Current Topics in HRM

1. Current Topics in HRM Emotions & Misbehaviors

2. Common Positive & Negative Emotions? • Positive emotions • Alert, excited, interested, inspired, strong, determined, attentive • Negative emotions • Irritable, distressed, hostile, jittery, afraid,, upset, nervous

3. Why is Studying Emotions Important? Work attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction) Work Events (daily hassles, daily uplifts) Experienced Emotions (+ve, -ve) Affect-driven behavior (e.g., impulsive acts, helping)

4. Happier-and-Smarter Hypothesis • People with positive emotions often make better decisions than others • Performing complex tasks more efficiently • More able to eliminate unimportant information

5. Sad-but-Wiser Hypothesis • Sad people often have a more realistic world view • Experimental studies have shown that depressed subjects often have accurate assessment of the contingencies associated with an outcome, whereas non-depressed subjects either over- or under-estimated them • Also less likely to over-estimate their abilities in ambiguous task situations

6. Positive Emotions & Performance • Positive emotions are associated with greater core task performance • Optimism about the effort-performance relationship • Optimism about the performance-reward relationship • Positive emotions are associated with greater OCB

7. Emotional Intelligence (p. 80-81) • Emotional Intelligence • It is distinct from other intelligence • It is an individual difference

8. Emotional Intelligence • Relationship with leadership • Great leaders understand followers’ emotions • Being able to control their own emotions too

9. Emotional Labor • Managing one’s emotions in the service of a job or an organization • Intensity • Duration • Variety of emotions • Positive effects • Improved service quality • Customer satisfaction • Negative effects

10. Implications for HRM • Emotional job analysis • Creation of positive & friendly emotional climate • Using rewards and punishments • Emotional labor training • Emotions can be changed while personalities are harder to change

11. Common Problems Requiring Disciplinary Actions • Tardiness • Absenteeism • Unsafe work practices • Poor quantity or quality of work • Sexual harassment of coworkers • Coming to work impaired by alcohol or drug • Theft

12. Emotions and Disciplines • People with positive emotions are found to be less likely to be absent from work • Negative emotions are associated with more absenteeism • “Anger” is especially correlated with workplace aggression

13. September 11 • A qualitative survey shows that there were 3 major responses to 9-11 • Fear • Denial • Anger

14. September 11 - Fear • Example of “fear” • “I was out of town when the tragedy of 9-11 happened. I was scheduled to be in New York two weeks after. I told my supervisor I would not travel and we should postpone our trip. However, I evaluated the situation and determined it was best to face my fear and travel eventually. However, I am still apprehensive”

15. September 11 - Anger • Example of “anger” • “My company has exhibited cold, impersonal practices prior to the events of 9-11 and continues to do so today. They have not changed any policies, procedures, or practices, yet they issued a statement saying that the recent events are tragic and they are saddened.” • “My company, like many others, puts up a smokescreen to make it look concerned, but most companies are not going to change anything. My company is only concerned with the bottom line and has no feeling for the safety of employees.” • “If employers aren’t concerned about 9-11, they are not worth working for.”

16. Attitudinal and Behavioral responses • Spent more time with friends and family • Limited airline travel • Made changes to values, goals, and aspirations • Delayed major purchase • Anxiety about personal safety • Not slept well

17. EQ – Empirical evidence • College students significantly improved their measured EQ upon graduation. • It is also found that derailed executives (rising stars who flamed out) failed because of EQ type problems such as poor working relations, too authoritarian, too ambitious, conflict with others) rather than lack of work ability • EQ has been shown to relate to • Economic well-being • Life satisfaction

18. EQ – Application • US Air Force uses EI tests to select people after finding that those who high EI scores were more successful than those who did not. • Big companies like American Express, Bank of America, Ford, GE, Johnson and Johnson develop in-house EI strategies to improve employee EQ