Untitled Flashcards Set

Garner - Dissent

• Emotional Responses to Organizational Change

• Layoffs triggered shock, frustration, fear, distrust.

• Emotional reactions shaped how employees interpreted past and future events.

• Dissent became emotionally charged during high-stress changes (like layoffs and sudden policy changes).

• Dissent as Emotional Outlet

• Meetings provided space for venting frustrations.

• Common topics: software issues, lack of transparency, fundraising goals.

• Venting served as collective emotional processing and peer support.

• Emotional Tipping Points

• Certain events (layoff announcement, critical email) became emotional turning points.

• These moments heightened sensitivity and distrust toward leadership.

• Emotional residue from these events affected future dissent behavior.

• Emotion, Silence, and Psychological Safety

• Negative emotional events reduced willingness to dissent in future meetings.

• Created a “chilling effect”, making employees emotionally guarded.

• Psychological safety became a precondition for open expression.

• Emotional Carryover into Work-Life Balance

• Uncertainty around layoffs, unclear goals, and poor communication led to stress spilling into personal life.

• Emotional burdens followed employees home, blurring work-life boundaries.

• Group Emotional Processing

• Collective dissent (multiple employees voicing frustration together) built emotional solidarity.

• Humor, sarcasm, and shared grievances were used to release tension.

• Group processing helped employees manage emotional distress collectively.

• Cumulative Emotional Toll

• Repeated unresolved dissent led to emotional exhaustion.

• Employees gradually disengaged, seeing dissent as futile.

• Key Takeaway

  • Organizational dissent is not just rational communication — it’s emotionally charged and impacts:

• Team morale

• Psychological safety

• Work-life balance

• Long-term job satisfaction

Miranda & Wellbourne: Incivility (Tues)

• Workplace Incivility:

• Low-intensity, ambiguous behavior that violates workplace respect norms.

• Examples: Ignoring colleagues, dismissive comments, interrupting others.

• Moral Emotions & Workplace Behavior:

• Other-condemning emotions (anger, contempt, disgust) influence workplace interactions.

• These emotions arise when workers perceive colleagues as violating moral standards.

• Summary of Key Findings

  • Emotional Responses to Moral Violations at Work

• Employees appraise coworkers’ morality (whether they act fairly, responsibly, or ethically).

• Low morality appraisals trigger contempt, disgust, and anger:

  • Contempt: Viewing someone as inferior.

  • Disgust: Feeling repulsed or wanting to distance oneself.

  • Anger: Feeling injustice or unfair treatment.

• How Emotions Predict Workplace Incivility

• Study 1 Findings (General Work Environment):

• Contempt was the strongest predictor of instigating incivility.

• Employees expressing contempt were more likely to ignore, mock, or demean coworkers.

• Study 2 Findings (Specific Moral Violation by a Coworker):

• Anger (not contempt) was the strongest predictor of incivility.

• Employees who felt angry at a specific moral transgression (e.g., disrespectful behavior) were more likely to retaliate with incivility.

• Surprisingly, disgust was negatively associated with incivility—workers feeling disgusted may avoid, rather than act against, a perceived moral violator.

• Role of Organizational Norms

  • Civility norms (expected respectful behavior in the workplace) can moderate emotional responses:

• High civility norms did not reduce anger-driven incivility.

• High civility norms increased contempt-driven incivility—suggesting that in environments with strict civility expectations, contempt may still drive subtle forms of incivility.

• Practical Implications

  • For Organizations:
    Recognize that moral appraisals and emotions influence incivility, not just personality traits.

• Address employee perceptions of fairness and moral integrity in the workplace.

• Foster clear norms for civility while recognizing their complex effects.

• For Employees:

• Understand that emotional responses (especially anger and contempt) can influence how incivility spreads.

• Be aware of personal biases in moral appraisals and how they shape workplace behavior.

• Key Takeaways

1. Emotions play a central role in workplace incivility.

   • Employees act uncivilly when they feel contempt or anger toward morally deficient coworkers.

2. The context matters.

   • Generalized contempt leads to habitual incivility.

   • Situational anger leads to targeted incivility.

