flowchart LR
W[Work<br/>environment] --> E[Workplace<br/>events]
E --> A[Emotional<br/>reactions]
A --> JS[Job satisfaction<br/>+ performance]
P[Personal<br/>dispositions] --> A
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22 Emotions and Stress Management
22.1 Emotions, Moods and Affect
OB classically focused on the cognitive — perception, attitudes, decisions. The affective revolution of the 1990s, led by Ashforth and Humphrey and Weiss and Cropanzano, brought emotions to the centre. Stephen Robbins now devotes a full chapter to the topic.
TipAffect, Emotions and Moods
| Term | Definition | Cue |
|---|---|---|
| Affect | Broad umbrella for any feeling | Generic |
| Emotions | Intense feelings directed at someone or something | Specific cause; short duration |
| Moods | Less intense feelings without a clear cause | Diffuse; longer duration |
A fight with a colleague triggers an emotion (anger, directed). Walking into the office on a grey Monday morning may produce a mood (gloomy, no clear target).
22.1.1 Basic Emotions
Paul Ekman’s cross-cultural research established six universally recognised emotions: happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, anger, disgust (later added contempt). Robert Plutchik proposed a wheel of eight primary emotions in opposing pairs:
TipPlutchik’s eight primary emotions
| Pair | |
|---|---|
| Joy ↔︎ Sadness | Anger ↔︎ Fear |
| Trust ↔︎ Disgust | Surprise ↔︎ Anticipation |
22.1.2 Positive vs Negative Affect
Emotions can be plotted on a circumplex with two axes — valence (positive-negative) and arousal (high-low). PANAS (Watson & Tellegen, 1988) — Positive and Negative Affect Schedule — is the most-cited instrument.
22.2 Sources of Emotions at Work
TipSources of emotions / moods
- Personality — affective traits (positive/negative affectivity).
- Day of the week and time of day — Monday-mornings vs Friday-afternoons.
- Weather — illusory correlation — people overestimate it.
- Stress — physical/psychological stressors.
- Social activities — interactions with colleagues.
- Sleep — poor sleep → poor mood, poor decisions.
- Exercise — modestly improves mood.
- Age — older adults experience fewer negative emotions and recover faster.
- Gender — women express more emotions; men suppress more.
22.3 Affective Events Theory (AET) — Weiss & Cropanzano (1996)
Howard Weiss and Russell Cropanzano’s Affective Events Theory (1996) explains how workplace events trigger emotions that drive attitudes and behaviour.
NoteAET implications
- Emotions are central; cognition follows.
- Daily events trigger emotional responses that aggregate into attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction).
- Personality moderates how strongly an event affects emotion.
- Managers should pay attention to positive hassles and uplifts, not just stressors.
22.4 Emotional Labour
Arlie Hochschild (The Managed Heart, 1983) coined emotional labour — managing one’s feelings to satisfy the emotional requirements of a job. Common in service work — flight attendants smile, debt collectors look stern, doctors stay neutral.
TipSurface vs Deep acting
| Type | Mechanism | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Surface acting | Show emotions you don’t feel | High — emotional dissonance, burnout |
| Deep acting | Modify inner feeling to align with display | Lower — emotional contagion benefits |
| Genuine | Display matches inner feeling | None |
Emotional dissonance — gap between felt and displayed emotion — is the chief cost of surface acting. Display rules — explicit/implicit organisational expectations about what emotions to express.
22.5 Emotional Intelligence (EI) — Goleman
The concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI) was first proposed by Peter Salovey & John Mayer (1990) and popularised by Daniel Goleman in Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ (1995).
TipGoleman’s five-component model of EI
| # | Component | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Self-Awareness | Recognise your own emotions, strengths, limits | “I am irritated because I am hungry” |
| 2 | Self-Regulation | Manage your emotions; control impulses | Pause before responding to a critical email |
| 3 | Motivation | Self-driven by internal standards beyond money | Pursuing mastery |
| 4 | Empathy | Understand others’ emotions | Reading a colleague’s tone |
| 5 | Social Skills | Manage relationships; influence others | Resolving team conflicts |
NoteEI vs EQ
EI (Emotional Intelligence) is the construct; EQ (Emotional Quotient) is the measurement score. Reuven Bar-On coined the EQ term.
22.5.1 Goleman’s later four-domain model (2002)
Goleman revised EI into four domains and 12 competencies:
TipGoleman’s four-domain EI model (2002)
| Self / Other × Awareness / Management | Self | Other |
|---|---|---|
| Awareness | Self-Awareness | Social Awareness (empathy) |
| Management | Self-Management | Relationship Management |
22.5.2 Alternative EI Models
TipThree competing EI models
| Model | Authors | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Ability EI | Salovey-Mayer-Caruso (MSCEIT instrument) | Cognitive ability |
| Mixed EI | Goleman (ECI / ESCI), Bar-On (EQ-i) | Mix of competencies and traits |
| Trait EI | K.V. Petrides (TEIQue) | Personality-like trait |
22.6 Stress — Concept and Models
Stress is an adaptive response to an external stimulus (stressor) that places excessive psychological or physical demand on a person. Hans Selye, the “Father of Stress Research” (1936), introduced the term to medicine. The popular shorthand: stress = perceived demand > perceived capacity.
