Events

Prof. Myeong-Gu Seo
Professor of Management and Organization
Robert H Smith School of Business
University of Maryland

As the majority of workplaces are characterized by hierarchical structures, one of the paramount managerial challenges is understanding and mitigating the dysfunctional aspects of hierarchy to fully unlock its potential for enhancing functionality. Drawing on the social functions of emotion theory, we posit that hierarchy contains hidden emotional-based mechanisms that amplify its dysfunctionality: hierarchical structures induce unpleasant affect and emotional regulation in the form of surface acting, leading to increased emotional exhaustion and reduced proactive contributions among members. These emotional tolls of hierarchy operationalize above and over individuals’ positions within the hierarchy. We examine our theory with four comprehensive studies across various organizational contexts by analyzing data from a multi-national archival context (the World Values Survey) (Study 1), a large Latin American company (Study 2), full-time professionals in US-based organizations (Study 3), and a controlled immersive in-person laboratory experiment (Study 4). Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that introducing an authentic affective climate can effectively mitigate the negative emotional consequences of hierarchical structures. This research advances our theoretical understanding of the interplay between hierarchy and emotion in organizations and provides practical insights for creating healthier, more resilient organizational structures. By doing so, organizations can address the inherent emotion-related challenges of hierarchical structures, thereby enhancing overall well-being and productivity.