transferring, or seeking to escape a dissatisfying situation.
* Builds over time or may be triggered by specific shock events motivating the employee to leave.
Voice:
* Attempting to change the dissatisfying situation instead of escaping it.
* Can be constructive or confrontational. In extreme cases, employees may engage in counterproductive behaviors to demand change.
Loyalty:
* Employees who remain patient, suffering in silence, waiting for the problem to resolve itself or be addressed by others.
Neglect:
* Reducing work effort, paying less attention to quality, and increasing absenteeism or lateness.
* A passive response with negative consequences for the organization.
What are the three dimensions of organizational commitment?
Affective Organizational Commitment:
* Emotional attachment to, involvement in, and identification with the organization.
* Employees are intrinsically motivated to be dedicated because their self-concept and values align with the organization.
* Motivation comes from internal sources, such as psychological bonds and personal identity with the organization.
Continuous Commitment:
* A calculative attachment to the organization, where leaving would involve significant costs (financial or social).
* Occurs when employees risk losing large bonuses, weakening social bonds, or have limited employment opportunities elsewhere.
* Motivation to stay is driven by external factors, such as the fear of forfeiting these benefits or opportunities.
Normative Commitment:
* A sense of obligation or moral duty to remain with the organization.
* Norm of Reciprocity: The natural human motivation to “pay back” the organization for its investment and support, feeling a responsibility to contribute in return.
What is stress and how is it categorized?
Stress:
* An adaptive response to a situation perceived as challenging or threatening to one’s well-being.
* It is both a physiological and psychological condition that prepares us to adapt to hostile or harmful environmental conditions.
Types of Stress:
Distress:
* The degree of physiological, psychological, and behavioral deviation from healthy functioning.
* Negative stress that can harm well-being.
Eustress:
* A positive form of stress that activates and motivates people to achieve goals, change their environments, and succeed in life’s challenges.
* Necessary for growth and achievement.
What is General Adaptation Syndrome and its stages?
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS): A model of the stress experience with three stages: alarm reaction, resistance, and exhaustion.
Stages of GAS:
Alarm Reaction:
* Triggered when a threat or challenge activates the physiological stress response.
* The individual’s energy and coping effectiveness decrease in response to the initial shock.
Resistance:
* Biochemical, physiological, and behavioral mechanisms are activated to provide more energy and coping strategies.
* The individual works to overcome or remove the stressor, but resistance capacity is limited.
* If stress continues, the person progresses to the next stage.
Exhaustion:
* Occurs when the body’s resources are depleted after prolonged stress.
* Increased risk of long-term physiological and psychological damage.
* Many people can remove or escape the stressor before reaching exhaustion.
What are the consequences of distress?
Physical Health Consequences:
* Tension headaches and muscle pain due to muscle contractions from the stress response.
* Contributes to cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes, and may be linked to certain forms of cancer.
* More than 100,000 deaths annually and up to 80% of healthcare costs in the U.S. are related to work-related stress.
Psychological and Organizational Impact:
* Leads to job dissatisfaction, moodiness, depression, and lower organizational commitment.
* Increased absenteeism as a form of “flight” in response to stress.
Behavioral Outcomes:
* Lower job performance, poor decision-making, and increased workplace accidents.
* Aggressive behavior in the workplace.
What are the individual differences in stress?
Physical Health:
* Regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle help build a larger store of energy, making it easier to cope with stress.
Coping Strategies:
* People use different strategies to handle stress:
* Some try to remove the stressor.
* Others seek support from coworkers and friends or try to reframe the stressor in a more positive light.
* Some strategies work better for specific stressors, while others are effective across various situations.
* Using a less effective coping mechanism can lead to more stress in response to a situation.
Personality:
* People’s personalities influence how they experience stress.
* Workaholism tends to increase stress levels in individuals.
What does the textbook say about managing work-related stress?
Denial and Avoidance:
* Many people deny their stress until it leads to more serious outcomes, which amplifies stress.
* To prevent this, employees should apply stress management strategies.
Stress Management Strategies:
Remove the Stressor:
* Match employees to jobs that suit their skills and preferences.
* Reduce excessive workplace noise and implement complaint systems for harassment.
* Increase employee control over work processes.
* Introduce work-life integration initiatives to reduce stress.
Withdrawal from the Stressor:
* Permanent Withdrawal: Transfer employees to roles that better fit their abilities and values.
* Temporary Withdrawal: Use breaks, vacations, or relaxation areas (e.g., nap rooms, game rooms) to temporarily remove stressors.
Change Stress Perceptions:
* Help employees improve their self-concept, set personal goals, and use self-reinforcement techniques.
* Job challenges feel less threatening when employees manage stress through self-management and humor, which can improve optimism.
Control Stress Consequences:
* Maintain physical fitness, a healthy lifestyle, and proper sleep to manage the physical effects of stress.
Receive Social Support:
* Emotional and informational support from coworkers, supervisors, family, and friends helps buffer stress.
* Social support improves optimism, self-confidence, and helps employees feel valued.
