3. Work Attitudes
The Experience of Emoticon at Work
• Life is full of strong emotions. Emotions occur in the workplace. In the course
of a day at work, you may be angry with co-worker, stressed by your boss,
amused by another colleague, and proud from praise given by a manager.
• Emotions experienced at work effect both work and non-work behavior.
similarly, non work-related emotions affect both work and non-work
behavior. Understanding emotions at work is no simple task. In this chapter we
will deal with the complex relationships of work and non-work emotions and
attitudes as well as their effects on behavior.
4. Job satisfication: Some History
The Early Period of Job Satisfication Research
• In the early 1930s, two very different research projects breathed life into the concept of job
satification.
The first survey found both job-related and individual differences variables might
influence job satisfication.
The second research found in the Hawthorne studie that the perceptions of workers
had a greater effect on productivity than the actual physical working conditions.
o Hawthorne effect, change in behavior or attitudes that was the simple result
of increased attention
o the Hawthorne studies galvanized social scientists and gave impetus to the
study of worker attitudes and the new construct of job satisfaction. Attitudes
Relatively stable feelings or beliefs that are directed toward specific persons,
groups, ideas, jobs, or other objects.
5. Antecedents and Consequences of Job
Satisfication
• A Sample of The Effects of Events and Agents on Job Satisfication
6.
7. • Classification of Presumed Antecendents, Correlates, and Consequences of
Job Satisfication
8. The Measurement of Job Satisfication
Overall versus Facet Satisfication
• Overall satisfication
Overall assessment of job satisfication that results either from
mathematically combining scored based on satisfication with spesific important
aspects of work or a single overall evaluative rating of the job.
• Facet satisfication
Information related to spesific facets or elements of job satisfication
Faces 1, 4, 6, 8, 10 of The Circular Face Series
9. The Concept of Commitment
The concept of commitment is often associated with both attitudes
and emotions. Commitment to a relationship, an organization, a goal,
or even an occupation involves emotional attachment, as well as
evaluations of whether current circumstances are what one
expected or might expect in the future.
10. 1. Acceptance and belief in an
organization’s values
2. A willingness to exert effort on
behalf of the organiza-tion to
help meet its goals
3. A strong desire to remain in
the organization
Organization of Commitment has three
elements :
11. Forms of Commitment
1. Affective
Commitment
An emotional
attachment to
an organization
2. Continuance
Commitment
Perceived cost
of leaving an
organization
3. Normative
Commitment
An obligation to
remain in an
organization.
Meyer and Allen (1997) suggested that
organizational commitment could be based on any
one of three elements:
12. Organization Identification
The process whereby individuals derive a feeling of
pride and esteem from their association with an
organization. Individuals may also take pains to distance
themselves from the organization for which they work—
this would be called organizational disidentification.
15. Employee Engagement
● A positive work‐related state of mind that includes high levels of energy,
enthusiasm, and identification with one’s work
● Overlaps positively with job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job
involvement.
● Increasing evidence indicates that engagement is a distinct construct that has
important organizational implications. For example, increased engagement on
the part of workers is related to increased task and contextual performance.
16. Satisfaction vs Mood vs Emotion
• Weiss and his colleagues argue that one should study emotions rather than
attitudes, they are really suggesting that research needs to be redirected to examine
moods and emotions at work rather than focusing exclusively on cognitions
stressful events, interactions with supervisors and co‐workers, and the effect
of physical settings for evidence of the influence of moods and emotions on
behavior
• Brief and Weiss (2002) defined moods as “generalized feeling states not . . .
identified with a particular stimulus and not sufficiently intense to interrupt ongoing
thought processes” , emotions “are normally associated with specific events or
occurrences and are intense enough to disrupt thought processes”
• Moods are usually described as positive or negative, whereas emotions are
described more specifically (e.g., anger, fear, or joy).
17. In this scheme, specific emotions are affective states, but they are
conceptually different from moods and stress. It is generally accepted that
discrete emotions can be positioned around a circle. The technical term for
this arrangement is the affect circumplex (Weiss, 2002a). As shown in
Figure 9.6, opposite emotions appear directly across from each other in the
circle. Bored is the opposite of excited; unhappy is the opposite of delighted.
