professional emotion or legitimate differences__research paper

Running head: Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences?

Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences? Emotion Versus Gender Roles in an Organizational Setting

Matthew D. MacKayOhio University

Quantitative Research MethodsApril 2015

1


Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences? : Emotions versus Gender Roles in an

Organizational Setting

Female Chief Executive Officers occupy 26% of real-world chief executive

positions as of 2010. Yet, in 129 family films released between 2006 and 2011 there is no

depiction or portrayal of a single female character, with a speaking role, as either a

doctor, lawyer, judge or CEO (Tady, 2013). While it is evident that the film and media

industries are not onboard with portraying a legitimate shift in the demographics of

leadership in organizations, emotional behavior patterns and tendencies between men and

women are more important than ever before. Employers and researchers alike need to be

very cognizant of the fact that the patriarchal language and actions that have dominated

the professional workplace since the conception of modern capitalist organizations is

starting to transition out as women ascend towards the top of the organizational

hierarchy. Prior research is extensive in both emotions and gender roles in the workplace,

but this particular study attempts to combine these separate areas of research into a

comprehensive analysis of whether emotions in the workplace are affected by pre-

determined gender roles or the inverse; whether gender roles affect emotions within an

organizational setting. Identifying the differences between female and male emotions at

work, for all positions within an organization’s hierarchy, is crucial towards discovering

whether or not an individual is capable of issuing orders or receiving orders from a

2


member of the opposite sex without some form of miscommunication or

misunderstanding.

Gender studies have been a main focus of scholars and researchers alike within

recent years. As women have slowly started to gain traction, credibility and legitimacy in

professional organizations, the importance of similar and different emotional behavior

patterns and tendencies amongst men and women has never been greater. Countless

studies have examined gender within the workplace and emotion within the workplace,

but there have not been definitive studies conducted studying the relationship between the

two.

The purpose of this study is to examine emotional similarities and differences

between professional males and females working within the same organization. The

perceived traditional gender roles of male dominance and female submissiveness will be

examined to pinpoint possible differences that could indicate a definitive relationship

between emotion and gender roles in the workplace.

Review of Literature

Emotion “in” the Workplace

Workers in the human services field, such as caregivers and caretakers, tend to

face higher amounts of stress and pressure due to the overwhelming nature of the job.

One theory that relates to this particular study is the Lay Theory (Labroo &

Mukhopadhyay, 2009), which proposes that before making a decision, people are likely

to assess whether or not their feelings are likely to be modified independently of the

properties associated with a behavioral activity or choice. If the individual believes

negative feelings will pass or that positive feelings will last, she or he is more likely to

3


view mood-improving actions as unnecessary and thus will act on their long-term

interests. The theory works vise versa as well; if an individual believes that negative

feelings will last, she or he will act indulgently in an attempt to regulate their immediate

affect. This study attempts to juxtapose Lay Theory in relation to professional emotion

between males and females within an organization.

Employees in the human services field are obligated to provide adequate care to

maintain or improve their client’s quality of care (Snyder, 2012). Miller and Koesten

(2008) conducted a more in-depth study into why human service workers come onboard

and discovered initial motives to provide empathy and support towards those who need it.

However, their findings suggest empathy can involve “feeling with” the client, known as

emotional contagion, or “feeling for” the client, known as empathic concern. Emotional

contagion, prevalent in many career fields, is a byproduct of the caregiver becoming too

close with their client, causing unnecessary stress and eventually burnout. Empathic

concern is more business-oriented, with the caregiver still having feelings for the client

but refraining from viewing the client’s problems as their own.

Human service workers and employees are not the only ones faced with serious

emotional stress and trauma during their profession. Miller and Koesten (2008) also

conducted research on financial planners who deal with monetary decision-making for

their clients. “…Outcomes such as a happy retirement fund, a college fund, or the

prestige of a large bank account are at stake” (Miller & Koesten, 2008) naturally leading

to high stress levels due to serious, intense conversations regarding monetary stability

throughout life. Communication behaviors at work are evaluated formally or informally

by others and usually self-evaluated. Even more stressful is knowing that each

4


communication made by an employee needs to be executed clearly and effectively both

emotionally and in order for an organization to continue functioning (Keyton, Caputo,

Ford, Fu, Leibowitz, Liu, Ghosh & Wu, 2013). Not all emotions in professional

organizations are negative or stressful. Lutgen-Sandvik, Riforgiate, and Fletcher (2011)

found that emotions are social even in the goal-oriented arena of the workplace.

Responses such as, “Working with people that respect my thoughts &feelings.” and “I’m

retiring soon and dozens of people have said how much they’ll miss me and the excellent

work I do.” are just two examples the study used to exemplify acceptance and positive

affirmation associated with emotion in the workplace.

