Understanding Emotion At Work

Getting to the heart of what binds and breaks organizations: emotion, Stephen Fineman explores beyond the surface of work to the rich emotional life bubbling underneath, showing what employees and managers constantly deal with but are often ill-equipped to do so.

`Most folks in organizations dichotomize reason and emotion, often treating emotion as an uncommon or marginal occurrence. Written in a clear and lively style, Steve Fineman′s book, Understanding Emotion at Work, dispels this notion as he demonstrates how emotions infuse most practices in organizational life, including leading, decision making, organizational change, gender relations, stress, and downsizing. Sprinkled with vivid examples, Fineman captures the positive benefits of emotions at work as well as the darker side of feelings and despair. Scholars, students and practitioners alike will glean important insights from the lens of emotion that Fineman brings to the subtleties of organizational life′ - Linda L Putnam, Texas A&M University `Stephen Fineman has written a wise and engaging text about emotions and how they play out in and around organizations. He underscores, with a range of fine examples, thoughtful commentary and careful scholarship, the essential role of emotions in organizational life. He applies his lens to such issues as recruitment, leadership, decision making and change. He extends the reach of emotions into the virtual world of work and he makes apparent the heavy costs to people and their organizations of toxic emotions that stem from bullying,harassment and downsizing. A must-read in any curriculum dealing with the study of organization′ - Peter Frost, Edgar F. Kaiser Professor of Organizational Behaviour, Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration, University of British Columbia, Canada Author of Toxic Emotions at Work HBS Press 2003 `Going to work can be a great joy, a great pain, or a mixture of the two. This clearly written, engaging and authoritative book demonstrates the vital necessity of understanding how emotions permeate work organisations at every level and in every situation. No student of work and its organisation can afford to neglect this important area of study. And no writer on work and organisation is better placed to go to the heart of these matters than Stephen Fineman′ - Professor Tony J Watson, Professor of Organisational and Managerial Behaviour, Nottingham Business School `In this book, Professor Stephen Fineman has done more of what he does best writing eloquently and perceptively about emotions in organizations. In this case, he is writing directly for students, both undergraduates and postgraduates, and uses a wide range of disciplinary insights to show how emotions are inextricably embedded in organizational life. His book helps to launch students on a voyage of self-discovery to learn for themselves how emotions impact upon them and their colleagues. As someone who has long challenged the "emotion-less" view of emotion that characterizes much of the research on this phenomenon, he uses his considerable skills to convey the importance, richness and nuance of emotion. Nor does he shrink away from tackling the darker side of organizational emotional life challenging students to reflect on the agony, as well as the ecstasy, that passionate emotions can cause. This book is a valuable resource for teachers wanting to introduce students to organizations, and a fascinating and astute aid for students interested in learning about them - Professor Cynthia Hardy, Department of Management, University of Melbourne `Organizational life is shot through with emotions, spawning a growing interest in topics ranging from emotional intelligence to violence at work. Stephen Fineman provides a much-needed survey of these topics, capturing their sprawling breadth without sacrificing depth. Moreover, he succeeds in conveying the everyday feel of emotions in organizational life in a way that is both engaging and informative′ - Blake Ashforth, Jerry and Mary Ann Chapman Professor of Business, W P Carey School of Business, Arizona State University Understanding Emotion at Work gets to the heart of what binds and breaks organizations: emotion. It explores beyond the surface of work to the rich emotional life bubbling underneath, showing what employees and managers constantly deal with but are often ill-equipped to do so. This is the first introductory book on emotions and it′s aimed specifically at students of management and organization studies. Written accessibly, it avoids pat prescriptions, but leaves the reader with challenging questions about the intrisic nature of emotions to the design and management of organizations. Drawing on a rich discipline-field, including psychology, sociology and organizational theory, Stephen Fineman explores a number of familiar and not so familiar work arenas. He examines the way emotion penetrates leadership, decision-making and organizational change as well as newer topics like the virtual side of organizations. Finally, he addresses the darker side of emotion in the context of bullying, violence, sexual harassment and downsizing. Understanding Emotion at Work will shed light on this growing subject for advanced undergraduates and postgraduates studying organizational behaviour, HRM or organizational psychology.

In this book, the authors provide up-to-date thinking and research on the broad range of emotional experience in working environments with particular attention to the causes of emotional change, the consequences of emotional experience for individuals and their organisations, and the implications for effective strategies for managing individuals (including oneself) and organisations. * Offers systematic coverage of the latest concepts of emotion and methods for research in organisations * Includes scientific understanding and critique of the field as well as implications for organisational practice.

