Ob Emotions at Work
Introduction
When I was sixteen years old, I took up a position in the food service industry to gain some experience of ‘the working world’. After several interviews, I was put in charge of the children’s section at a family-friendly restaurant that specialised in international cuisine. It was my first experience as an employee and, exacerbated by the responsibility of taking care of many different children, a very emotional one. Particularly difficult situations when the children were disobedient and dirtied the play area, leaving me to clean up after them, evoked strong emotional reactions in me and my colleagues. Emotions are an integral part of our lives, and keenly affect our experiences at work as well. The emotional aspect of an organisation is therefore as important as its other aspects, but is all too often ignored. The following essay will help to analyse how emotions at work, emotional labour and aesthetic labour can help in the understanding of such feelings and situations in an organisation.
Emotions At Work
Emotions influence just about everything we do in the workplace. According to Mcshane, Olekalns and Travaglione (2010), emotions are psychological, behavioural and physiological episodes experienced toward an object, person or event that create a state of readiness. In other words, emotions work and change to suit different situations. It is part of an everyday social exchange, and the giving and receiving of emotion at work is not always easy or smooth. In fact, it often varies according to the situation and context. Take for example a comparison between the first day of work and the rest of the days before payday – the first day of work is usually filled with enthusiasm and excitement. However, the subsequent days are usually characterised by dread when going to work, especially if there are complex or unhappy situations at work. As payday approaches, however, moods are generally lifted. learning to understand and manage the emotions
When I was sixteen years old, I took up a position in the food service industry to gain some experience of ‘the working world’. After several interviews, I was put in charge of the children’s section at a family-friendly restaurant that specialised in international cuisine. It was my first experience as an employee and, exacerbated by the responsibility of taking care of many different children, a very emotional one. Particularly difficult situations when the children were disobedient and dirtied the play area, leaving me to clean up after them, evoked strong emotional reactions in me and my colleagues. Emotions are an integral part of our lives, and keenly affect our experiences at work as well. The emotional aspect of an organisation is therefore as important as its other aspects, but is all too often ignored. The following essay will help to analyse how emotions at work, emotional labour and aesthetic labour can help in the understanding of such feelings and situations in an organisation.
Emotions At Work
Emotions influence just about everything we do in the workplace. According to Mcshane, Olekalns and Travaglione (2010), emotions are psychological, behavioural and physiological episodes experienced toward an object, person or event that create a state of readiness. In other words, emotions work and change to suit different situations. It is part of an everyday social exchange, and the giving and receiving of emotion at work is not always easy or smooth. In fact, it often varies according to the situation and context. Take for example a comparison between the first day of work and the rest of the days before payday – the first day of work is usually filled with enthusiasm and excitement. However, the subsequent days are usually characterised by dread when going to work, especially if there are complex or unhappy situations at work. As payday approaches, however, moods are generally lifted. learning to understand and manage the emotions
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