ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONS in DEGRADING HUMAN LIFE

Submitted by: Gopinath K. Ranjith P. Rathna Vasanth Lal Siddharth S. Usha Rani Chacko Jacob PGP/15/16 PGP/15/41 PGP/15/43 PGP/15/48 PGP/15/60 FPM/05/04

DEFINITIONS

Organization a consciously coordinated social unit, composed of two or more people, that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or a set of goals

ROLE OF ORGANIZATION IN DEGRADING HUMAN LIFE

Points for discussion :

Emotional labor and Emotional dissonance Job stress and the Individual Problems of work-life balance

(1) EMOTIONAL LABOR AND EMOTIONAL DISSONANCE

Emotional Labor is a situation in which the employee expresses organizationally desired emotions during inter-personal transactions at work & Emotional Dissonance refers to the inconsistencies between the emotions people feel and the emotions they project (Organizational behavior Robbins, Judge & Vohra)

Emotional labor creates problems for employees since they are forced to work with and feign friendliness even with people they dont like. This creates bottled-up feeling of frustration, anger & resentment and can eventually lead to emotional exhaustion and burnout (The relationship of emotional exhaustion to work attitudes, job performance, and
organizational citizenship behaviors By: Cropanzano, Russell, Rupp, Deborah E., Byrne, Zinta S., Journal of Applied Psychology, 0021-9010, 2003, Vol. 88, Issue 1)

(1) EMOTIONAL LABOR AND EMOTIONAL DISSONANCE

Continued .

The Market and Organizations still doesnt seem to financially reward emotional labor equitably
A study found that emotional demands of a job matter in setting compensation levels, only when jobs are cognitively demanding such as in Law and Nursing (Emotional Labor Demands and
Compensating Wage Differentials : Glomb, Theresa M., Kammeyer-Mueller, John D., Rotundo, Maria, Journal of Applied Psychology, 0021-9010, 2004, Vol. 89, Issue 4)

(2) WORKPLACE STRESS AND THE INDIVIDUAL

Stress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, demand or resource related to what the individual desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important (Organizational behavior Robbins, Judge & Sanghi)

Stress is not necessarily bad in itself. It has positive value (especially Challenge stressors) but it does have its negatives as well. Research tells us that Hindrance stressors are more harmful than Challenge stressors (Challenge and Hindrance Stress: Relationships With
Exhaustion, Motivation to Learn, and Learning Performance. By: LePine, Jeffrey A., LePine, Marcie A., Jackson, Christine L., Journal of Applied Psychology, 0021-9010, 2004, Vol. 89, Issue 5)

(2) WORKPLACE STRESS AND THE INDIVIDUAL

Continued ...

Stress shows itself in different ways Physiological, Psychological & Behavioral and ultimately affects the quality of life of the individual Research has found out that stress could bring about a change in the metabolism, increased heart and breathing rates, increase blood pressure, bring on headaches and induce heart attacks. (Workplace stress and Indicators of Coronary disease risk: Steffy, Brian D.; Jones, John
W.. Academy of Management Journal, Sep88, Vol. 31 Issue 3, p686-698)

(2) WORKPLACE STRESS AND THE INDIVIDUAL

Continued ...

Stress can cause job dissatisfaction and show itself as tension, anxiety, irritability, boredom and procrastination.
(Work-load, perceived control and psychological distress in Type A/B industrial workers : Kushnir, T.; Melamed, S.. Journal of Organizational Behavior, Mar91, Vol. 12 Issue 2, p155-168)

Behavior related stress symptoms include changes in productivity, absence and turnover, as well as changes in eating habits, increased smoking or consumption of alcohol, rapid speech, fidgeting and sleep disorders.
(Development of the Job Diagnostic Survey : Hackman, J. Richard; Oldham, Grey R.. Journal of Applied Psychology, Apr75, Vol. 60 Issue 2, p159-170)

(3) PROBLEMS OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE

Although work can complement and, indeed, improve family life, in recent decades it has largely competed with the family, and won Organizations are impacting work-life balance and their negative impact can be seen in families with increased divorce rates & behavioral problems in children due to lack of adequate parental attention. (When Work Becomes Home and Home Becomes
Work. Hochschild, Arlie Russell. California Management Review, Summer97, Vol. 39 Issue 4)

(3) PROBLEMS OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE (Continued)

Time bind is a concept introduced by sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild in 1997, which refers to the blurring distinction between work and home social environments. (When Work Becomes
Home and Home Becomes Work. Hochschild, Arlie Russell. California Management Review, Summer97, Vol. 39 Issue 4)

Hochschild found in her research that although most working parents, particularly all mothers, said "family comes first," few of them considered adjusting their long hours, even when their workplaces offered flextime, paternity leave, telework or other "family friendly" policies.

(3) PROBLEMS OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE (Continued)

(3) PROBLEMS OF WORK-LIFE BALANCE (Continued)

Her conclusion is that the roles of home and work had reversed: work has become more attractive, offering a sense of belonging, while home had grown more stressful, becoming a dreaded place with too many demands. Parents are becoming supervisors with stopwatches, monitoring meals and bedtimes and putting real effort into eliminating "wasted" time.

Prepared by students of PGP 2011-13 batch, IIM Kozhikode