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Managing perceptions of distress at work: Reframing emotion as passion

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  • Wolf, Elizabeth Baily
  • Lee, Jooa Julia
  • Sah, Sunita
  • Brooks, Alison Wood

Abstract

Expressing distress at work can have negative consequences for employees: observers perceive employees who express distress as less competent than employees who do not. Across five experiments, we explore how reframing a socially inappropriate emotional expression (distress) by publicly attributing it to an appropriate source (passion) can shape perceptions of, and decisions about, the person who expressed emotion. In Studies 1a-c, participants viewed individuals who reframed distress as passion as more competent than those who attributed distress to emotionality or made no attribution. In Studies 2a-b, reframing emotion as passion shifted interpersonal decision-making: participants were more likely to hire job candidates and choose collaborators who reframed their distress as passion compared to those who did not. Expresser gender did not moderate these effects. Results suggest that in cases when distress expressions cannot or should not be suppressed, reframing distress as passion can improve observers’ impressions of the expresser.

Suggested Citation

  • Wolf, Elizabeth Baily & Lee, Jooa Julia & Sah, Sunita & Brooks, Alison Wood, 2016. "Managing perceptions of distress at work: Reframing emotion as passion," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 1-12.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:137:y:2016:i:c:p:1-12
    DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2016.07.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jachimowicz, Jon M. & To, Christopher & Agasi, Shira & Côté, Stéphane & Galinsky, Adam D., 2019. "The gravitational pull of expressing passion: When and how expressing passion elicits status conferral and support from others," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 41-62.
    2. Masters-Waage, Theodore C. & Nai, Jared & Reb, Jochen & Sim, Samantha & Narayanan, Jayanth & Tan, Noriko, 2021. "Going far together by being here now: Mindfulness increases cooperation in negotiations," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 189-205.
    3. Levine, Emma E. & Wald, Kristina A., 2020. "Fibbing about your feelings: How feigning happiness in the face of personal hardship affects trust," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 135-154.
    4. Bitterly, T. Bradford & Schweitzer, Maurice E., 2019. "The impression management benefits of humorous self-disclosures: How humor influences perceptions of veracity," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 73-89.
    5. Luo, Anqi & Ye, Tian & Xue, Xunyue & Mattila, Anna S., 2021. "Appreciation vs. apology: When and why does face covering requirement increase revisit intention?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    6. Dorison, Charles A. & Minson, Julia A., 2022. "You can’t handle the truth! Conflict counterparts over-estimate each other’s feelings of self-threat," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    7. Gladstone, Joe J. & Jachimowicz, Jon M. & Greenberg, Adam Eric & Galinsky, Adam D., 2021. "Financial shame spirals: How shame intensifies financial hardship," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 42-56.
    8. Brady, Garrett L. & Inesi, M. Ena & Mussweiler, Thomas, 2021. "The power of lost alternatives in negotiations," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 59-80.
    9. Yu, Alisa & Berg, Justin M. & Zlatev, Julian J., 2021. "Emotional acknowledgment: How verbalizing others’ emotions fosters interpersonal trust," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 116-135.
    10. Cristofaro, Matteo, 2019. "The role of affect in management decisions: A systematic review," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 6-17.

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