TipWorking definitions of stress
| Author | Definition |
|---|---|
| Hans Selye | “A non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it.” |
| Richard Lazarus | “A particular relationship between the person and the environment that is appraised as taxing or exceeding his resources.” |
| Robbins | “A dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, demand or resource related to what the individual desires.” |
| NIOSH | “The harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker.” |
22.6.1 Eustress vs Distress
Selye distinguished eustress (good stress — challenging, motivating) from distress (bad stress — overwhelming, debilitating). A wedding causes eustress; a divorce, distress. Some stress is necessary for performance — see Yerkes-Dodson Law.
22.6.2 Yerkes-Dodson Law (1908)
Performance rises with arousal up to an optimal point, then falls — an inverted U relationship.
TipYerkes-Dodson curve
- Low arousal → boredom, low performance.
- Moderate arousal → peak performance.
- High arousal → anxiety, panic, low performance.
- The optimal point varies by task difficulty — simple tasks tolerate more arousal; complex tasks require less.
22.7 Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
Hans Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome (1936) describes the body’s three-stage response to a sustained stressor.
TipGAS — three stages
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Alarm reaction | “Fight or flight” — sympathetic nervous system activates; adrenaline; heart rate up |
| 2. Resistance | Body tries to adapt; high cortisol; suppression of unrelated systems |
| 3. Exhaustion | If stressor persists, body’s resources deplete; illness, burnout |
flowchart LR
S[Stressor] --> A[1. Alarm<br/>Fight-or-flight]
A --> R[2. Resistance<br/>Adaptation]
R --> E[3. Exhaustion<br/>Burnout / illness]
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22.8 Sources of Stress — Stressors
22.8.1 Robbins’s Three Categories
TipRobbins’s three categories of stressors
| Family | Examples |
|---|---|
| Environmental | Economic, political and technological uncertainty |
| Organisational | Task demands · Role demands · Interpersonal demands |
| Personal | Family problems · Financial issues · Personality disposition |
22.8.2 Karasek’s Job Demand-Control Model (1979)
Robert Karasek’s influential model — stress arises from the combination of high job demands and low decision latitude (control):
TipKarasek’s four job types
| Demand × Control | Low Control | High Control |
|---|---|---|
| Low Demand | Passive | Low-strain |
| High Demand | High-strain (most damaging) | Active (challenging but healthy) |
22.8.3 Siegrist’s Effort-Reward Imbalance (1996)
Stress arises when effort spent on work substantially exceeds rewards (money, recognition, security) received. Persistent imbalance leads to burnout.
22.8.4 Hassles vs Major Life Events
Richard Lazarus distinguished:
- Daily hassles — minor annoyances (traffic, deadlines).
- Major life events — Holmes-Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale (1967) ranks 43 events by life change units (LCUs). Top items: spouse’s death (100), divorce (73), separation (65), jail (63), close relative’s death (63), illness (53), marriage (50).
22.9 Consequences of Stress
TipConsequences of stress on individuals (Robbins)
| Category | Symptoms |
|---|---|
| Physiological | Headache, high BP, heart disease, ulcers, weakened immunity, fatigue |
| Psychological | Anxiety, depression, irritability, loss of motivation, sleep disorder |
| Behavioural | Reduced productivity, absenteeism, turnover, accidents, substance abuse, eating disorders |
22.9.1 Burnout — Maslach Burnout Inventory
Christina Maslach (1981) operationalised burnout — a chronic stress syndrome — through three dimensions:
TipMaslach’s three dimensions of burnout
- Emotional Exhaustion — feeling drained.
- Depersonalisation / Cynicism — detached, callous attitudes toward people.
- Reduced Personal Accomplishment / Inefficacy — feeling ineffective at work.
The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is the gold-standard measure. The WHO ICD-11 (2019) formally recognised burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” (not a medical condition).
22.10 Type A vs Type B Personality
Cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman (1959) identified two behaviour patterns linked to coronary heart disease:
TipType A vs Type B
| Type A | Type B |
|---|---|
| Time-urgent, impatient | Relaxed, easygoing |
| Competitive, aggressive | Cooperative |
| Free-floating hostility | Patient |
| Multi-tasks | Focuses on one thing |
| Higher CHD risk (especially the hostility component) | Lower CHD risk |
Type D personality (Denollet 1996) — “distressed” — high negative affectivity + social inhibition; even higher cardiovascular risk than Type A.