3. Organizational norms can shape, but not fully prevent, workplace incivility.

   • Even in workplaces with strong civility expectations, contempt and anger still drive uncivil behavior.

Christine Porath and Christine Pearson: Incivility (Tuesday)

• Key Concepts:

  • Workplace Incivility:

    • Rude, disrespectful behavior that violates workplace norms.

    • Examples: Interrupting, belittling, ignoring, failing to acknowledge others.

    • Increasing Trend: In 2011, half of employees reported experiencing incivility weekly, up from 25% in 1998.

  • Emotional and Behavioral Responses to Incivility:

    • Employees subjected to rudeness retaliate, often subtly.

    • Responses include reduced effort, lower performance, disengagement, and even leaving the job.

  • Summary of Key Findings

    • The Costs of Incivility on Employees

      • Negative Workplace Outcomes:

        • 48% of employees intentionally reduce their work effort.

        • 47% spend less time at work.

        • 38% decrease the quality of their work.

        • 80% waste time worrying about incidents.

        • 63% avoid the offender.

        • 66% experience declines in performance.

        • 78% feel less committed to the organization.

        • 12% quit their job due to incivility.

        • 25% take their frustration out on customers.

  • Effects on Creativity and Team Performance

    • Creativity Declines:

      • In an experiment, people treated rudely generated 30% fewer creative ideas.

      • Their ideas were also less original.

    • Teamwork Suffers:

      • Simply witnessing incivility causes bystanders to perform 20% worse on cognitive tasks.

      • Employees who observe rudeness are 50% less likely to help others.

  • Impact on Customers and Business Outcomes

    • Customer Disengagement:

      • Customers are less likely to buy from a company where they see rude employee interactions.

      • In a study, when people saw an employee being rude to a colleague:

        • 80% said they would avoid the business.

        • Two-thirds felt anxious about dealing with any employee there.

  • Financial Costs:

    • Managers at Fortune 1000 firms spend 13% of their time—7 weeks per year—handling incivility issues.

    • Cisco estimated that incivility cost the company $12 million annually.

  • How Leaders Can Address Incivility

    • Managing Yourself

      • Model Good Behavior:

        • Leaders set the tone. Employees mimic their actions.

        • Actions like active listening, keeping phones away in meetings, and showing appreciation foster respect.

    • Seek Feedback:

      • Ask employees how your leadership style affects them.

      • Example: A manager changed his habit of checking emails in meetings after employees pointed out its impact.

    • Managing the Organization

      • Hire for Civility:

        • Companies like Southwest Airlines and Four Seasons assess emotional intelligence in hiring.

        • Some firms reject candidates who seem dismissive or uninterested in others.

      • Teach Civility:

        • Some hospitals send rude doctors to “charm school” to reduce lawsuits and improve workplace culture.

        • Video training can help employees observe and improve their own communication styles.

      • Establish Group Norms:

        • Encourage respectful behaviors, such as:

          • Ochsner Health System’s “10/5 Rule”: Smile if within 10 feet of someone, say hello if within 5 feet.

      • Reward Positive Behavior:

        • Zappos’ “Wow” program lets employees recognize civil behavior, with bonuses up to $50.

      • Enforce Consequences:

        • Some organizations fire even top-performing employees if they create toxic environments.

        • Example: Danny Meyer’s restaurants let go of talented but rude chefs.

      • Conduct Post-Exit Interviews:
        
        

        • Employees who leave due to workplace incivility provide more honest feedback months after departure.

• Key Takeaways

  • Incivility has significant emotional and financial costs.

    • It reduces employee performance, morale, and commitment.

    • It lowers customer satisfaction and damages business reputation.

  • Emotionally, employees respond with disengagement, avoidance, and retaliation.

    • Even witnessing rudeness can hurt productivity and team cohesion.

  • Leaders play a critical role in setting workplace norms.

    • By modeling, teaching, and rewarding civility, organizations can create more respectful and productive work environments.

  • Proactive hiring, feedback, and structured policies can mitigate incivility.

    • Hiring for emotional intelligence, creating group norms, and holding offenders accountable improve workplace culture.

