Expectations of emotional display in the workplace

Purpose – This paper aims to portray that, while particular types of emotional displays are often essential for team and service work, the negative consequences of conforming with display rules need to be weighed against their true necessity. This research seeks to examine their necessity in terms of the expectations that people have of the emotional displays of others, so that potentially stressful emotional work can be targeted appropriately within organizations.Design/methodology/approach – This quantitative study uses a questionnaire approach to assess the expectations that 121 UK and 101 US participants have towards the emotional displays of various service providers and work colleagues.Findings – Expectations of emotional display were shown to differ across cultures, between jobs and roles within an organization, and between males and females.Practical implications – The implications for managers and practitioners centre on the value placed on encouraging warm emotional displays at various levels wi...