22.11 Stress Management — Coping Strategies
22.11.1 Lazarus and Folkman’s Coping Theory (1984)
TipTwo coping strategies (Lazarus-Folkman)
| Strategy | Mechanism | When useful |
|---|---|---|
| Problem-focused coping | Change the source of stress | When stressor is controllable |
| Emotion-focused coping | Manage the emotional response | When stressor is uncontrollable |
22.11.2 Individual Coping
TipIndividual stress-management techniques
- Time management — prioritisation, the Eisenhower matrix.
- Physical exercise — aerobic activity reduces stress hormones.
- Relaxation techniques — meditation, yoga, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, biofeedback.
- Mindfulness (MBSR) — Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (1979).
- Cognitive restructuring — Albert Ellis’s REBT, Aaron Beck’s CBT — challenge irrational beliefs.
- Social support — confiding in family, friends, mentors.
- Sleep hygiene, nutrition.
- Hobbies and recreation.
22.11.3 Organisational Coping
TipOrganisational interventions for stress
- Job redesign — match person and job (Hackman-Oldham JCM).
- Goal-setting — clear, specific goals reduce role ambiguity.
- Participative decision-making — increase control.
- Wellness programmes — gyms, EAPs, counselling.
- Time-off and sabbaticals.
- Flexible work arrangements — flextime, remote, four-day week.
- Selection and placement based on stress-coping capacity.
- Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) — confidential counselling.
- Mental-health policies and de-stigmatisation of seeking help.
NoteIndian regulatory context
- Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 — recognises mental illness; right to access mental healthcare.
- WHO mental health at work guidelines (2022) — employers must address psychosocial risks.
- Indian Companies (CSR) frameworks now include employee well-being as eligible spend.
22.12 Positive Organisational Behaviour & Psychological Capital
Fred Luthans (2002) launched Positive Organisational Behaviour (POB) — focus on positive psychological strengths. Its core construct is Psychological Capital (PsyCap) — HERO:
TipPsyCap — HERO model (Luthans)
- H — Hope — willpower + waypower toward goals.
- E — Efficacy — confidence in one’s ability (Bandura).
- R — Resilience — bouncing back from setbacks.
- O — Optimism — positive attribution about events.
22.13 Practice Questions
Q 01
Affect-Emotion-Mood
Easy
A diffuse, longer-lasting feeling without a clear cause is best described as a:
View solution
Correct Option: B
Mood — diffuse, often causeless, longer-lasting. Emotion is intense, specific, and short-lived.
Q 02
Ekman
Medium
Paul Ekman's cross-cultural research identified how many universally recognised basic emotions?
View solution
Correct Option: B
Ekman's 6 basic emotions: happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, anger, disgust (contempt added later).
Q 03
AET
Medium
Affective Events Theory (AET) was proposed in 1996 by:
View solution
Correct Option: A
Howard Weiss and Russell Cropanzano (1996) — workplace events → emotions → attitudes/behaviour.
Q 04
Emotional labour
Medium
The concept of "emotional labour" was coined in 1983 by:
View solution
Correct Option: A
Arlie Hochschild, The Managed Heart (1983) — distinguished *surface acting* from *deep acting*.
Q 05
EI authors
Medium
The term "Emotional Intelligence" was first proposed in 1990 by:
View solution
Correct Option: B
Peter Salovey and John Mayer (1990) first proposed EI. Goleman popularised it in 1995.
Q 06
Goleman
Easy
Goleman's original five-component EI model includes all of the following EXCEPT:
View solution
Correct Option: C
Goleman's five: Self-Awareness · Self-Regulation · Motivation · Empathy · Social Skills. IQ is *not* in EI.
Q 07
EQ vs EI
Medium
The term "Emotional Quotient" (EQ) — the measurement-level term — is associated with:
View solution
Correct Option: A
Reuven Bar-On coined "EQ" and developed the EQ-i inventory.
Q 08
Selye
Easy
The "father of stress research" who introduced the term to medicine is:
View solution
Correct Option: B
Hans Selye (1936). Walter Cannon coined "fight or flight" earlier; Lazarus developed appraisal theory; Maslach defined burnout.
Q 09
GAS
Medium
Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome has three stages, in order:
View solution
Correct Option: A
GAS: Alarm → Resistance → Exhaustion.
Q 10
Eustress
Easy
A motivating, challenging form of stress (e.g., excitement before a sports final) is called:
View solution
Correct Option: B
Eustress — Selye's positive, motivating stress.
Q 11
Yerkes-Dodson
Medium
The Yerkes-Dodson law states that the relationship between arousal/stress and performance is:
View solution
Correct Option: C
Inverted U (Yerkes-Dodson 1908). Performance rises with arousal up to an optimal point, then falls.
