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Epilogue
Promising Research Opportunities in Emotions and Coping with Conflict
Ronald H Humphrey
Department of Management, School of Business, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VI, United States of America
Keywords
emotions, conflict, empathy, leadership, emotional labour
Article Text
This epilogue reviews the highlights of the five articles in this special issue on emotions and coping with conflict. It develops 12 research areas that offer potential for future research breakthroughs. These areas link the five articles to core concepts in emotional intelligence/competencies and Affective Events Theory. Particular attention is given to empathy, the ability to recognize emotions in others, and the ability to express one's own emotions. These three variables are related to moods and job performance, leadership, emotional labour, trust, work-family conflict, and stress. These five articles, together with the 12 promising research areas, suggest practical ways to help employees and organizations cope with conflict in the workplace.
Promising research opportunities in emotions and coping with conflict
As the five articles in this special issue demonstrate, there are numerous opportunities to make research contributions by linking emotions to conflict and coping. Conflict has always been seen as an emotionally arousing process. Traditional theories of conflict have modeled how conflict can lead to feelings of hostility (Fox & Spector 1999). Conflict has long been recognized as a very stressful process. However, in the last fifteen years or so our understanding of emotions in the workplace has blossomed, and it is time that we incorporate these recent advances into the literature on conflict. When the original models of conflict in the workplace were developed, Salovey and Mayer (1990) had not yet coined the term 'emotional intelligence'. Moreover, few management scholars were investigating related concepts such as emotional labour (Ashforth & Humphrey 1993; Brotheridge & Grandey 2002; Rafaeli & Sutton 1987; Locke 1996; Schaubroeck & Jones 2000). And of course Affective Events Theory had not been developed (Ashkanasy & Daus 2002; Weiss & Cropanzano1996; Weiss, Nichols & Daus 1999). Thanks to the research done in the last fifteen years, we now have a much better understanding of the skills, competencies, and traits that underlie emotionally intelligent behavior in the workplace. And thanks to the five articles in this special issue of Journal of Management & Organization [volume 12/2 (2006); ISBN 0-9757710-9-4], we have a good start on applying these recent advances to our models of conflict in the workplace.
In this epilogue I am going to highlight what I think are some of the key contributions of each article in this issue. However, my focus will be on discussing how these articles point the way to future research opportunities. I am going to relate these articles to some of the core concepts in the research on emotions and suggest some new propositions and research opportunities. In particular, I am going to emphasize empathy. When discussing empathy, I will also emphasize two other related concepts: the ability to express one's own emotions and the ability to identify other's emotions. These three abilities are crucial to emotional competence and should also play a large role in coping with conflict. In general, empathic individuals should be better at developing positive interactions with others and in handling conflict when it does break out. Although I will focus on empathy, I will also give considerable attention to emotional labor and moods, particularly when discussing the 2 articles on emotional labor, and the piece on moods by Jordan, Lawrence and Troth.
Empathy
In their groundbreaking article, Salovey and Mayer (1990: 194-195) defined empathy as the 'ability to comprehend another's feelings and to re-experience them oneself'. They described empathy as central to the concept of emotional intelligence. Empathy has also been portrayed as a bonding process due to the sharing of emotions (Plutchik 1987: 43). Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee (2002: 50) argued that empathy is 'the fundamental competence of social awareness' and 'the sine qua non of all social effectiveness in working life.' They theorize that empathy creates resonance, which is a type of empathic bond that allows leaders to be emotionally in step with others; moreover, through this bond leaders can guide the emotional responses of their followers [see also Pescosolido (2002) for case examples of leaders guiding through empathic bonds]. Empathy has also been shown to be an excellent predictor of leadership emergence (Kellett, Humphrey & Sleeth 2002; 2006). The ability to express emotions and the ability to read other's emotions help in establishing empathic bonds, but they may also have direct effects as well (Kellett, Humphrey & Sleeth 2006). These latter two abilities have also been described as crucial to emotional intelligence (Salovey & Mayer 1990), and efforts to develop objective measures of emotional intelligence often focus on tests of peoples' ability to recognize emotions in others (Mayer, Caruso & Salovey 2000).
Moods and Performance
I will begin by discussing the article, 'The impact of negative mood on team performance', by Jordan, Lawrence and Troth. This is a remarkable article that deserves to be heavily cited and widely read. Although Affective Events Theory has become widely respected as a theoretical model of moods in the workplace, relatively few articles have actually demonstrated that moods have an important influence on performance. Jordan and his colleagues have reviewed the available research linking moods and performance, and have added to it by demonstrating that moods can have a sizeable impact on performance in a longitudinal study. In particular, they have shown that moods have an independent and incremental affect on performance - even when incorporating well-known and researched variables such as team cohesion, task conflict and interpersonal conflict. (In addition, they demonstrate that moods have a strong impact on these group processes.) Thus mood is not simply a by-product or a merely associated consequence of cohesion and task conflict, but a true predictive variable that has independent effects on performance. Their study suggests that managers need to pay attention to employees' moods, and that part of their job as managers is to help employees move from negative to positive moods.
