Exploring the Relationship between Emotion Display Rules and Social Norms and Their Influence on Anger Expressions in Organizations

Abstract

This is a qualitative theory-building study that examines the relationship between organizational display rules and social norms (e.g. occupational, status and personal norms) and their influence on anger expressions in the workplace. The emotional labor literature has focused on the impact of organizational display rules which typically work to constrain anger expressions. This study extends this work by also examining how other social norms can impact anger expressions when display rules are weak or absent. Results show that organizational values and occupational, status, and personal norms each have influence depending upon the characteristics of the organizational context.