Hershcovis et. al - Bystanders make a Difference (Tues)

• Due to political tensions and polarization, workplaces are filled with increasingly conflicting viewpoints 

  • Greater perceived incivility from coworkers 

• Bystander intervention as a key strategy for handling interpersonal conflict 

  • Supports targets, curbs aggressive workplace behaviors

• Bystander Dilemma

  • Moral anger towards perpetrators and empathy for targets drives bystanders to support targets and penalize perpetrators 

  • Reduced bystander action is caused by lack of courage or skills, fear of backlash, or fear of retaliation 

  • Actions can be ineffective due to moral identity threat and relational identity threat to perpetrator 

• Perpetrators Perspective 

  • Perpetrators initial response will usually be defensive and resistant to feedback, especially when emotions are running high 

    • Likely to condemn intervening bystanders 

  • BUT interventions that criticize behavior without attacking the person have positive benefits 

    • Allows perpetrators to maintain belief in moral character and see themselves as a good colleague 

    • More likely to adopt a growth-oriented mindset 

  • Power dynamics have a large impact on intervention effectiveness 

    • Powerful perpetrators tend to be less concerned about social implications of their actions and be more defensive 

    • Less powerful perpetrators tend to be more dependent on others and are more attuned to expectations of their peers 

• Strategies for effective intervention 

  • 1. Consider best time to intervene (wait until emotions have cooled)

  • 2. Allow perpetrator to maintain sense of being a good person and colleague, address behavior and not personal attributes 

  • 3. Recognized powerful bystanders are more effective in eliciting constructive response 

Lee, et al.: Workplace Discrimination (Thursday)

• Key Concepts:

  • Workplace Racial Discrimination:

• Unfair treatment based on race/ethnicity, affecting job opportunities, evaluations, and interpersonal interactions.

• Can be formal (e.g., biased hiring/promotion) or informal (e.g., microaggressions, exclusion).

• Coping Strategies for Discrimination:

  • Problem-Focused Coping: Active strategies like seeking support, reporting discrimination, or problem-solving.

  • Emotion-Focused Coping: Avoidance-based strategies like staying silent, distancing, or suppressing emotions.

• Employee-Organization Relationship (EOR):

• Employees' trust, satisfaction, commitment, and mutual influence within their organization.

• Megaphoning Behavior:

• Positive Megaphoning: Employees advocating for their organization externally.

• Negative Megaphoning: Employees criticizing their organization to others.

• Transparent Communication:

• Honest, open, and inclusive communication that enhances employees' trust and participation in decision-making.

• Summary of Key Findings

  • Coping Strategies and Emotional Responses

    • Racial minority employees prefer emotion-focused coping over problem-focused coping.

      • Fear of retaliation, lack of organizational support, and racial hierarchies discourage direct confrontation.

    • Emotion-focused coping (avoidance) worsens employee-organization relationships (EOR).

      • Leads to reduced trust, commitment, and job satisfaction.

    • Problem-focused coping (active engagement) strengthens EOR.

      • Encourages institutional change and employee empowerment.

• Workplace Discrimination and Organizational Relationships

  • Experiencing discrimination negatively impacts EOR.

• Employees feel less valued, disengaged, and dissatisfied with their organization.

• Discrimination increases negative megaphoning (external criticism).

  • Employees who feel unsupported vent frustrations outside the organization.

• Problem-focused coping improves EOR and encourages positive megaphoning.

• The Role of Transparent Communication

  • Transparent communication reduces the negative impact of discrimination.

• Employees feel more empowered to adopt problem-focused coping strategies.

• When communication is unclear or dishonest, employees resort to emotion-focused coping.

• Transparent communication does not directly improve EOR after discrimination but helps mitigate its effects.

• Practical Implications

  • For Organizations:

    • Encourage problem-focused coping through clear policies and support systems.

      • Provide safe channels for reporting discrimination.

      • Educate employees on problem-solving strategies rather than avoidance.

• Implement transparent communication strategies.

  • Regularly discuss diversity and inclusion policies with employees.

  • Allow minority employees to voice concerns without fear of retaliation.

• Train leadership on discrimination awareness and conflict resolution.