This new textbook is the first book to fully span the fast growing field to research on emotions. It ranges across a broad range of disciplines, covering the entire lifespan from infancy to adulthood. Its main theme is that emotions have functions: they set priorities among our concerns and they provide the underlying structure of human friendships, to the excitements of sexuality. Understanding Emotions is designed as a textbook for second- and third-year university courses, and the text itself is fully supported by introductions and summaries, suggestions for further reading, plus a comprehensive bibliography and a glossary.

This introductory text on emotions is aimed specifically at students of management and organization studies. Written accessibly, it avoids pat prescriptions, but leaves the reader with challenging questions about the intrinsic nature of emotions to the design and management of organizations.

In Emotion at Work: Unleashing the Secret Power of Emotional Intelligence, Roberta Ann Moore explores how taking emotion to work with you can not only enhance your professional life, but how it can be the make or break difference that takes you from being stuck in less than optimal performance to stellar success and professional brilliance. Using the conceptual model of emotional intelligence developed by Dr. Reuven Bar-On, Moore lays out 16 fundamental emotional skills that are vital for workplace success. Culled from her own background in the financial services industry, Moore presents real-life stories to illustrate how emotional intelligence functions in the professional sphere. Moore offers written exercises that go well beyond traditional, rational goal setting and journaling. In fact, they stimulate you to begin relying on and exercising your emotional resources, with an immediate result of strengthening your emotional intelligence (EQ).

The modern workplace is often thought of as cold and rational, as no place for the experience and expression of emotions. Yet it is no more emotionless than any other aspect of life. Individuals bring their affective states and emotional "buttons" to work, leaders try to engender feelings of passion and enthusiasm for the organization and its mission, and consultants seek to increase job satisfaction, commitment, and trust. This book advances the understanding of the causes and effects of emotions at work and extends existing theories to consider implications for the management of emotions. The international cast of authors examines the practical issues raised when organizations are studied as places where emotions are aroused, suppressed, used, and avoided. This book also joins the debate on how organizations and individuals ought to manage emotions in the workplace. Managing Emotions in the Workplace is designed for use in graduate level courses in Organizational Behavior, Human Resource Management, or Organizational Development - any course in which the role of emotions in the workplace is a central concern. Scholars and consultants will also find this book to be an essential resource on the latest theory and practice in this emerging field.

#1 Wall Street Journal Best Seller USA Today Best Seller Amazon Best Book of the Year TED Talk sensation - over 3 million views! The counterintuitive approach to achieving your true potential, heralded by the Harvard Business Review as a groundbreaking idea of the year. The path to personal and professional fulfillment is rarely straight. Ask anyone who has achieved his or her biggest goals or whose relationships thrive and you’ll hear stories of many unexpected detours along the way. What separates those who master these challenges and those who get derailed? The answer is agility—emotional agility. Emotional agility is a revolutionary, science-based approach that allows us to navigate life’s twists and turns with self-acceptance, clear-sightedness, and an open mind. Renowned psychologist Susan David developed this concept after studying emotions, happiness, and achievement for more than twenty years. She found that no matter how intelligent or creative people are, or what type of personality they have, it is how they navigate their inner world—their thoughts, feelings, and self-talk—that ultimately determines how successful they will become. The way we respond to these internal experiences drives our actions, careers, relationships, happiness, health—everything that matters in our lives. As humans, we are all prone to common hooks—things like self-doubt, shame, sadness, fear, or anger—that can too easily steer us in the wrong direction. Emotionally agile people are not immune to stresses and setbacks. The key difference is that they know how to adapt, aligning their actions with their values and making small but powerful changes that lead to a lifetime of growth. Emotional agility is not about ignoring difficult emotions and thoughts; it’s about holding them loosely, facing them courageously and compassionately, and then moving past them to bring the best of yourself forward. Drawing on her deep research, decades of international consulting, and her own experience overcoming adversity after losing her father at a young age, David shows how anyone can thrive in an uncertain world by becoming more emotionally agile. To guide us, she shares four key concepts that allow us to acknowledge uncomfortable experiences while simultaneously detaching from them, thereby allowing us to embrace our core values and adjust our actions so they can move us where we truly want to go. Written with authority, wit, and empathy, Emotional Agility serves as a road map for real behavioral change—a new way of acting that will help you reach your full potential, whoever you are and whatever you face.