Jordan, Lawrence and Troth's research is consistent with a small but growing body of research in the leadership area. This research suggests that one of a leader's main roles is to manage the emotional tone of group members (Humphrey 2002). For example, McColl-Kennedy and Anderson (2002) found that effective leaders help subordinates cope with frustrating events at work, and instill feelings of optimism, whereas ineffective leaders increase their subordinates' feelings of frustration when they encounter obstacles. These feelings of either frustration or optimism in turn influenced objective sales performance. Likewise, Pirola-Merlo, Haertel, Mann & Hirst (2002) found that leaders of R&D teams had a substantial impact on affective team climate, which in turn influenced performance. Leaders' influence on moods can also influence other important variables such as turnover (Cote & Morgan 2002).
Jordan, Lawrence and Troth's study suggest several lines of research opportunities. First, because the house of science is built on replication, additional studies need to be done to replicate their findings that moods have a direct influence on performance; for a complete replication, these studies need to demonstrate that mood effects occur independently of mediating processes like group conflict. Thus:
Research opportunity 1: Replicate the independent effects of negative moods on job performance in a variety of settings.
Because Jordan et al's study demonstrated that the mood effect on performance was only partially mediated by task or interpersonal conflict, we need to better understand the causes of negative moods at work. As considerable research has demonstrated, some people are simply high on negative affectivity and have a predisposition to experience bad moods at work. However, according to Affective Events Theory (Weiss & Cropanzano 1996), many moods are ephemeral and caused by fleeting events at work. In previous theory pieces (Humphrey 2000; Humphrey & Ashforth 2004), I argued that we need to explore the structural causes of moods at work. While some work events that influence moods may be random events, on-going organizational factors, such as job characteristics, may help us predict when negative moods are likely to occur. These structural factors would be precursors to the model proposed by Jordan et al. So far, relatively little empirical work has been done linking job characteristics and other structural factors to moods. Thus this is a fertile potential research area:
Research opportunity 2: Develop and test models linking job characteristics and other contextual and organizational factors to moods and emotions.
Jordan et al.'s research, together with the leadership studies cited earlier, implies that it is a part of a manager's or leader's job to help employees cope with their negative moods. After all, these bad moods affect productivity, which is of course a central concern of managers. Thus it is important to know which skills and abilities managers need to have in order to influence their employees' moods.
Emotional Labour and Change
The three abilities that I mentioned earlier, empathy, ability to recognize others' emotions, and the ability to express one's emotions, may be important in helping leaders to cope with their followers' negative moods. I will discuss these abilities in the context of discussing the Bryant and Wolfram Cox article on organizational change in this special issue, because organizational change is a process that certainly engenders the type of negative moods that managers will need to address. Their article is entitled, 'The expression of suppression: Loss and emotional labour in narratives of organizational change'.
First, as Bryant and Wolfram Cox demonstrate, people often try to hide their moods at work, especially negative moods such as fear of change. Thus, as they describe, employees may 'dull down' both their own sense of their emotions as well as their emotional displays. Their article is innovative in that it recognizes that emotional labour is a process that occurs in many work encounters between organizational members, and not just between service employees and customers. Emotional labour has traditionally been studied in the context of service encounters (Ashforth & Humphrey 1993; Brotheridge & Grandey 2002; Rafaeli & Sutton 1987; Locke 1996; Schaubroeck & Jones 2000). Consequently, Bryant and Wolfram Cox's examination here of emotional labour among employees undergoing change, is a major and long overdue change in our conceptualization of emotional labour processes. Although their study focuses on emotional labour among coworkers, I feel that managers and leaders also have to perform emotional labour in their efforts to influence subordinates' moods (Humphrey 2006). For example, leaders need to portray confidence and sympathy during frustrating times (such as change events, which are often anxiety provoking for the managers as well), and in this way inspire confidence and feelings of optimism among their followers. Thus our next research opportunity:
Research opportunity 3: Explore how leaders, managers and subordinates use emotional labor in their encounters with each other, particularly during times of organizational transformations or other challenges and conflicts.
