Chapter 2 Emotional expression, gender, personality, and workplace appropriate behaviors

The impact of emotional displays on ratings of workplace performance was examined using scenarios presented to college students (N=175). Four scenarios featured either a male or female employee expressing either anger or sadness. Contrary to previous findings in research on gender differences, the only consistent significant finding was the type of emotion displayed. Displays of anger resulted in reductions in perceptions of organizational commitment (F(1,170)=19.78, p<0.001) and job performance (F(1,169)=12.19, p<0.001). The differences in emotion displayed were expected; however, the null findings of gender effects were unexpected and are discussed here.