Workplace Emotions, Attitudes, and Stress McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 1

Positive Attitudes at Clydesdale Bank McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 2 By giving its contact centre employees more positive experiences at work, Clydesdale Bank (a division of National Australia Bank) has reduced absenteeism and turnover while significantly improving customer satisfaction.

Emotions Defined  Psychological, behavioural, and physiological episodes experienced toward an object, person, or event that create a state of readiness  Most emotions occur without our awareness  Moods – lower intensity emotions without any specific target source © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 3 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Types of Emotions © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 4 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Attitudes vs. Emotions © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 5 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e AttitudesEmotions Judgements about an attitude object Based mainly on rational logic Usually stable for days or longer Experiences related to an attitude object Based on innate and learned responses to environment Usually experienced for seconds or less

Traditional Model of Attitudes  Purely cognitive approach Beliefs – established perceptions of attitude object Feelings – calculation of good or bad based on beliefs about the attitude object Behavioural intentions – motivation to act in response to the attitude object  Problem: ignores important role of emotions in shaping attitudes © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 6 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Behaviour Attitudes: From Beliefs to Behavior © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 7 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e Perceived Environment Attitude Feelings Beliefs BehaviouralIntentions Cognitive process Emotional process Emotional Episodes

Emotions, Attitudes, and Behaviour  How emotions influence attitudes: Feelings are shaped by cumulative emotional episodes (not just evaluation of beliefs) We ‘listen in’ on our emotions when determining our attitude toward something  Potential conflict between cognitive and emotional processes  Emotions also directly affect behaviour eg. facial expression © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 8 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Positive Emotions at Mott MacDonald To attract and keep talented employees, companies are finding creative ways to generate positive emotions in the workplace. Employees at Mott MacDonald have plenty of fun. For example, the Abu Dhabi oil and gas team has an annual desert safari, complete with camel rides (see photo). McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 9

Generating Positive Emotions at Work  The emotions-attitudes- behaviour model illustrates that attitudes are shaped by ongoing emotional experiences  Thus, successful companies actively create more positive than negative emotional episodes. McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 10

Cognitive Dissonance  A state of anxiety that occurs when an individual’s beliefs, feelings and behaviours are inconsistent with one another  Most common when behaviour is: known to others done voluntarily can’t be undone © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 11 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Emotional Labour Defined  Effort, planning and control needed to express organisationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions  Emotional labour is higher when the job requires: frequent and long duration display of emotions displaying a variety of emotions displaying more intense emotions © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 12 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Emotional Labour Across Cultures  Displaying or hiding emotions varies across cultures: Minimal emotional expression and monotonic voice in Korea, Japan, Austria Emotional expression encouraged in Kuwait, Egypt, Spain, Russia © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 13 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Emotional Labour Challenges  Difficult to display expected emotions accurately, and to hide true emotions  Emotional dissonance Conflict between true and required emotions Potentially stressful with surface acting Less stress through deep acting © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 14 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Emotional Intelligence Defined Ability to perceive and express emotion, assimilate emotion in thought, understand and reason with emotion, and regulate emotion in oneself and others McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 15 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Social awareness Self-management Perceiving and understanding the meaning of others’ emotions Managing our own emotions Self-awareness Perceiving and understanding the meaning of your own emotions Relationship management Managing other people’s emotions Lowest Highest Model of Emotional Intelligence © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 16 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Emotional Intelligence Competencies © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 17 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e Self-awarenessSocial awareness Self-management Relationship management Self (personal competence) Other (social competence) Recognition of emotions Regulation of emotions

