Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences__Research Paper
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Transcript of 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
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Running head: Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences?
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
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Running head: Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences?
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
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Running head: Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences?
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
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Running head: Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences?
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
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Running head: Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences?
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
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Running head: Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences?
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
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Running head: Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences?
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.
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Running head: Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences?
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-
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Running head: Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences?
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
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Running head: Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences?
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.
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Running head: Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences?
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
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Running head: Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences?
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.
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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.
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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
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Running head: Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences?
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.)
Key: 1 (Strongly Disagree) 2 (Disagree) 3 (Neutral) 4 (Agree) 5 (Strongly Agree)
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
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Running head: Professional Emotion or Legitimate Differences?
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.)
Key: 1 (Strongly Disagree) 2 (Disagree) 3 (Neutral) 4 (Agree) 5 (Strongly Agree)
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
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