Abstract/Summary

Anger is often understood as an emotion that should be managed or suppressed in work settings. However, in answering recent calls in literature, this doctoral work widens this debate by studying the effect of permitting/not permitting the expression of anger (providing/not feedback opportunities) in work-related contexts. Specifically, the present study answers calls to explore whether and how feeling the emotion anger after receiving unfair negative feedback can cause constructive/destructive behaviours towards organisations. The pilot (N = 85) and main experimental (N = 491) studies investigate the effect of permitting/not permitting the expression of anger (providing/not feedback opportunities) on employees’ constructive/destructive behaviours towards the organisation and the moderating effects of moral identity on the link between permitting/not permitting the expression of anger (providing/not feedback opportunities) and constructive/destructive behaviours. A key contribution of this study is therefore that it examines whether permitting/not permitting the expression of anger (providing/not feedback opportunities) affect individuals’ outcome behaviours towards the organisation differently. Moreover, the present study contributes to the study of anger by investigating the moderating role of moral identity on the relationship between permitting/not permitting the expression of anger (providing/not feedback opportunities) and constructive/destructive outcome behaviours. The findings indicate that permitting/not permitting the expression of anger (providing/not feedback opportunities) does not prevent immediate negative reactions such as providing feedback in a less constructive way or expressing immediate negative feedback. However, the findings suggest that being able to express anger motivates individuals to work for the organisation again and leads to higher levels of long-term commitment and loyalty to the organisation and employer. Interestingly, while to the v best of the author’s knowledge these results are novel in the context of anger research, the findings of this study are resonant of recent findings in the related area of “aggression research”. Recent findings there suggest that when people are informed that negative feedback was not given intentional, this does not change immediate reactions but can reduce (longer-term) aggressive behaviour. The results of this study suggest a number of implications for literature and practice in terms of anger regulation in work contexts, which the latter part of the thesis discusses.