Emotional Expression and Regulation in Workplace: a case study with public servants

Authors

  • Ana Paula Grillo Rodrigues Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina
  • Sônia Maria Guedes Gondim Universidade Federal da Bahia

Keywords:

Emotion. Emotion Regulation Strategies. Public Service. Organizational Psychology. Organizational Behavior

Abstract

Emotions are characterized by a set of integrated responses that involve physiological and motor changes (that prepare (prompted) the individual to act (ou react?) and feelings associated to internal experiences (allowing an situational evaluation). The emotional expressions are crucial to development and regulation of interpersonal relationships. Knowing how to deal with personal emotions and with others has become an important requirement in the relationships of the individual with the organization. Management of emotions has consequences in relationships among work pairs and in assistance to clients. Everyday work situations, organizational changes and clients and colleagues features involve emotions that need to be regulated. Emotional regulation can be defined as a controlled or automatic attempt in dealing with emotions showing how and why they will be felt and expressed. During the last years, public sector has been submitted to changes in its structure and dynamics that have required emotional management from public workers, demanding empirical studies aiming a better understanding of this reality. The quantitative study showed in this paper analyzed the relationships among emotions, emotional regulations strategies and socio-demographic variables of public workers in southern Brazil. Data were obtained using a questionnaire with examples of hypothetic everyday situations in the work. Participants were asked to choose emotional expressions associated to these situations and strategies of emotional regulation that could be used. The sample was formed by 400. Results indicated that in everyday negative situations the prevalent emotions were associated to anger and the less prevalent were associated to fear. The emotional regulation strategies used to deal with situations were those of deep action. The results also showed the differences in emotional regulation regarding gender, activity level in the public organization and work regimen

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Author Biographies

Ana Paula Grillo Rodrigues, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina

Formação em Psicologia pela UFSC, Mestrado em Administração pela UFSC, Doutorado em Administração pela UFBa.

Atualmente trabalha na Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, no centro ESAG - Escola Superior de Administração e Gerência.

Sônia Maria Guedes Gondim, Universidade Federal da Bahia

Professora Associada do Instituto de Psicologia da UFBA

Doutora em Psicologia pela Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Atua na graduação e pós-graduação do Instituto de Psicologia Social e do Centro Interdisciplinar de Desenvolvimento e Gestão Social

Vice_diretora do Instituto de Psicologia

Coordenadora do Grupo de Pesquisa Emoções em Contextos de Trabalho da Pós-graduação do Instituto de Psicologia da UFBA

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Published

2014-02-06

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 2 (2014)

Section

Human and Social Management

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