Emotions and Job Satisfaction

Written By: Leanne Schnurer

    When it comes to job satisfaction in the work place, everyone has different motivators that help improve their performance levels. According to the Value-Percept Theory of Job Satisfaction, the big motivators that contribute to overall job satisfaction, and therefore more effective performance, are as follows: pay, promotion, supervision and coworker satisfaction, and being satisfied with the work itself. These are the basic outlines of concepts that can play into overall job satisfaction. A key variable that can affect all of these pieces of the puzzle, however, are our moods and emotions. Drastic changes in mood can especially affect the satisfaction with the work itself. This is because a bad mood can affect someone's motivation to work, therefore their performance can hinder, or they may just simply not care about the job at all because they feel, at that moment, the job is irrelevant.

    In a report on motivation in the workplace, written by J. Richard Hackman and Greg R. Oldman, they focus on the different theories of work redesign that focus on improving not only productivity in the work place, but the quality of the overall work experience for employees as well. One of the theories they address is William E. Scott's ideas on the Activation Theory. In general, the activation theory states that we need a certain level of mental arousal in order to motivate ourselves to reach our goals and do good work and be able to function effectively in all aspects of life. Getting back to Hackman and Oldham's report, they point out how Scott focused on stating how the activation theory could be applied to the work environment because it can help in understanding how to improve jobs that are under stimulating and repetitive or jobs that may be over stimulating.

    One of the big challenges with this theory is that everyone has different "optimal levels" to which they can achieve this mental arousal. This is because everyone has different emotional and psychological reactions to different stimuli. In order to affectively use the activation theory to help improve motivation in the work place, HR departments would have to take into affect what stimuli will have the best effect on each individual worker. For example, to help add variety to repetitive tasks on assembly lines, managers could have employees rotate what task they have every so often and give them a new challenge. However, if the manager notices that a specific employee doesn't have a good psychological or motivational reaction to this change. They then must figure out what exactly they can do to help make the quality of work better for that specific employee.

    A key hurdle when it comes to motivating employees is any outside sources they may be affecting their overall attitude.  If an employee is having an off day, that may lead them to being dissatisfied with work in general that day, whether it be focused toward coworkers or the work itself. For example, if an employee got a bill in the mail before they got to work that day, they could be in a bad mood for that day because that event stimulated a negative emotion. This could lead to them not caring about their quality of work that day and just wanting to do what they have to until they can finally leave. Having a bad day once in awhile where emotions can throw our work off track isn't that much of an ordeal, however, it becomes a problem when this becomes a daily occurrence. For example, if someone were to unfortunately have a death in the family, these negative emotions could haunt them and effect their motivation in the workplace for an extended period of time. These outside sources would be hard for an HR department to keep control of to ensure poor moods do not affect performance. The best companies can do is to make sure that the workplace, quality of work, other employees, and other job satisfaction elements, provide a sound work environment because at least these types of emotional stimuli are in their control.

    According to Cynthia Fisher's publication on moods and job satisfaction, "Job satisfaction is an attitude. Attitudes are usually described as containing at least two components: an affective (emotional, feeling) component, and a cognitive (belief, judgment, comparison) component." This statement sums up exactly why moods and emotions are so key to job satisfaction. A worker can have the "perfect" pay, coworkers, supervision, and promotional opportunity, but if they do not feel any kind of positive feelings relating the work itself, then how can they have a good attitude about their work? Without a good attitude, how will they stay motivated? If they are not motivated, how will they excel in their job performance? To conclude, if employees experience positive emotions during work, or relating to work, they will generally have a good attitude in the workplace. As previously stated, this attitude is directly related to job satisfaction, because job satisfaction is in fact a personal attitude or feeling. If an employee feels they have value fulfillment and overall job satisfaction, they will then generally perform to their greatest capability because this fulfillment can stimulate a positive emotion.

References:

-- Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational behavior and human performance, 16(2), 250-279.

           Retrieved from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0030507376900167#

-- http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/activation_theory.htm

-- Fisher, C. D. (1998). Mood and emotions while working-missing pieces of job satisfaction. School of Business Discussion Papers, 64.

            Retrieved from: epublications.bond.edu.au

Job Satisfaction Relating to Life Satisfaction

By: Ashley Bayoff          


            People live their lives day to day and never really think about if they are really satisfied with it. Life satisfaction starts with the feelings and attitudes about one’s life. I want you to really think about this question “Do you feel a sense of happiness with your life? If your answer is “no” or “I’m not sure”, you should take a step back and figure out why.

            There are many factors that can have a bearing on your satisfaction with life. Some of these factors include money, relationships, and jobs. Research shows that job satisfaction is strongly related to life satisfaction. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense given that you probably spend most of your time tied up at work.