Q 12
Karasek
Hard
In Karasek's Demand-Control model, the most damaging job combination is:
View solution
Correct Option: B
High-strain jobs = high demand + low control → highest risk of CHD, depression, burnout. Active jobs (high demand + high control) are challenging but healthy.
Q 13
Holmes-Rahe
Hard
The Holmes-Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale (1967) ranks life events by their stress impact. The top of the scale is:
View solution
Correct Option: B
Death of a spouse = 100 Life Change Units — the highest-impact event on the scale.
Q 14
Burnout
Medium
The three dimensions of burnout in Maslach's framework are:
View solution
Correct Option: B
Maslach (1981): Emotional Exhaustion · Depersonalisation · Reduced Personal Accomplishment. Measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI).
Q 15
Type A
Medium
The Type A behaviour pattern — time-urgent, competitive, hostile — was identified in 1959 by:
View solution
Correct Option: B
Cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman (1959) — linked Type A to coronary heart disease.
Q 16
Lazarus-Folkman
Medium
Lazarus and Folkman's two coping strategies are:
View solution
Correct Option: A
Lazarus & Folkman (1984): Problem-focused (change the stressor) and Emotion-focused (manage the response).
Q 17
MBSR
Hard
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), introduced in 1979, was developed by:
View solution
Correct Option: A
Jon Kabat-Zinn at University of Massachusetts Medical School (1979) — developed MBSR. Beck — CBT; Ellis — REBT; Rogers — client-centred therapy.
Q 18
WHO burnout
Hard
The WHO ICD-11 (2019) formally recognised burnout as:
View solution
Correct Option: B
WHO ICD-11 (2019) classifies burnout as an occupational phenomenon, not a medical condition.
Q 19
PsyCap
Hard
Fred Luthans's Psychological Capital (PsyCap) — HERO — stands for:
View solution
Correct Option: A
HERO: Hope · Efficacy · Resilience · Optimism. Luthans's Positive Organisational Behaviour construct.
Q 20
India Mental Health
Medium
India's Mental Healthcare Act came into force in:
View solution
Correct Option: C
Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 — recognises right to access mental healthcare; replaced the 1987 Act.
22.13.1 Advanced Format Questions
AR 1Assertion-ReasonHard
A: Goleman's EI predicts workplace success.
R: EI subsumes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, social skills.
View solution
Correct Option: A
AR 2Assertion-ReasonMedium
A: Eustress is positive stress.
R: Distress is harmful stress (Selye 1936).
View solution
Correct Option: B
S 1Statement-basedMedium
Goleman EI components: (i) Self-awareness. (ii) Self-regulation. (iii) Motivation. (iv) Empathy. (v) Social skills.
View solution
Correct Option: A
S 2Statement-basedHard
GAS (Selye) stages: (i) Alarm. (ii) Resistance. (iii) Exhaustion. (iv) Recovery.
View solution
Correct Option: A
22.14 Quick Recall
ImportantQuick recall
- Affect (umbrella) > Emotions (intense, directed, brief) vs Moods (diffuse, longer). Ekman 6 (happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, anger, disgust) · Plutchik 8 in 4 pairs.
- AET (Weiss-Cropanzano 1996) — work events → emotions → attitudes/behaviour.
- Emotional labour (Hochschild 1983) — Surface vs Deep acting; emotional dissonance; display rules.
- EI — proposed by Salovey-Mayer 1990; popularised by Goleman 1995. Goleman 5 = Self-Awareness · Self-Regulation · Motivation · Empathy · Social Skills. EQ = Bar-On.
- Three EI models: Ability (MSCEIT) · Mixed (ECI, EQ-i) · Trait (TEIQue).
- Stress — Selye 1936 (father of stress); eustress vs distress; GAS three stages: Alarm · Resistance · Exhaustion.
- Yerkes-Dodson (1908) — inverted U between arousal and performance.
- Stressor sources: Environmental · Organisational · Personal (Robbins). Karasek Demand-Control — high-strain = high demand + low control. Siegrist Effort-Reward Imbalance (1996). Holmes-Rahe SRRS (1967) — death of spouse = 100 LCU.
- Burnout (Maslach 1981) 3 dimensions: Emotional Exhaustion · Depersonalisation · Reduced Personal Accomplishment. WHO ICD-11 (2019) — burnout = occupational phenomenon.
- Type A vs Type B (Friedman-Rosenman 1959); Type D (Denollet 1996).
- Coping: Lazarus-Folkman 1984 (Problem-focused vs Emotion-focused). MBSR — Jon Kabat-Zinn 1979. CBT (Beck), REBT (Ellis).
- PsyCap — HERO (Luthans): Hope · Efficacy · Resilience · Optimism.
- India: Mental Healthcare Act 2017.