In addition, there are two more basic dimensions on which emotions differ:
degree of activation and degree of pleasantness
18. JUPITER
It’s the biggest planet in
the Solar System
MERCURY
Mercury is the closest
planet to the Sun
NEPTUNE VENUS
Venus is the second planet
from the Sun
Dispositions and Affectivity
• Two dispositions that have received a great deal of attention are negative
affectivity (NA) and positive affectivity (PA).
• Individuals high in NA are prone to experience a diverse array of negative
mood states (e.g., anxiety, depression, hostility, and guilt), whereas
individuals high in PA are prone to describe themselves as cheerful,
enthusiastic, confident,active, and energetic
• Job satisfaction and affectivity have reciprocal influences on each other
• positive people tend to be more satisfied with their jobs, and this
satisfaction in turn helps individuals maintain a positive level of general life
satisfaction, further enhancing their positive affectivity
19. The Time Course of Emotional Experience
MERCURY
Mercury is the smallest
planet of them all
VENUS
Venus is the second
planet from the Sun
MARS
Despite being red,
Mars is a cold place
JUPITER
It’s the biggest one in
the Solar System
SATURN
Saturn is the ringed
one and a gas giant
NEPTUNE
It’s the farthest planet
from the Sun
More recently, Weiss and Cropanzano (1996) developed a framework called affective events
theory.
These include the following:
● The effect of negative environmental events on mood is five times stronger than the effect of positive events,
even though positive events are reported more frequently than negative events (Miner, Glomb, & Hulin, 2005).
● Positive experiences at work reduce end‐of‐day feelings of fatigue (Zohar, Tzischinski, & Epstein, 2003) and
increase general feelings of well‐being (Harris,Daniels, & Briner, 2003).
● Counterproductive work behavior is much more likely to result from momentary (state) hostility or experiences of
injustice than from stable personality characteristics; the effects of these momentary experiences are then
exaggerated if the individual is also chronically (trait) hostile (Judge, Scott, & Ilies, 2006).
● In samples of German and Swiss public service employees who had high stress levels after work, opportunities
to recuperate and unwind were particularly important. Specifically, researchers found that activities involving
relaxation, mastery experiences (e.g., engaging in sports and exercise), and high sleep quality were related to
positive affect in the morning before the employees returned to work (Sonnentag,Binnewies, & Mojza, 2008).
● Insomnia at night contributes to negative emotions (hostility and fatigue) at work on subsequent days. These
negative emotions subsequently relate to reports of lower job satisfaction (Scott & Judge, 2006).
● Employees experience more positive emotions when interacting with co‐workers and customers than when
interacting with their supervisors (Bono, Foldes, Vinson, & Muros, 2007).
20. Genetics and Job Satisfaction
MERCURY
Mercury is the closest
planet to the Sun and
also the smallest one in
the Solar System
NEPTUNE
Neptune is the farthest
planet from the Sun
and the fourth-largest
in the Solar System
• Another intriguing research hypothesis regarding job satisfaction and
work‐related emotional experiences is that emotional experience may be
influenced by genetics
• Staw, Bell, and Clausen (1986) reported that positive affectivity (e.g.,
individuals described as cheerful) or negative affectivity (e.g., individuals
described as irritable or depressed) as measured in adolescence predicted
job satisfaction as much as 50 years later. Thus, dispositions might be
considerably more stable than implied by the term “mood.” Irritable
adolescents were dissatisfied workers in adulthood, and happy adolescents
were happy workers in adulthood
• Ilies and Judge (2003) estimated that up to 45 percent of genetic influences
on job satisfaction are expressed through stable personality traits
21. JOB LOST
MERCURY
Mercury is the closest
planet to the Sun and
also the smallest one in
the Solar System
NEPTUNE
Neptune is the farthest
planet from the Sun
and the fourth-largest
in the Solar System
Warr (2007) has systematically studied the effect of job loss on the well‐being of
individuals. He argued that “paid employment is central to the functioning of
societies and to the mental health of individuals” (1999, p. 392). Warr has reached
certain conclusions about the effects of unemployment:
• The psychological health of unemployed workers is poorer than that of employed
workers.
• This poorer health is the result of (not the cause of) unemployment, since a return
to paid employment is usually followed by an improvement in psychological
well‐being.