Gender in the Workplace

Any individual is likely to be heavily influenced and constrained by what an

organizational culture regards as masculine or feminine behavior (Holmes & Schnurr,

2005). Holmes and Schnurr’s research indicates humor provides workers with a creative

yet acceptable way of responding and dealing with workplace norms, particularly when

these norms are restrictive. In an even more in-depth study, Mullany (2004) examines the

oppressive intent of a woman’s message masked by humor combined with a ‘smile

voice’. In the study, the recipient of the message is another woman whom signals

amusement and complies with the oppressive message without any conflict or

questioning.

Although humor plays a significant role in decreasing conflict and tension over

assignments and tasks between members of the same and opposite sex, the “different

cultures perspective” holds that men and women are socialized, from birth, into two

distinct cultures (Cahill & Sias, 1997). In general, men are socialized to become more

5


independent, competitive and unemotional versus women who are socialized to be

cooperative, supportive, emotional and interdependent. Cahill and Sias’ findings

validated their initial beliefs due to women perceiving talking to others about work-

related problems more important than men do. However, the study also found that both

men and women reported nearly identical perceptions of various costs associated with

seeking emotional support from co-workers. Men’s emotional support networks were

found to be less effective in satisfying their needs versus the emotional support received

by women. Co-rumination, or confiding in emotional support with co-workers over

abusive supervision, was found in another study to have a detrimental impact on women

versus men, whom actually had greater satisfaction with their job when abusive

supervision was occurring (Haggard, Robert & Rose, 2011). In addition, the study found

that men have a greater tendency to interpret statements of problems as an invitation to

solve them. Social support within the workplace has more positive effects when an

individual is convinced that the problems are less severe versus when the friends

sympathize and convince the individual that the problems are even worse.

Study Rationale

Over the past two decades, there has been a noticeable increase in the volume of

research conducted regarding gender studies and the emerging new wave of feminism.

Research on professional and organizational emotions is also plentiful within scholarly

academic journals, studies such as Holmes and Schnurr’s (2006) analyzing and dissecting

both masculine and feminine communities are few and far between. For instance, “…in

all workplaces individuals unavoidably enact gendered roles, adopt recognizable gender

stances, and construct gender identity (while) interacting with others at work” is an

6


excerpt from Holmes and Schnurr, which subtly points to the emotional stress and

conformity each gender cannot escape during their communicative interactions within an

organization. Unfortunately, not enough research has been conducted to represent a

concise relationship between organizational gender roles and the emotions associated

with traditionalist views of gender within organizations. It is very important to

understand the relationship that exists between emotions in the workplace and how it

affects each gender, particularly because of organizational promotion and growth being

extended to more women than ever before. The traditional dynamics of an organization’s

hierarchy and environment are slowly eroding due to these new opportunities for women

in the organizational workforce. The male attitude towards women within an organization

as a whole has been to show little emotion, unless he finds that woman attractive. Even if

he finds her attractive, little to no business matters are divulged unless she has either

directly affected an outcome or the man in power wants to instruct her on her

organizational performance level. Humor, anger, and other raw emotions are reserved for

serious business matters with other powerful men within the organization behind closed

doors. However, now that new opportunities for hierarchical power and promotion are

being offered to women within organizations, the male-dominated attitudes and

environments are breaking down. Thus, the following research question is posed:

Is there a relationship between emotion in the workplace and gender roles?

Methods

Participants

The subjects for this study consisted of 30 employees at a large-sized natural gas

organization. Participation was voluntary and utilized a nonprobability convenience

7


sample. Participants included 15 males and 15 females due to the relatively small size of

the department. All participants were between the ages of 21-55. All participants had

been employed by the organization for at least 9 months. 75% of the participants were

married or engaged while the other 25% were single. 85% of participants lived on their

own while 15% still lived with their parents. 80% of participants occupied the lowest

position within the hierarchy of the department while 20% of the participants occupied

leadership and management positions. Roughly 55% of participants were not college

graduates. Thus, the sample provided diversity amongst participant upbringing that

allowed for a wide variety of perspectives.

Procedures

Participants in this study were asked to report on whether there is a relationship

between emotion in the workplace and gender roles. Participants completed the

Perceived Credibility Scale, Organizational Emotion Scale, and Gender Stereotype

Questionnaire, while keeping their treatment from upper management as well as

interaction with the opposing gender in mind. The data was collected through pencil and

paper through face-to-face interaction and took approximately 20 minutes to complete

each of the three surveys. Each participant signed a separate paper form of consent prior

to responding anonymously to each of the three surveys in order to protect their identity.

The research was conducted on-site at a large-sized natural gas organization within a

specific department. The research was conducted during the beginning of the spring

season when emergency orders began to decrease in volume within the department. This

was an imperative detail because it allowed more time for each participant to correlate

their emotions with their treatment due to gender.