Improving Emotional Intelligence  Emotional intelligence is a set of competencies (aptitudes, skills)  Can be learned, especially through coaching  EI increases with age – maturity © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 18 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Job Satisfaction  A person's evaluation of his or her job and work context  A collection of attitudes about specific facets of the job © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 19 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Loyalty Voice Exit Neglect Leaving the situation Quitting, transferring Changing the situation Problem solving, complaining Patiently waiting for the situation to improve Reducing work effort/quality Increasing absenteeism EVLN: Responses to Dissatisfaction © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 20 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Job Satisfaction and Performance  Happy workers are somewhat more productive workers, but: General attitude is a poor predictor of specific behaviours Job performance affects satisfaction only when rewarded Effect on performance strongest in complex jobs because of greater employee influence on job performance (eg. limited in assembly lines) © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 21 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Happy Staff = Happy Customers at Wegmans American food retailer Wegmans Food Markets enjoys strong customer loyalty and low employee turnover by keeping employees happy. McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 22

Job Satisfaction and Customers Job satisfaction increases customer satisfaction and profitability because: 1. Job satisfaction affects mood, leading to positive behaviours toward customers 2. Job satisfaction reduces employee turnover, resulting in more consistent and familiar service McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 23 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Organisational Commitment  Affective commitment Emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in an organisation  Continuance commitment Calculative attachment – stay because too costly to quit © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 24 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Building (Affective) Commitment © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 25 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e SharedvaluesSharedvalues Values congruence Justice/ support Apply humanitarian values Support employee wellbeing EmployeeinvolvementEmployeeinvolvement Employees feel part of company Involvement demonstrates trust Organisational comprehension Know firm’s past/present/future Open and rapid communication TrustTrust Employees trust org leaders Job security supports trust Employees trust org leaders Job security supports trust

What is Stress?  An adaptive response to a situation that is perceived as challenging or threatening to the person’s wellbeing  A physiological and psychological condition that prepares us to adapt to hostile or noxious environmental conditions  Eustress vs. distress © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 26 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Stage 1 Alarm reaction Stage 2 Resistance Stage 3 Exhaustion Normal level of resistance General Adaptation Syndrome © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 27 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Consequences of Distress © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 28 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e BehaviouralBehavioural Work performance, accidents, absenteeism, aggression, poor decisions PhysiologicalPhysiological Cardiovascular disease, hypertension, headaches PsychologicalPsychological Dissatisfaction, moodiness, depression, emotional fatigue

Cynicism Reduced personal accomplishment Physiological,psychological, and behavioural consequences Emotionalexhaustion Interpersonal and role-related stressors Job Burnout Process © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 29 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

What are Stressors?  Stressors are the causes of stress – any environmental condition that places a physical or emotional demand on the person  Some common workplace stressors include: Harassment and incivility Work overload Low task control © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 30 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Psychological Harassment Repeated and hostile or unwanted conduct, verbal comments, actions or gestures that affect an employee's dignity or psychological or physical integrity and that result in a harmful work environment for the employee. McShane/Von Glinow OB 5e 31 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Sexual Harassment  Unwelcome conduct – detrimental effect on work environment or job performance  Quid pro quo employment or job performance is conditional on unwanted sexual relations  Hostile work environment an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 32 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Work Overload and Task Control Stressors  Work Overload Stressor Working more hours, more intensely than one can cope Affected by globalisation, consumerism, ideal worker norm  Task Control Stressor Due to lack of control over how and when tasks are performed Stress increases with responsibility © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 33 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Individual Differences in Stress  Different threshold levels of resistance to stressor  Use different stress coping strategies  Resilience to stress Due to personality and coping strategies  Workaholism Highly involved in work Inner pressure to work Low enjoyment of work © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 34 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Work-Life Balance at MH Australia McGraw-Hill has won several awards for managing employee stress through work-life balance initiatives. For example, McGraw-Hill Australia executive Matthew Coxhill (see photo) works mainly from his home in regional Australia and has time off from his job to continue his other vocations as a professional trainer and mediator. McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 35

Managing Work-Related Stress  Remove the stressor Minimise/remove stressors  Withdraw from the stressor Vacation, rest breaks  Change stress perceptions Positive self-concept, humour  Control stress consequences Healthy lifestyle, fitness, wellness  Receive social support © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 36 McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e

Workplace Emotions, Attitudes, and Stress McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 37