Case Incident 1
Crybabies
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objectives: Show the impact emotional labor has on employees; Apply concepts about emotions and
moods to specific OB issues
Learning Outcome: Discuss the importance of individual moods and emotions in the workplace
AACSB: Written and oral communications; Reflective thinking
As this chapter has shown, emotions are an inevitable part of people’s behavior at work. At the
same time, it’s not entirely clear that we’ve reached a point where people feel comfortable
expressing all emotions at work. The reason might be that business culture and etiquette remain
poorly suited to handling overt emotional displays. The question is, can organizations become
more intelligent about emotional management? Is it ever appropriate to yell, laugh, or cry at work?
Some people are skeptical about the virtues of more emotional displays in the workplace. As the
chapter notes, emotions are automatic physiological responses to the environment, and as such,
they can be difficult to control appropriately. One 22-year-old customer service representative
named Laura, who was the subject of a case study, noted that fear and anger were routinely used
as methods to control employees, and employees deeply resented this use of emotions to
manipulate them. In another case, the chairman of a major television network made a practice of
screaming at employees whenever anything went wrong, leading to badly hurt feelings and a lack
of loyalty to the organization. Like Laura, workers at this organization were hesitant to show their
true reactions to these emotional outbursts for fear of being branded as “weak” or “ineffectual.”
Research indicated that while employees who could regulate their emotions would refrain from
acting on their anger, employees who were low in self-regulation and didn’t think the boss would
do anything were likely to retaliate.
It might seem like these individuals worked in heavily emotional workplaces, but in fact, only a
narrow range of emotions was deemed acceptable. Anger appears to be more acceptable then
sadness in many organizations, and anger can have serious maladaptive consequences. Many
people find their negative reaction to hearing an angry outburst lasts, making it difficult for them
to concentrate at work.
Others believe organizations that recognize and work with emotions effectively are more creative,
satisfying, and productive. For example, Laura noted that if she could express her hurt feelings
without fear, she would be much more satisfied with her work. In other words, the problem with
Laura’s organization is not that emotions are displayed, but that emotional displays are handled
poorly. Others note that the use of emotional knowledge, like being able to read and understand
the reactions of others, is crucial for workers ranging from salespeople and customer service agents
all the way to managers and executives. One survey even found that 88% of workers feel being
sensitive to the emotions of others is an asset. Management consultant Erika Anderson notes,
“Crying at work is transformative and can open the door to change.” The question then is, “Can
organizations take specific steps to become better at allowing emotional displays without opening
a Pandora’s box of outbursts?”
Questions
4-14. Do you think the strategic use and display of emotions serve to protect employees, or does
covering your true emotions at work lead to more problems than it solves?
4-15. Have you ever worked where the free expression of emotion was part of the management
style? Describe the advantages and disadvantages of this approach from your experience.
4-16. Research shows that acts of coworkers (37 percent) and management (22 percent) cause
more negative emotions for employees than do acts of customers (7 percent). What can
Laura’s company do to change its emotional climate?