• For Employees:

  • Recognize the impact of coping choices on workplace relationships.

    • Avoidance strategies may feel safer short-term but harm trust and job satisfaction long-term.

  • Engage in solution-based actions when facing discrimination.

    • Seek allies, report concerns, and push for institutional accountability.

Key Takeaways

1. Workplace racial discrimination has serious emotional and professional consequences.

2. Emotion-focused coping (avoidance) worsens organizational trust and satisfaction.

3. Problem-focused coping (action-oriented responses) strengthens workplace relationships.

4. Transparent communication reduces discrimination’s negative effects by fostering trust and empowerment.

5. Organizations must create open, inclusive, and supportive communication environments to combat discrimination effectively.

Gray - Bias (Thurs)

1. Professionalism as Emotional Control

• Western professionalism values emotional suppression (e.g., "never show emotion").

• Displaying emotions (frustration, joy, or passion) is often seen as unprofessional, especially for people of color.

• This creates emotional labor, where workers must mask their authentic feelings to conform to white-centered norms.

2. Emotional Consequences of Bias

• Constant scrutiny and biased evaluation create stress and anxiety for workers of color.

• Employees are expected to adapt to white cultural standards in dress, speech, work style, and time management.

• These pressures lead to emotional exhaustion, lower job satisfaction, and increased burnout.

3. Impact on Work-Life Balance

• Workers of color experience stress spillover, carrying workplace frustrations into home life.

• Fear of being seen as “unprofessional” (for natural hairstyles, accents, or emotions) creates constant emotional vigilance, leaving less energy for personal life.

• Job insecurity tied to biased professionalism disrupts financial stability and personal well-being.

4. Cultural Dissonance and Emotional Stress

• Professionalism prioritizes monochronic time (linear, task-first focus), clashing with polychronic cultures that value relationships and flexibility.

• Workers from polychronic cultures (often non-white) face penalties for prioritizing family or social connections, increasing emotional tension between cultural identity and job expectations.

5. Emotional Burden of “Cultural Fit”

• Hiring and promotion often prioritize cultural fit, which favors white, Western norms.

• Workers of color must either assimilate (losing cultural identity) or risk exclusion.

• Constant code-switching (changing language, demeanor, and behavior) creates emotional strain.

6. Microaggressions and Emotional Toll

• Workers of color experience higher rates of monitoring and micromanagement.

• Daily microaggressions (comments on speech, dress, or "attitude") create chronic stress.

• Emotional responses (anger, frustration) are pathologized as unprofessional, fueling internalized stress and self-doubt.

7. Systemic Racism and Emotional Climate

• Professionalism rooted in white supremacy culture affects:

  • Who feels emotionally safe at work.

  • Who gets second chances after mistakes.

  • Who can show up authentically without fear.

• Emotional suppression becomes a survival strategy, eroding authenticity and psychological safety.

8. Key Takeaways

• Emotional suppression is coded into professionalism.

• Bias in professionalism creates emotional labor and stress for workers of color.

• Biased standards harm work-life balance, personal well-being, and mental health.

• True workplace equity requires cultural change, not just policy change.

Rivera - Emotional Taint Border Patrol (Tuesday)

Key Concepts:

1. Dirty Work:
   
   

   • Jobs perceived as physically, socially, or morally “dirty” by society.

   • Law enforcement, including Border Patrol agents, is considered dirty work due to physical danger, association with stigmatized populations (e.g., undocumented immigrants), and moral ambiguity.

2. Emotional Labor:
   
   

   • The regulation and performance of emotions as part of work.

   • In law enforcement, this includes stoicism, aggression, and care work.

   • Emotional labor is often silenced or devalued, especially in masculine occupations like the Border Patrol.

3. Emotional Taint:
   
   

   • A new category of dirty work taint where emotion itself is seen as objectionable.

   • Workers experience stigma due to their emotional displays (too much, too little, or inappropriate emotion).

4. Taint Management:
   
   

   • The strategies employees use to cope with negative perceptions of their work.

   • Border Patrol agents manage taint by selectively engaging in or suppressing emotional labor based on the situation.