            The movie “Horrible Bosses” shows the strong connection between job satisfaction and life satisfaction. Nick Hendricks and Dale Arbus are two friends who can’t stand their bosses. Nick works at a financial firm for David Harken, who teases him about a promotion that he will never actually receive. Dale is a dental assistant who is constantly sexually harassed by his boss, Dr. Julia Harris. Their other friend, Kurt Buckman, is an accountant and enjoys his job until his boss dies and the company is taken over by his son.      

            During a night out at the bar, Kurt jokes that their lives would be happier if their bosses were no longer around. That joke turned into a reality when they all agree to murder their bosses.

            The comment that Kurt makes directly shows that if their bosses weren’t around, they would be satisfied with their jobs and their lives would be happier. 

            Table 4-3 shows a study that analyzes time spent on daily activities, along with reported levels of positive and negative feelings during the course of those activities. Notice how the participants spend their most time at work. During that time, the highest levels of negative feelings are recorded. Activities like socializing, eating, and relaxing resulted in very high positive feelings. However, those activities take up a very small portion of the day. The strong relationship between job satisfaction and life satisfaction makes sense considering all the hours per day spent at work.

           

References:

Colquitt, J., Lepine, J., & Wesson, M. (2011). Organizational Behavior . New York City: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Coping with Stress Helps Improve Health

February 28, 2013
Written by: Marissa Kautz

     Stress can be defined as a response to demands that possess certain stakes that exceed a person's capacity or resources (Colquitt, Lepine, &Wesson, 2011). It's on every corner in today's world. Our to-do lists are much longer than the hours they take to be fulfilled and responsibilities with work, relationships, families, etc. are virtually endless. All of this adds up to be the tremendous amount of stress of a busy American lifestyle. Taking time to relax seems out of the question, but if you take a little "me" time it could be just what the doctor ordered.  

     The Wall Street Journal's Melinda Beck reveals that stress can be the cause of physical pain, (especially in the neck, shoulder, and back) and other damage to your body. It has been proved that your physical well-being is connected to your emotions and it's not just "in your head". When your brain is under distress it signals to your brain that you are in trouble and tells your body to release certain hormones in result (Beck, 2009). This response is an equivalent manner to that if you were in some kind of immediate danger. Although it proves to be worse because instead of your body being this way for a couple hours, it stays this way for the weeks, maybe even months and years, that you're under stress and takes quite a toll on your body (Beck, 2009). Also, there have been studies that found fifty to eighty percent of diseases are related to stress (Swent, 1983). The problem is with so many different demands, people don't make time to actually deal with the stress it just builds up over time. Most people don't even know the harm it's doing on their body.

     Some stressors don't even have anything to do with the work so why should managers and administrators look at the stress their employees are under? First of all, it's looking out for their well-being and also job performance is related directly with the amount of stress a person is under(Colquitt, Lepine, &Wesson, 2011). If your employees are stressed they will come to work unfocused and may have an aggressive manner causing problems for other workers. This could lead to a variety of problems and if it gets out of hand have a domino effect on other employees and create a total drop in performance.

     Every human being is unique, and so is the stress management technique that will work for each person. One way to deal with stress is called behavioral coping, people that cope this way like to get involved in some sort of physical activity (Colquitt, Lepine, &Wesson, 2011). Whether it be yoga or lifting weights, this helps to create a diversion from the problem that's causing stress. Any frustrations can be taken out this way and let go of. Also, while working out your body produces feel-good hormones called endorphins which are great after a stressful day (Beck, 2009). 

     A contrasting method of coping is cognitive coping or using the mind to think of different methods that could work out(Colquitt, Lepine, &Wesson, 2011) . These people like to meditate or use other relaxing techniques. At the University of Massachusetts a technique called "mindfulness-based stress reduction" was founded that would work well for some cognitive coping people. This includes breathing and connecting with your body to get a sense of your individual feelings to certain things (Shellenbarger, 2012).  It's also very important to get adequate sleep because when you rest your brain has time to recharge (Beck, 2009).
    
     Working in a high stress job it's also a good idea to have an immediate stress reliever (Swent, 1983). In "How Administrators Cope with Stress" this was a suggestion if you're dealing with an angry employee or irrational customer. It would not be professional to lose your temper, this could cost the company a loyal customer or something of value, so to have something always with you to calm you down in a time of need is a necessity. Simple things may work such as counting backwards from ten or taking a couple deep breaths.

     Since a lot of a person's stress is stemmed from the reaction between an individual's personality and their environment, and most of their time is spent at work, companies should create a nice open atmosphere for their employees. Work is a stressful thing so offering benefits such as discounted child care may take of some of the stressors in their employee's lives. Also, having a gym or giving out gym memberships may be a good way to encourage employees to deal with their stress. With the correct combination stress can be managed, and leave a person feeling ready and happy to work. This most likely will result in better quality work performance and happier employees, which will use domino effect in a positive way. When people are happy and stress free everyone wins!