• Losing one’s job often results in depression, insomnia, irritability, lack of
confidence, inability to concentrate, and general anxiety
22. Jahoda (1981) concisely described the effects of employment on
well‐being: First, employment imposes a time structure on the waking
day; second, employment implies regularly shared experiences and
contacts with people outside the nuclear family; third, employment links
individuals to goals and purposes that transcend their own; fourth,
employment defines aspects of personal status and identity; and finally,
employment enforces activity. (p. 188)
23. A relevant issue concerning the concept of job loss is the experience of
psychological insecurity, in addition to the more obvious and associated
economic insecurity. Are all individuals equally plagued with Insecure feelings
as a result of the increasing phenomena of downsizing, mergers, and
acquisitions? The answer—at least according to research conducted prior to
the financial crisis that began in 2008—seems to be no.
24. Warr (2007) noted that good health, social support, and an absence of
financial pressure all reduce the distress of unemployment to some
degree. Probst (2000) found that the individuals most likely to be negatively
affected by feelings of insecurity are those most invested and involved in
their jobs and organizations. It is ironic that in many instances, those who
have the least to fear, because of their high levels of performance and
motivation, are those who are most fearful. This may be the result of
having more at stake than those uninvolved with their work or organization.
By extension, the effects of insecurity may actually diminish performance
and motivation over time, resulting in a self‐fulfilling prophecy: The most
motivated and effective employees end up performing more poorly, thus
confirming their fears by increasing the possibility that they might be laid off
as a result of diminished performance.
25. Work-family Balance
Work–Family Balance People obviously have both work and non‐work lives. For many individuals,
particularly those in the 30–50 age range, non‐work life is dominated by the family. Data (and common
sense) suggest that both physical and psychological well‐being are affected whenever an individual’s life
is out of balance, when too much time and energy are invested in one sphere (Zedeck, 1992).
Most research and theory related to work–family balance actually concentrates on the effects
of a lack of balance. These effects are often discussed in terms of the stress created by
conflicting demands between work and non‐work activities. Another way to say this is that the
satisfaction that one experiences at work is in part affected by the satisfaction that one
experiences in non‐work, and vice versa, particularly to the extent that one environment has
demands that conflict with the other
26. the irony between the employer provision
the irony between the employer provision of various on‐site
services (e.g., child care, dry cleaning, auto maintenance) that
appear to elevate family issues to equal status with work issues
and the steady increase in the number of working hours.
Interestingly, supportive supervision was closely related to
work–life balance. Workers cared less about whether the
company provided on‐site child‐care services than they did
about the organization’s realization that child care was an
important value for its workers
27. Positive Spillover
experiences at work may have
positive spillover to family life (e.g.,
having a successful day at work
puts you in a good mood when
playing with your children). This
encouraging perspective is likely to
be fruitful as I‐O psychology
researchers and practitioners
increasingly consider the overlap
between work and family.
28. One is never out of touch, which may be a boon to
sales representatives eager to strike while the
client is hot, and to medical professionals whose
timely advice may save a life, but a burden to
many other workers who find no opportunity to
“turn off ” their thoughts about the job
29. Psychological Contracts
Psychological contracts have been receiving much more attention in the
21st‐century workplace because long‐term employment with one
organization is increasingly rare. Employees’ increased willingness to
move from job to job has been called the “protean career” by Hall
(2002), who noted that individuals have become much more focused on
growth and mobility in their career rather than growth within a particular
organization.
30. The Influence of Psychological contract
1. Affect (contract violation and mistrust)
2. Attitudes (job satisfaction, organizational
commitment, and turnover intentions)
3. Performance (actual turnover, organizational
citizenship behavior, and in‐role performance)
31. Work‐Related Attitudes and Emotions from a
Cross‐Cultural Perspective
. At present, cross‐cultural examinations of job satisfaction and work‐related emotions tend to
concentrate on differences between individualist and collectivist cultures. It would be useful
for researchers to expand their interest to include additional cultural variables such as
masculinity, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and time orientation.
Here, we are talking about the fit between the design of work and cultural values as a
possible determinant of job satisfaction. The practical implication is that multinational
organizations must be sensitive to this fit between values and work if they are
concerned about the satisfaction of their employees in differing cultural environments.
This is particularly true in the case of expatriates transplanted into a new culture
32. In practical terms, this means that the greater the distance
between a particular location and the United States with respect
to basic cultural values such as individualism, masculinity, or
power distance, the less relevant are the results of American
studies of satisfaction and emotion. Like many other areas we
cover in this text, we conclude that as the nature of work
becomes more multicultural and global, it will be increasingly
important to include cultural variables in our research designs.
