Emotions

When individuals go to work, they do not morph into unthinking automatons, devoid of the myriad emotions that colour the decisions and behaviour of everyday life. Rather, emotions play a critical role in organisations. From the contagious joy or bitterness of front-facing employees that rubs off on customers to the CEO’s fear that steers her away from a risky but promising strategic direction, emotion can be found at every level of the organisation. These emotions have the potential to influence organisations and stakeholders in profound ways, for better or worse.

By studying the dynamics of emotion at work, we strive to identify not only the nuanced ways in which emotions might lead us astray but also how they might be cultivated so that employees and their organisations may flourish. At Monash, we take a multifaceted approach to this goal by examining, for example, the impact of emotion on decision-making, how emotion displays influence social perception, and how emotions can be harnessed to drive positive social change.

Our researchers

Featured publications

• Hülsheger, U. R., Yang, T., Bono, J. E., Goh, Z., & Ilies, R. (2022). Stop the spin: The role of mindfulness practices in reducing affect spin. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 27(6), 529–543.
• Goh, Z., Eva, N., Kiazad, K., Jack, G. A., De Cieri, H., & Spreitzer, G. M. (2022). An integrative multilevel review of thriving at work: Assessing progress and promise. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 43(2), 197-213.
• Khan, S., Kiazad, K., Sendjaya, S., & Cooper, B. (2022). A multilevel model of abusive supervision climate. Personnel Review, 51, 2347-2370.
• Ilies, R.., Liu, Y., Ju, H., Goh., Z. (2020) Emotional resources link work demands and experiences to family functioning and employee well-being: The Emotional Resource Possession Scale (ERPS). European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 29(3), 434-449.
• Lupoli, M. J., Zhang, M., Yin, Y., & Oveis, C. (2020). A conflict of values: When perceived compassion decreases trust. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 91, 104049.
• Lupoli, M. J., Jampol, L., & Oveis, C. (2017). Lying because we care: Compassion increases prosocial lying. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 146(7), 1026.
• Härtel, J. C., & Härtel, C. E. (2020). What the Digital Age Is and Means for Workers, Services, and Emotions Scholars and Practitioners. In Emotions and Service in the Digital Age. Emerald Publishing Limited
• Shao, B., Wang, L., & Herman, H. M. (2018). Motivational or dispositional? The type of inference shapes the effectiveness of leader anger expressions. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(6), 709-723.
• Ashkanasy, N. M., Zerbe, W. J. & Härtel, C. E. J., (2019). Emotions and Leadership. 1st ed. Bingley UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
• Newman, A., Kiazad, K., Miao, Q., & Cooper, B. (2014). Examining the cognitive and affective trust-based mechanisms underlying the relationship between ethical leadership and organizational citizenship: A case of the head leading the heart? Journal of Business Ethics, 123, 113-123

Ongoing projects

• Emotions and leadership: This research investigates the efficacy of the different emotions leaders display in response to their employees' unethical behaviours.

Watch, listen, read

• When Compassion Provokes Distrust, Psychology Today, 2021.
• When Prosocial Lying Helps and Hurts, Business Insider, 2020.
• How to avoid envious hostility in the workplace, Impact Monash Business School, 2017.