Summary of Key Findings

1. Emotional Labor in the U.S. Border Patrol

• "Masculine" Emotional Labor (Stoicism & Forcefulness)

  • Agents are trained to show no emotion during arrests or enforcement.

  • They use “officer presence” (firmness, confidence, control) to assert authority.

  • Public perceives them as aggressive, uncaring, or emotionless.

• "Feminine" Emotional Labor (Care & Compassion)

  • Agents frequently perform care work (e.g., helping injured migrants, providing food or water).

  • This labor is unacknowledged by the organization and seen as a private act of kindness.

  • Agents feel conflicted between professional duties and humanitarian instincts.

2. Emotional Labor as Dirty Work

• Criticism of Stoicism & Forcefulness

  • Public views agents as heartless or oppressive when they follow strict enforcement rules.

  • News media and activists criticize agents for lack of compassion.

• Criticism of Compassion & Care Work

  • Some groups (e.g., Minutemen, strict law enforcement advocates) criticize agents for being too soft.

  • Organization does not formally support care work, reinforcing stigma.

• The Catch-22 of Emotional Labor

  • Agents feel "damned if they do, damned if they don’t"—criticized for both strict enforcement and compassionate actions.

  • Emotional labor is viewed as excessive, inappropriate, or a sign of weakness.

3. Taint Management Strategies

• Suppressing Emotion (Stoicism) to Protect Themselves
  
  

  • Agents adopt professionalism and emotional neutrality to maintain control.

  • They avoid emotional expression in public to prevent criticism or threats to their authority.

• Engaging Compassion to "Humanize" the Border Patrol
  
  

  • Some agents deliberately show care and kindness to change public perception.

  • Agents engage in community service (e.g., donations, outreach) to counteract negative stigma.

• Emotional Release in Private
  
  

  • Many agents privately experience strong emotions (e.g., guilt, sadness).

  • Some find ways to cope through small personal acts of kindness (e.g., offering food to detainees)

4. Practical Implications

For Organizations:

• Provide Emotional Labor Training

  • Prepare agents for the emotional challenges of the job (not just enforcement tactics).

  • Offer support for coping with emotional stress.

• Acknowledge and Value Care Work

  • Recognize that compassion is a necessary part of the job, not a weakness.

  • Incorporate care training into the Border Patrol Academy.

• Improve Public Relations & Transparency

  • Allow agents to share positive stories about their humanitarian work.

  • Combat one-sided negative portrayals of Border Patrol in media.

5. Key Takeaways

1. Border Patrol agents perform both stoic and compassionate emotional labor, but both forms are stigmatized.

2. Emotional taint expands the concept of dirty work—emotions themselves are viewed as inappropriate, excessive, or problematic.

3. Agents struggle with conflicting expectations from the public, the organization, and their personal ethics.

4. To manage taint, agents strategically engage in or suppress emotional labor based on the situation.

5. Organizations must acknowledge emotional labor and provide better training and support for its challenges.

This study highlights the hidden emotional struggles of law enforcement workers and calls for greater recognition of emotional labor as an integral part of “dirty work” occupations.

Redden - Dirty Work and Hidden taint (Thurs)

1. Emotion Management in Bureaucracies

• Employees (like judges and TSOs) must follow feeling rules that dictate what emotions are appropriate at work.

• These rules often emphasize neutrality and professionalism, even when employees personally feel frustration, compassion, or anger.

2. Hidden Taint

• Hidden taint = a new type of dirty work, where emotional labor becomes stigmatized due to gender, race, class, and power dynamics.

• Hidden taint isn’t obvious (like physical dirt), but it’s emotionally taxing and created through employee-patron interactions.

3. Emotional Labor and Intersectionality

• Workers from marginalized groups (women, people of color, lower class) experience higher emotional labor burdens.

• Example: Female judges are expected to show compassion, but also must enforce neutrality, leaving them vulnerable to being called "bitch" if they show authority.

4. Emotional Double Standards

• Male employees (especially white men) enjoy status shields, meaning they can express anger or sarcasm with fewer consequences.

• Women and people of color are scrutinized more heavily for their emotional expressions and must engage in extra emotion management to avoid penalties.

