Week Twelve - Emotion Processes and Organizational Diversity

All of the discussed approaches to communication in organizations follow logic and rationality.  When employees became the focus of research (in human relations and human resources (week four)), the focus was on maximizing employee satisfaction; one small part of emotion.  So now we must look at the role emotions (in general) play in organizational communication.

This leads us to Mumby and Putnam’s (1992, p. 474) idea of bounded emotionality which refers to “an alternative mode of organizing in which nurturance, caring, community, supportiveness, and interrelatedness are fused with individual responsibility to shape organizational experiences”.

Emotion is a part of the job, and workplace relationships (Miller 2009).  There are many jobs which require a specific “face”.  Employees in customer service should always look happy/friendly, just like employees at a funeral home must be/look sympathetic and respectful.  This acting of emotion is referred to as emotional labor, and can further be seen in managers when attempting to influence the emotions of their employees (Humphrey, Pollack & Hawver 2008). 

Although it can seem obvious/straightforward when to act emotion, what emotion to act, and whom to act it to in the workplace, the complexity of emotion has led to research into emotional rules and intelligence.  This research explores emotional rules, and management of these emotions (Kramer & Hess 2002; Fiebig & Kramer 1998).

Although this acting can have an effect on real emotions, it is relationships within the workforce which affect genuine emotion the greatest (whether it be liking or disliking someone, bullying, tensions or conflicting emotions in relationships) (Miller 2009).

Negative effects (which can be short- or long-term) of emotion in the workplace are stress and burnout.  Please see the table below for explanation.

Effective communication is a good start to avoiding stress/burnout.  If an employee understands their role, remains informed of any changes, and maintains a good relationship and level of communication with their colleagues, they are less likely to burnout or be stressed (although there are many more factors which can influence these feelings).

As discussed in the lecture, diversity (gender, age and ethnicity) can have an effect on emotion and treatment.  Studies have shown that black people and women often feel less appreciated and less satisfied in their work than white males (Greenhaus, Parasuraman & Wormley 1990; Gates 2003).  These are two groups which are often discriminated against and are stereotyped.  Other groups often discriminated against are those with disabilities, and those with varying sexual preferences (Orbe 1998).  All of the above minority groups often feel extra pressure in the workforce as they feel they are representing their group, and that others only focus on their differences (this is called tokenism) (Miller 2009).

However, the benefits of a diverse organization are starting to be recognized.  By having a diverse range of employees, one can expect greater multicultural insight (which is important due to today’s globalized world), and different approaches and views which can aid in creativity, problem-solving and marketing (Cox 1991 as cited in Miller 2009).

If you want to become a communication professional in the future but are now concerned with burnout, there are strategies to help you cope.  These include dealing with the causes and negative outcomes of burnout, and changing your thinking in stressful situations (Miller 2009).  There is also help within organizations including social support, leave from work, and participating in decision making.

Understanding emotion in the workforce is vital to understanding communication in organizations today, as emotion plays a significant role in how people communicate, and what can happen when organizational communication is ineffective.

*There was no tutorial for this topic*

References

Fiebig, GV & Kramer, MW 1998. 'A framework for the study of emotions in organizational contexts', Management Communication Quarterly, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 536-572.

Gates, D 2003, ‘Learning to play the game: An exploratory study of how African American women and men interact with others in organizations’, The Electronic Journal of Communication, vol. 13, nos. 2-3, pp. 1-18.

Greenhaus, JH, Parasuraman, S & Wormley, WM 1990, ‘Effects of race on organizational experiences, job performance, evaluations, and career outcomes’, Academy of Management Journal, vol. 33, no. 1, pp. 64-86.

Humphrey, RH, Pollack, JM & Hawver, T 2008, 'Leading with emotional labor', Journal of managerial psychology, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 151-168.

Kramer, MW & Hess, JA 2002, ‘Communication rules for the display of emotions in organizational settings’, Management Communication Quarterly, vol. 16, no. 1 pp. 66-80.

Miller, K 2009, Organizational communication: approaches and processes, 6th ed, Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, Boston, MA.

Mumby, DK & Putnam, LL 1992, ‘The politics of emotion: A feminist reading of bounded rationality’, Academy of Management Review, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 465-486.

Orbe, MP 1998, ‘An outsider within perspective to organizational communication: Explicating the communicative practices of co-cultural group members’, Management Communication Quarterly, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 230-279.