Controlling Anger and Happiness at Work: An Examination of Gender Differences

Summary & key facts

This study analyzed survey data from workers in many kinds of jobs to see how men and women manage emotions at work. It found that women showed anger less often than men and showed happiness more often. The difference in anger was linked to job and status factors, but those factors did not explain why women showed more happiness.

Key facts:

• The analysis used survey data collected from workers across a diverse group of occupations.
• Women expressed anger less often than men in the workplace.
• Women expressed happiness more often than men in the workplace.
• Differences in job and status characteristics explained the link between gender and how often anger was expressed at work.
• Job and status characteristics did not account for the gender gap in expressions of happiness at work.
• The article notes prior research that suggests men and women may not differ in emotional experience, and that expression of emotion is connected to status positions.

Abstract

This article examines gender differences in the emotion management of men and women in the workplace. The belief in American culture that women are more emotional than men has limited women's opportunities in many types of work. Because emotional expression is often tightly controlled in the workplace, examining emotion management performed at work presents an opportunity to evaluate gender differences in response to similar working conditions. Previous research suggests that men and women do not differ in their experiences of emotion and the expression of emotion is linked to status positions. An analysis of survey data collected from workers in a diverse group of occupations illustrates that women express anger less and happiness more than men in the workplace. Job and status characteristics explain the association between gender and anger management at work but were unrelated to the management of happiness expressions in the workplace.

Topics

Emotional Labor in Professions Employment and Welfare Studies Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior

Categories

Social Sciences Sociology and Political Science

Tags

Anger Anger management Association (psychology) Clinical psychology Computer science Emotional expression Expression (computer science) Happiness Programming language Psychology Psychotherapist Social psychology