One of the strengths of the Bryant and Wolfram Cox article is that it shows the complexity of emotions at work. As they demonstrate, emotional labour and efforts to mute the expression of negative emotions may actually heighten negative emotions. Simplistic managerial efforts to increase positive moods and suppress negative emotions may actually backfire. As they eloquently illustrate, managers sometimes punish subordinates who express negative emotions about organizational change. This is of course exactly the wrong approach to take. As Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee (2002) illustrate in their opening case example, managers must first get in step with employees' negative moods and establish resonance with them. This means they must acknowledge negative events and demonstrate that they share the employees' feelings. In other words, they must first create an empathic bond with their employees, and then use this bond to guide their employees to more productive emotional states; for example, by instilling optimism about their chances for successfully going through the change. Thus:
Research opportunity 4: Explore the role of empathic bonds between leaders and coworkers in helping organizational members cope with conflict, organizational change, and other negative or challenging events.
As Bryant and Wolfram Cox observed in their interviews, employees often 'dull down' their emotional expressions. Some explicitly mentioned that they tried to hide how they felt from management. Of course, if managers practiced authentic leadership (Cameron, Dutton & Quinn 2003; Luthans & Avolio 2003) and treated their employees fairly, employees would be less likely to hide their true feelings. In the case examples Bryant and Wolfram Cox examined, the employees had suffered a loss of decision-making power and participation in key meetings. If the managers had practicised shared leadership (Pearce & Conger 2003) the degree to which employees hid their feelings might have decreased. Their research suggests three things. First, managers need to work on establishing trust; trust has been shown to help in conflict situations (Korsgaard, Brodt & Whitener 2002) and in organizational transformations (Jung & Avolio 2001). As Ashkanasy and his colleagues point out, subordinates' attributions about their leaders' sincerity have important consequences (Dasborough & Ashkanasy 2002; Newcombe & Ashkanasy 2002). Trust has also been shown to increase productivity (Dirks & Ferrin 2001; 2002).
Second, leaders need to be good at recognizing employees' true feelings, because even if the managers are acting ethically the natural anxiety that accompanies organizational conflict and change may cause employees to hide their feelings. As Rubin, Munz & Bommer (2005) have found, emotion recognition is especially important in cases of organizational transformations.
Third, the ability to be emotionally expressive helps leaders be effective (Gardner & Avolio 1998; George 2000). As Kellett, Humphrey, and Sleeth (2006) demonstrated, the ability to express emotions is also important to empathy. Together with the ability to recognize emotions in others, the ability to express emotions was a good predictor of empathy, which in turn predicted leadership emergence. In order to create the empathic bond, leaders need to express their emotions in a way that creates shared feelings with others. This leads to three research areas that require more empirical testing:
Research opportunity 5: Explore whether leaders who score high on measures of empathy are better at creating trusting relationships with their subordinates during times of change and conflict.
Research opportunity 6: Explore whether leaders who score high on measures of ability to recognize emotions in others are better at creating trusting relationships with their subordinates during times of change and conflict.
Research opportunity 7: Explore whether leaders who score high on measures of ability to express emotions are better at creating trusting relationships with their subordinates during times of change and conflict.
Emotional Labour and Exhaustion
The next article to be discussed is also on emotional labor. It's by Van Dijk and Kirk, and is entitled, 'Emotional labor and negative job outcomes: An evaluation of the mediating role of emotional dissonance'. This is a well-balanced article that recognizes that emotional labor does not always have to be stressful. Instead, they argue that the effects of emotional labor depend on whether it creates feelings of dissonance. They argue that some people may perform emotional labor, but may positively evaluate it. Their approach is very consistent with the argument that Ashforth and I made about the mediating role of identity (Ashforth & Humphrey 1993). When people identify with their role they are less likely to feel stress or other harmful effects from performing emotional labor. Van Dijk and Kirk tested their model in two different samples, and found that emotional dissonance partially mediated the effects of surface acting on emotional exhaustion. Thus their study is a very useful addition to the body of evidence on this issue.
Van Dijk and Kirk's research suggests that the effects of emotional labor depend in part on the personal characteristics of the actors. I would like to suggest that the three emotional abilities that I have been discussing may also be personal characteristics that influence whether people feel positive or negative effects from performing emotional labor. First, people high on empathy may be less likely to need to perform surface acting (as opposed to deep acting, or authentic emotional expression) in a variety of service settings. They may naturally feel friendly towards the customers and enjoy talking with them. If they are good at expressing empathy then they may evoke more positive reactions from the customers, thus creating a more pleasant atmosphere for both parties. The ability to recognize others' emotions may help service agents create more pleasant encounters with customers. By better reading customer's moods, they can know how to react. Moreover, the ability to express their own emotions may help them perform emotional labor. People who are naturally expressive may find performing emotional labor easier to do and less exhausting. Thus:
Research opportunity 8: Explore whether people high on measures of empathy are more likely to use deep acting rather than surface acting, and whether they find emotional labor less exhausting. Moreover, explore whether people high on empathy are more effective at customer service interactions.