5. Co-Constructed Emotion Norms

• Emotion norms aren’t just set by organizations—they are shaped by interactions with patrons.

• Example: Passengers expect friendly service from TSOs, but TSOs are trained to be neutral or intimidating. This mismatch creates emotional tension.

6. Emotional Spillover into Work-Life Balance

• Employees carry home the stress from managing emotions all day, especially when they:

  • Face racial profiling (passengers).

  • Receive racialized or gendered insults (employees).

  • Perform emotional suppression to avoid conflict (both employees and patrons).

7. Power Dynamics and Emotion

• Judges are perceived as powerful, but in reality, they follow strict procedures that limit their power.

• TSOs appear to have power (enforcing rules), but they actually have little control over policies. This gap creates emotional frustration.

• Passengers and defendants also co-create emotional exchanges, shaping the tone and emotional labor of each encounter.

8. Key Emotional Stressors

• Race and gender bias (e.g., women called “bitch” for being stern, Black employees facing harsher scrutiny).

• Emotional taxes: Extra emotional labor placed on marginalized employees to conform to biased emotional norms.

• Workplace stereotypes: TSOs seen as “robots” or “sexual predators” during patdowns, while judges are expected to be compassionate caretakers.

9. Practical Implications

• Trainings on bias, identity, and emotion management are needed.

• Expand the range of acceptable emotions (beyond just neutrality).

• Recognize and support employees doing extra emotional labor due to hidden taint.

10. Key Takeaway

Work-life balance is directly affected when employees must constantly manage emotions, suppress authentic reactions, and navigate bias and taint rooted in identity, power, and organizational expectations.

Dailey et. al - WWP (Tues)

1. Overview of Workplace Health Promotion (WHP)

• WHP = Workplace programs to improve employee health (e.g., fitness classes, health screenings, wellness leave).

• Programs can improve employee well-being, but also serve organizational cost-saving goals.

2. Dual Discourses: Organizational vs. Employee Perspectives

• Employees described two contrasting discourses shaping their emotional experience and work-life balance:

  • Organizational Discourse: Wellness improves productivity and reduces absenteeism (a business investment).

  • Employee Discourse: Wellness improves personal health, builds friendships, and provides a valued break from work.

3. Emotional Tension in Participation

• Employees felt guilt about taking wellness time, fearing coworkers or supervisors would see it as slacking off.

• Some coworkers expressed resentment, creating emotional stress for participants.

• Employees felt they had to work harder before or after wellness time to justify their break.

4. Wellness as Emotional Relief

• Employees valued wellness time for its emotional benefits:

  • Mental escape from work stress.

  • Boost in mood and energy.

  • Opportunity to socialize, fostering emotional connections at work.

5. Emotional & Social Benefits

• Beyond physical health, employees reported:

  • Better moods and lower stress.

  • Stronger workplace friendships (social health).

  • Increased feelings of being valued by the employer (emotional attachment to workplace).

6. Work-Life Balance Impact

• When wellness occurs during work hours, employees experience:

  • Less work-family conflict (no need to sacrifice personal/family time).

  • But also, pressure to “make up” for time off, blending wellness with work stress.

7. Emotional Labor in Negotiating Participation

• Employees had to negotiate wellness time with supervisors.

• Mixed messages: Told to use wellness time but also expected to maintain full productivity.

• Emotional stress from trying to balance self-care and professional responsibility.

8. Key Takeaways

• Wellness programs offer emotional and social benefits, improving workplace relationships and employee morale.

• But, emotional tension arises when wellness is framed as a business tool, not just a personal benefit.

• Employees perform emotional labor to justify wellness time to peers and bosses, affecting their emotions at work and home.

Sexton - Well-Being Interventions (Tues)

Key Concepts:

1. Healthcare Worker (HCW) Burnout:

   • Over 50% of physicians and one-third of nurses experience burnout.

   • Burnout is linked to emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization, and reduced accomplishment.

   • Consequences include depression, substance abuse, decreased patient safety, and higher job turnover.

2. Three Good Things (3GT) Intervention:

   • A brief, low-cost psychological intervention encouraging participants to reflect on three positive things daily.