8


Measurement

The Perceived Credibility Scale was measured/operationalized using the Likert

scale. This scale utilized 20 items and measured an individual’s Perceived Value within

the workplace. The Organizational Emotion Scale was measured/operationalized by using

the Likert scale. This scale utilized 20 items and measured an individual’s Emotion

Assessment. The Gender Stereotype Questionnaire was measured/operationalized using

the Likert scale. This scale utilized 20 items and measured an individual’s Generalized

Belief.

The perceived value was operationalized via measurements of the four dialectical

tensions that exist within perceived values: credibility-incredibility, experience-exposure,

ambition-indifference, and recognition-ignorance. Specifically, the tensions were

measured on a 20-item Likert scale anchored by 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly

Agree). Five items were provided for each tension. See Appendix A.

The emotion assessment was operationalized via measurements of the four dialectical

tensions that exist within emotion assessment in the workplace: confidence-frustration,

reliability-liability, knowledge-confusion, and cooperative-stubborn. Specifically, the

tensions were measured on a 20-item Likert scale anchored by 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5

(Strongly Agree). Five items were provided for each tension. See Appendix B.

The generalized belief was operationalized via measurements of the four dialectical

tensions that exist in generalized gender beliefs: attractive-unattractive, competent-

9


incompetent, empathy-indifferent, and humor-respect. Specifically, the tensions were

measured on a 20-item Likert scale anchored by 1(Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly

Agree). Five items were provided for each tension. See Appendix C.

Conclusions/Practical Implications

The differences between how men and women display emotion within an

organizational workplace setting is something that the Human Resources department in

every large organization takes into account in negative or positive situations. With more

women who are provided opportunities to receive positions of legitimate power within

large organizations, it is easy to conclude that this study would reveal a shifting dynamic

in terms of emotional display in both men and women. Women are now becoming more

reserved and tend to minimize the social banter that has traditionally labeled them as

inferior and subordinate. Meanwhile, more men are reporting to female managers and

supervisors, encouraging a lot of males to become more expressive and honest with their

true emotions.

This study has many implications for real-life scenarios concerning males and

females who work within an organization. Certainly, one implication would be the ability

for men to confide with their boss how they truly feel during a positive or negative

situation. For example, if he processes an invoice for the wrong contracting company and

messes up their budget, he can tell his boss that he is upset with himself and anxious

about how to resolve the mishap. Another implication that could be utilized from

conducting this study is for women to be perceived as more competent and efficient at

handling business matters for an organization. The traditional perceptions of women who

10


serve as receptionists and secretaries is that they are inferior and incapable of handling

important matters within an organization. That is because the vast majority of positions

available within an organization throughout the past decades have been limited to these

roles. This study would reveal the competency and tenacity of women as well as the

sensitivity and anxiety men experience within an organizational workplace setting.

11


References

Cahill, D.J., & Sias, P.M. (1997). The perceived social costs and importance of seeking

emotional support in the workplace: Gender differences and similarities.

Communication Research Reports, 14 (2), 231-240.

Haggard, D., Robert, C., & Rose, A. (2011). Co-rumination in the workplace: Adjustment

trade-offs for men and women who engage in excessive discussions of workplace

problems. Journal of Business & Psychology, 26 (1), 27-40. doi: 10.1007/s10869-

010-9169-2.

Holmes, J, & Schnurr, S. (2006). ‘Doing femininity’ at work: More than just relational

practice. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 10 (1), 31-51. doi: 10.111/j.1360-

6441.2006.00316.x.

Holmes, J., & Schnurr, S. (2005). Politeness, humor and gender in the workplace:

Negotiating norms and identifying contestation. Journal of Politeness Research:

Language, Behavior, Culture, 1 (1), 121-149.

Keyton, J., Caputo, J.M., Ford, E.A., Fu, R., Leibowitz, S.A., Liu, T., Ghosh, P., & Wu,

C. (2013). Investigating verbal workplace communication behaviors. Journal of

Business Communication, 50(2), 152-169. doi: 10.1177/0021943612474990

12


References Continued

Labroo, A.A. & Mukhopadhyay, A. (2009). Lay theories of emotion transience and the

search for happiness: A fresh perspective on affect regulation. Journal of

Consumer Research, 36 (2), 242-254.

Lutgen-Sandvik, P., Riforgiate, S., & Fletcher, C. (2011). Work as a source of positive

emotional experiences and the discourses informing positive assessment.

Western Journal of Communication, 75 (1), 2- 27. Doi:

10.1080/10570314.2010.536963.

Miller, K.I. (2007). Compassionate communication in the workplace: Exploring

processes of noticing, connecting, and responding. Journal of Applied

Communication Research, 35 (3), 223-245. Doi: 10.1080/00909880701434208.

Miller, K.I. & Koesten, J. (2008). Financial feeling: An investigation of emotion and

communication in the workplace. Journal of Applied Communication Research,

36 (1), 8-32. Doi: 10.1080/00909880701799782.