Research opportunity 9: Explore whether people high on the ability to recognize emotions are more likely to use deep acting rather than surface acting, and whether they find emotional labor less exhausting. Moreover, explore whether people high on the ability to recognize emotions are more effective at customer service interactions.
Research opportunity 10: Explore whether people high on the ability to express emotions are more likely to use deep acting rather than surface acting, and whether they find emotional labor less exhausting. Moreover, explore whether people high on the ability to express emotions are more effective at customer service interactions.
Work-Family Conflict
The next two articles are on work-family conflict. Haar's article is entitled, 'The downside of coping: Work-family conflict, employee burnout and the moderating effects of coping strategies'. Haar has found a bi-directional nature of the conflict, because family-work conflicts exist as well as work-family ones. Haar has provided excellent evidence that these work-family conflicts lead to job burnout, which of course is counter-productive to efficient organizational functioning. Thus his study provides good support for the notion that organizations should treat their employees in a humane and ethical manner, and should take into account the effects of their work practices on families. Employers should also be sympathetic to whatever family problems their employees have, because these also affect productivity. Thus his article fits in very well philosophically with my emphasis on authentic leadership and empathy.
Sadly, two often recommended coping strategies were ineffective in reducing burnout in Haar's sample. Positive thinking had no effect on burnout on either work-family or family-work conflict. Even worse, the direct action coping strategy actually increased the amount of conflict because it entailed working longer hours.
Perhaps the participants in Haar's study would have fared better if they had followed some of the recommendations in the second article on work-family conflict. This theory piece by Lawrence is entitled, 'An integrative model of perceived available support, work-family conflict and support mobilization'. Her article emphasizes support mobilization. Social support is a powerful stress reliever; however, not everyone actively seeks out social support when under stress. Thus her article emphasizes the need to take proactive steps to gain social support during work-family conflict situations. Following previous taxonomies, Lawrence lists three types of support: supervisor, colleagues and family. The type of support can also vary, ranging from appraisal, instrumental, informational and emotional. According to her model, the type of support one receives is likely to vary by the source, for example, one is more likely to receive emotional support from family members and colleagues, while receiving appraisal support from supervisors and colleagues.
As Lawrence's literature review shows, there has been a voluminous amount of research on social support and stress, and most of this research supports the beneficial effects of social support. Indeed, I think we can take it as an established fact that social support does indeed buffer stress. This fits in very well philosophically with my emphasis on the importance of empathic ties in the workplace.
In terms of potential new research areas, I think there is room to relate Lawrence's model to the recent research on emotions in the workplace. Although considerable research has been done with established social support measures, the emotional intelligence and competencies field has generated new scales based on the latest theories of how emotions work. One of Lawrence's coauthors on her other paper in this issue, Peter Jordan, has developed his own measures of emotional intelligence and empathy for use in work-group settings (Jordan, Ashkanasy & Härtel 2002). Lawrence's model could be expanded to explicitly include emotional intelligence related concepts. For example, she talks about how the closeness of a relationship determines the degree of emotional support available. Closeness is defined in terms of the extent to which people are involved with each other both behaviorally and emotionally. The emotional intelligence or competencies of the givers and receivers may play a large role in determining the closeness of the relationship. For example, if two coworkers are both high on empathy and other emotional intelligence abilities, then they may find it easier to develop close relationships. In contrast, if an employee works in a department where the other employees are low on empathy, then the average level of closeness in the department may be low.
People high on emotional intelligence and empathy may also be more proactive in terms of mobilizing support. The ability to recognize emotions in others may help them spot supportive people; likewise, their ability to express emotions may help them express their need for support, as well as give support to others. Lawrence mentions how people may turn to others for a joke, a hug, or for other forms of stress-relieving conversation. Clearly, people who are better at expressing themselves emotionally are likely to be better at providing this form of support. Thus:
Research opportunities 11: Explore whether departments with higher average levels of empathy, emotion recognition, and expressiveness score higher on closeness and social support, and consequently suffer less from stress.
Research opportunities 12: Explore whether individuals high on empathy, emotion recognition, and expressiveness are better at support mobilization during times of stress; explore whether people high on these traits have more authentic friendships and larger total friendship networks.
Conclusions
Overall, the articles in this special issue on emotions and conflict have demonstrated the utility of linking the recent research on emotions with the established models of conflict. Together, they point to exciting new avenues for research. I have outlined a dozen ways in which these articles could be related to some of my current research interests, and I am sure that most readers can find ways to relate these exciting articles to their own research interests as well.
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