HRM and OB: Attitudes, Affects & Analysis Levels

• HRM and OB addresses attitudes and affects
• The basic information comes from Reader HRM/OB 1 and additional material on Moodle

Content Structure

• OB introduction is part of HRM
• Key questions for OB include what it is, and what influences attitude, emotions and moods
• Personality and values form part of a spectrum in addition to decision making
• Key HRM questions include introduction, overview and planning

Three Levels of Analysis

• At the individual level, diversity, personality and values lead to emotions, moods, motivation, perception, and decision making
• This results in attitudes, stress, task performance, citizenship and withdrawal behavior
• At the group level, group structure roles and team responsibilities lead to factors like communication, leadership, and conflict and negotiation
• This results in group cohesion and function
• At the organizational level, structure and culture leads to human resources management and change practices
• This results in productivity and survival

Preparation

• Individual events are outlined in the Reader HRM/OB 1 and updated material on Moodle
• Summary and repetition desired by two people for a maximum of 10 minutes
• Preparation for the next event involves two people
• Utilize topic-specific examples from your professional experience or use a case study
• Feedback can be given during the break or after the event

Learning Objectives

• Differentiate between emotions and moods
• Identify the sources of emotions and moods
• Show the impact of emotional labor on employees
• Understand and explain affective events theory
• Describe emotional intelligence and be able to apply it
• Identify strategies for emotion regulation
• Apply concepts about emotions and moods to specific OB issues

Key Questions

• When does moodiness become a topic in the organization
• How are emotions expressed in organizations
• Can organizations influence mood
• What are the most effective mood killers
• What is the significance of the company situation such as crisis, restructuring or growth

Emotions vs Moods

• Emotions are caused by a specific event and brief in duration
• They are specific and accompanied by distinct facial expressions, and are action oriented
• Moods are often general, unclear in cause, and longer lasting
• Moods are more general with dimensions of positive and negative affect, not indicated by distinct expressions, and cognitive in nature

Basic Reading of Emotions

• Emotions are often too complex for facial reading
• Cultural norms influence how emotions are expressed
• Agreement exists on six universal basic emotions
• These include joy, surprise, fear, sadness, anger and disgust
• The closer the feelings are to each other on the spectrum, the easier they are to confuse

The Smartphone Reflex

• Widespread behavioral routine using smartphones nearly every free minute, developed across generations
• On average, people touch their smartphones 2,617 times a day
• Intermittent reinforcement makes the brain sensitive to distraction
• People are increasingly fixated on smartphones in public, prompting cities to project traffic lights onto the ground
• Unlearning the smartphone reflex requires conscious effort and abstinence for establishing new routines -This can take 60 - 240 days
• The unlearning process typically takes weeks until a healthier habit replaces the old one, representing a long weaning phase
• The Smartphone Reflex can be driven by Boredom as well as FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

Structure of Mood

• High positive affect includes excited, elated, and happy
• Low positive affect includes serene, relaxed, and calm
• High negative affect includes tense, nervous, and stressed
• Low negative affect includes upset, depressed, and bored

Your Turn

• How do you manage your mood and emotions? -What do you do to get into a good mood before an important meeting or presentation

Individual and Cultural Differences

• In 2014, respondents across 148 countries were asked whether they experienced five positive and five negative emotions daily
• Bolivia was the most emotional society at 59%, while Bangladesh was the least at 37%

Moral Emotions

• Emotions that have moral implications based on immediate judgement of the event that evokes them
• Responses to moral emotions differ from those to other emotions like somebody treated unfairly
• Morality and therefore moral emotions, is developed during childhood and is culturally dependent

Emotions and Ethics

• Research questions the belief that emotional decision making is based on higher-level cognitive processes and that emotions make decisions ethical
• Our beliefs are shaped by our groups, resulting in unconscious responses
• It may allow us to justify purely emotional reactions as rationally ethical just because we share them with others

Affection and Decision Making

• Meaningful decisions are not possible without an affective (emotion, mood) impulse
• Thinking includes opportunities and chances such as joy, happiness, and courage
• This results in benefit etc.
• Feeling involves threat, and risk such as fears and anxieties which results in loss
• Brain research: amygdala kernel: Urbach-Wiethe syndrome results in no anxiety
• Connection between emotions and rational thinking involves the loss of ability to feel leading to the loss of rational thinking
• Emotions provide valuable information to help us think, and good decisions need emotion and ratio

Sources of Emotion and Moods

• Personality influences emotions and moods
• Moods and emotions have a trait component
• Affect intensity refers to how strongly people experience their emotions
• Time of Day has a common pattern
• Happiness is reported in the midpoint of the daily awake period
• Day of the Week elicits happiness towards the end of the week
• Weather: correlation is illusory with no effect
• Stress: Constant low levels worsen moods
• Social Activities: Physical, informal, and dining activities increase positive moods
• Sleep: Poor quality increases negative affect
• Exercise: Improves mood, especially for depressed people
• Age: Older people tend to focus on more positive stimuli
• Gender: Women are more emotionally expressive, feel emotions more intensely, have longer-lasting moods, and express emotions more frequently

Emotional Labor

• Emotional labor refers to an employee's expression of organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions at work
• Felt emotions are the individual's actual emotions
• Displayed emotions are required by the organization and appropriate for the job
• Surface acting involves hiding feelings and foregoing emotional expressions in response to display rules
• Deep acting involves modifying true inner feelings based on display rules
• Emotional dissonance between the emotions people feel and those they project can lead to job burnout, decline in job performance, and lower job satisfaction

Affective Events Theory

• AET proposes that employees react emotionally to things at work, influencing job performance and satisfaction
• It suggests workplace events trigger emotional reactions influenced by personal dispositions (personality and mood)
• The Job Environment includes characteristics, job demands and the requirements needed for emotional labor
• Positive feedback can give improved job performance and overall job satisfaction
• Employers and managers should pay attention to emotions and the events that cause them, even minor ones

Emotional Intelligence

• A person's ability to perceive emotions in themselves and others
• Includes understanding the meaning of emotions, and regulating emotions accordingly
• Emotion regulation is identifying and modifying emotions and their resulting outcomes
• Diversity can help to regulate the emotions more consciously and effectively
• Emotional regulation techniques include surface acting, deep acting, emotional supression, cognitive reappraisal social sharing and mindfulness

Crucial competencies of an emotional intelligent leader

• Self awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management
• Emotional Self Awareness, Emotional Balance, Achievement Orientation, Empathy, Coach and Mentor, Teamwork, Adaptability and Positive Outlook, Organizational Awareness, Inspirational Leadership

Implications for Managers

• Recognize that emotions are a natural part of the workplace and good management does not mean creating an emotion-free environment
• Model positive emotions and moods as much as possible to foster effective decision making, creativity, and motivation in employees
• Provide positive feedback to increase positivity
• Hire people predisposed to positive moods
• Encourage positive displays of emotion in service sectors to improve customer service interactions and negotiations
• Understand the role of emotions and moods for predicting behavior