   • Aims to counteract burnout, increase happiness, and improve work–life balance.

3. Emotional Exhaustion (EE) & Positive Emotion:

   • EE reduces the ability to notice positive events.

   • Positive emotions (hope, gratitude) help build resilience and improve job satisfaction and performance.

Summary of Key Findings

1. Effectiveness of the 3GT Intervention

• Participants improved across all four well-being metrics:

  • Emotional exhaustion ↓ (less burnout).

  • Depression symptoms ↓ (better mental health).

  • Happiness ↑ (greater life satisfaction).

  • Work–life balance ↑ (better personal-professional harmony).

• Effects were sustained up to 12 months after the intervention.

• Participants who started with concerning levels of burnout saw the largest improvements.

2. The Role of Positive Emotions in Work & Well-Being

• HCWs with burnout focus more on negative events, ignoring positive moments.

• 3GT helped recalibrate emotional awareness, making it easier to notice and appreciate positive experiences.

• Experiencing positive emotions builds resilience, counteracting stress from high job demands.

3. Practical Applications for Workplaces

For Healthcare Organizations:

• Implement 3GT and other positive interventions to boost morale and reduce burnout.

• Provide emotional support programs to reinforce psychological resilience.

• Address systemic issues (e.g., excessive workload, lack of autonomy) to reduce burnout at its root.

For Employees:

• Engage in daily gratitude reflections to shift focus toward positive experiences.

• Recognize the power of small positive moments in improving emotional well-being.

• Encourage workplace well-being programs to support long-term mental health.

Key Takeaways

1. The Three Good Things (3GT) intervention significantly reduces emotional exhaustion and depression while increasing happiness and work–life balance.

2. HCWs experiencing high burnout benefit the most from positive emotion-focused interventions.

3. Workplaces should integrate structured well-being programs to improve long-term mental health and job satisfaction.

4. Daily positive reflections help shift attention away from stress and burnout, fostering a healthier work environment.

Harrison - Wellness at Work

1. Key Idea: Stress is Organizational, Not Just Personal

• Employee stress isn’t just about individual coping — it’s embedded in the organizational structure, workload, communication systems, and workplace culture.

• Common workplace stressors:

  • Overload (too many tasks & constant multitasking).

  • Communication Overload (too many messages, devices, and constant interruptions).

  • High Expectations from self, patients, colleagues, and the larger profession.

2. Wellness at Work vs. Wellness in Work

• Traditional workplace wellness programs (WWPs) focus on activities outside regular work (e.g., yoga, fitness classes).

• Wellness in Work = Integrating wellness directly into daily work routines and organizational processes.

• This shift recognizes that work itself creates stress, so wellness can’t just be a “side program.”

3. Whole-Person Wellness Framework

• Effective wellness programs need to address:

  • Physical wellness (health, fitness).

  • Psychological wellness (mental health, stress management).

  • Social wellness (peer support, belonging).

  • Spiritual wellness (sense of purpose, inner peace).

4. Emotional Labor and Work-Life Tension

• Residents (like employees in other high-stress jobs) must suppress emotions to meet professional norms.

• Emotional suppression = stress buildup that carries over into personal life (work-life spillover).

5. Barriers to Wellness Participation

• Too much work: Employees felt guilty or stressed about stepping away for wellness activities.

• Cultural expectations: “Tough it out” culture discourages asking for help or taking wellness time.

• Scheduling conflicts: Many wellness activities were poorly timed (during shifts), making participation impossible.

6. Emotion Work in Peer Support

• Most valued wellness resource = informal peer support.

• Venting, humor, and sharing struggles with fellow residents in safe spaces (like the call room) was more impactful than formal wellness activities.

7. Key Takeaway

• True wellness requires structural change — reducing unnecessary overload, improving communication flows, and embedding wellness into daily work processes, not just offering “add-on” programs.

• Emotion management is part of work, and wellness strategies must account for the emotional toll of professional roles.

8. Practical Tip for Organizations

• Integrate wellness into daily routines (e.g., reflection breaks, peer check-ins).

• Change cultural norms to value emotional expression and self-care.

• Encourage supervisors to model wellness practices.