References:

Beck, M. (2009). Stress So Bad It Hurts--Really. TheWall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123724722718848829.html.

Colquitt, J., Lepine, J., & Wesson, M. (2011). Organizational Behavior . New York City: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Shellenbarger, S. (2012). To Cut Office Stress, Try Butterflies and Meditation?. The Wall Street Journal.

Swent, B. (1983). How administrators cope with stress. Theory into Practice, 22(1), 70-74.

Workplace stress factors and management
By: Renee Lessard

            Stress is present in all of our lives. There are stressors from work and from nonwork. In general, these stressors fall into two categories; hindrance and challenge. These are part of the transactional theory of stress which explains how stressors are perceived  and appraised, as well as how people respond to those perceptions and appraisals. These appraisals involve the questions Is this Stressful? and How can I Cope? For this blog I will use the text Organizational Behavior with journal articles cited at the end of this post to discuss the causes of stress in the workplace and suggested methods to prevent, defuse, and cope with stress. This blog will focus mainly on workplace stress.

            The difference between hindrance stressors and challenge stressors lies in the source of the stress. Hindrance stressors are based on conflicts within the roles of the organization. Challenge stressors are based on the demands of the work within the organization. Albahussain gives some examples of this in his article, some of these are lack of communication. This involves an imbalance in the roles within the organization that lead to conflicts among employees and conflicts between employees and management. Another is adopting changes. From time to time organizations make mistakes with promotions and rewards to employees  that may not deserve it or use it well. This creates role conflicts and role overload for both the employees promoted and those not promoted.

            Albahussain also gives some examples of challenge stressors. Workload is a major source of stress for many employees and managers. That, combined with time constraints, can lead to massive stress for individuals in the organization. We have all experience the challenge of a last minute assignment with an all too soon deadline. This type of stress does not prevent us from doing a job but can cause an undue amount of stress related to that job and can compromise the level of quality in our work.

            There are a number of suggestions for organizations regarding how to help employees cope with this stress. They all start in the same place; identify the source and causes of the stress. Babcock identifies a unique source of stress in her article, the recession. While this entry focuses mainly on work stressors, it is important to note that elements outside of work and outside of our control, such as the recession, are an important element to identify. She points out that the addition of a recession to the existing stressors for most workers added an element of the unknown. The relatively predictable job market became unreliable and, at times, hostile.

            Lynott explains in his article that the causes of stress can be difficult to identify. Since we are all different, we all respond differently to stressors. What affects one person may not affect the other. This forces the organization to work to identify the stressors for that particular employee or group. One example could be identifying the different stressors within the clerical department in a company, such as ergonomical problems, work overload, and role conflict and the stressors within the shipping department such as physical stress, time constraints, and daily hassles. The stressors within those groups can vary from person to person but it is important for the organization to recognize that the stressors affecting employees can vary from job to job.

            The next step is to make efforts to relieve those stressors for those employees. This can be just as particular as the cause of the stressors themselves. Babcock suggests employee resources such as Employee Assistance Programs. The programs are designed to provide employees with the help they need in particular. The programs can provide everything from counseling services to full psychological assistance. These programs are highly underutilized according to Babcock and can be the difference between life and death for high risk employees dealing with the intense stress of working during a recession.

            Another suggestion by Lynott is to employ a “Toxic Handler”. This person is responsible for recognizing and resolving employee stress. This person can be willing or unwilling and is often an individual with an innate ability to empathize and problem-solve. This may not be an ideal solution for many companies since this person will require a large amount of support from the organization itself and is at risk of becoming burnt out because of the constant shouldering of other people’s stress.

            Whatever the causes of stress, the fact remains that stress can cause a massive amount of problems for individuals. These effects include psychological, physical, and physiological symptoms. Many people experience headaches, back injury, fatigue, feelings of negativity, apathy, and even gastrointestinal symptoms. Each person is affected uniquely and each person’s symptoms are serious in their effects. Without intervention, these symptoms can cause permanent damage to the physical body and the mental well being of individuals. It is the responsibility of all organizations to manage the stress of it’s employees.

References:

Albahussain, S. A. (2012). The role of training and development in controlling workplace stress.
                   Journal of  American Academy of Business, Cambridge. 17.2. 99-107. Retrieved from
                   http://search.proquest.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/docview/924143221?accountid=12924

Babcock, P.  (2009). Workplace stress? Deal with it! HRMagazine. 54.5. 68-69,70,72 Retrieved from
                   http://search.proquest.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/docview/205054408?accountid=12924

Lynott, W. J.  (2011). You can defuse workplace stress. Medical Economics. 88.7 Retrieved from
                   http://informahealthcare.com/jme