Mullany, L. (2004). Gender, politeness and institutional power roles: Humour as a tactic

to gain compliance in workplace business meetings. Multilingua, 23 (1/2), 13-37.

13


References Continued

Snyder, J.L. (2012). Extending the empathic communication model of burnout:

Incorporating individual differences to learn more about workplace emotion,

communicative responsiveness, and burnout. Communication Quarterly, 60 (1),

122-142. doi: 10.1080/01463373.2012.641837.

Tady, M. (2013). Few roles for female role models. Extra!, 26 (2), 4.

14


Appendices

Appendix A

Perceived Credibility Scale

Below are a series of descriptions of perceived value. For each item, please circle the response that most clearly matches your opinion. (Be as specific as you can here.)

Key: 1 (Strongly Disagree) 2 (Disagree) 3 (Neutral) 4 (Agree) 5 (Strongly Agree)

My level of knowledge and purpose within my organizational role.

1. I contribute positively to my organization………. 1 2 3 4 52. I received beneficial training……………………...1 2 3 4 53. My co-workers will assist me when necessary……1 2 3 4 54. Managers and superiors rely directly on my work...1 2 3 4 55. I received poor training……………………………1 2 3 4 56. My past employment experiences have aided me…1 2 3 4 57. I have prior experience working within this field…1 2 3 4 58. I have no prior experience working within this field…1 2 3 4 59. My past employment experiences have not aided me…1 2 3 4 510. My exposure to the work field is minimal…………1 2 3 4 511. I have been told I am a hard worker……………….1 2 3 4 512. I have been voted for as “Employee of the Month”…..1 2 3 4 513. Management has been unsatisfied with my work ethic…1 2 3 4 514. I study every new job task after I leave work……..1 2 3 4 515. I neglect to familiarize myself with difficult tasks……...1 2 3 4 516. Co-workers recognize my passion…………………1 2 3 4 517. Management acknowledges my intelligence……….1 2 3 4 518. I don’t receive instructions from management……..1 2 3 4 519. I avoid learning some subject matter………………1 2 3 4 520. My boss recognizes when I need help……………..1 2 3 4 5

15


Appendix B

Organizational Emotion Scale

Below are a series of descriptions of emotion assessment. For each item, please circle the response that most clearly matches your opinion. (Be as specific as you can here.)


How I react emotionally within my organization.

1. I receive positive compliments……..1 2 3 4 52. People ask me for help……………..1 2 3 4 53. Management is very helpful……….1 2 3 4 54. I eat lunch by myself………………1 2 3 4 55. People never ask me for help…...1 2 3 4 5 6. I get in trouble for arriving late…1 2 3 4 57. I never arrive late to work………1 2 3 4 58. I am not reliable with computer configuration…. 1 2 3 4 59. I have a desire to help others with their work….. 1 2 3 4 510. I could care less if I underperform........................1 2 3 4 511. I am competent within my field of work………..1 2 3 4 512. I do not comprehend fax machines……………..1 2 3 4 513. I am not knowledgeable with permit applications…1 2 3 4 514. I understand the organizational hierarchy………1 2 3 4 515. I get confused when dealing with IT processes…1 2 3 4 516. I am passive aggressive………………………….1 2 3 4 517. I do not take “no” for an answer………………1 2 3 4 518. I respect and honor upper management’s requests….1 2 3 4 519. I dislike helping others…………………….......1 2 3 4 520. I handle change well…………………………..1 2 3 4 5

16


Appendix C

Gender Stereotype Questionnaire

Below are a series of descriptions of generalized beliefs. For each item, please circle the response that most clearly matches your opinion. (Be as specific as you can here.)


1. People think I am attractive……1 2 3 4 52. I am attracted to my boss……....1 2 3 4 53. My boss is attracted to me……..1 2 3 4 54. None of my co-workers invite me anywhere… 1 2 3 4 55. I am uncomfortable when I am at work……… 1 2 3 4 56. People think I am stupid……….1 2 3 4 57. People think I am intelligent…..1 2 3 4 58. My co-workers always ask for help…….1 2 3 4 59. My co-workers never ask for help………1 2 3 4 510. My boss is disorganized and incompetent……1 2 3 4 511. I care about my well-being12. I care about my co-workers’ well-being……..1 2 3 4 513. I do not like to display affection………..1 2 3 4 514. I get upset when I misinterpret a task………..1 2 3 4 515. I dislike every one I work with…………1 2 3 4 516. People think I am funny17. No one laughs at my jokes……………..1 2 3 4 518. People make fun of me when I act myself….1 2 3 4 519. Everyone interrupts me…….1 2 3 4 520. My boss and I have the same sense of humor…1 2 3 4 5

17

professional emotion or legitimate differences__research paper

Documents