Emotional Experiences and Regulation in the Workplace: The ...jps.uum.edu.my/images/jps/19/19-3.pdf · kerja ini membentangkan analisis temubual di ketiga-tiga lokasi. Sebanyak dua

Emotional Experiences and Regulation in the Workplace: The Effects of Culture

(Pengalaman Emosi dan Pengaturan di Tempat Kerja: Kesan Terhadap Budaya)

HABIBIEIBRAHIMFakultiPendidikan&PsikologiUniversitiMalaysiaSabah

Emel: [email protected]

SALLYJOHNSON&PHILIPGILLIGANUniversityofBradford

UnitedKingdom

Abstrak

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji emosi yang dialami dan pengaturan emosi di tempat karja khususnya praktis kerja sosial kanak-kanak dan keluargadalamkonteksMalaysia.Hubunganantaraemosidanpengaturanemosidankonteksbudayatelahditeroka.Secarakeseluruhannyastrategipenyelidikanadalah etnografi. Para penyelidikmenggunakan pelbagai kaedah termasuktemu bual, pemerhatian peserta, dan soal selidik. Kajian ini dijalankan ditigalokasidiMalaysia:KualaLumpur,PetalingdanKotaKinabalu.Pesertaterdiri daripada pegawai pelindung dan pegawai pemulihan daripada Jabatan KebajikanMalaysiadanpekerjasosialperubatandihospital-hospital.Kertaskerja inimembentangkan analisis temubual di ketiga-tiga lokasi. Sebanyakduapuluhlimatemubualtelahdilakukan(12lelaki,13perempuanlingkunganumur29-51).Datadianalisisdenganmenggunakananalisistematik.Dapatankajian menunjukkan bahawa budaya masyarakat dan profesional telah mempengaruhi bagaimana pekerja sosial mengatur emosi yang dialami semasaberurusandenganklien.

Kata kunci: pengalaman emosi, pengaturan emosi, kesan budaya, pekerja sosialkanak-kanakdankeluarga,organisasikhidmatmanusia.

Abstract

JurnalPembangunanSosial(EdisiKhas)Policy&ProfesionalDevelopment:37–56

38 JurnalPembangunanSosialJilid19,KeluaranKhas(Bil3)

The present research aimed to investigate the experienced emotions andemotional regulation in the workplace particularly in child and family social workpracticeinaMalaysiancontext.Theinterrelationshipbetweenemotionand emotional regulation and cultural context were explored. The overallresearchstrategywasethnographic.Theresearchersusedamixtureofmethodsincludingindividualinterviews,participantobservation,andaquestionnaire.The research was conducted in three locations in Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur, PetalingandKotaKinabalu. Participantsconsistedofchildprotectorsandrehabilitation officers from the Malaysia Welfare Department and medicalsocial workers in hospitals. This paper presents an analysis of individualinterviews in the three locations. A total of twenty-five interviews wereconducted(12male,13female;agerange29-51).Datawereanalysedusingthematicanalysis.Theresearchfindingsshowthatsocietalandprofessionalcultureshaveinfluencedhowchildsocialworkersregulatetheirexperiencedemotionwhendealingwithclients.

Keywords: Experiencedemotion,emotionalregulation,culturaleffect,childandfamilyworkers,humanserviceorganisations.

Introduction

Psychologicaltheoriesofemotionsarelimitedinscopeandcontent(Crawford,Kippax, Onyx, Gault & Benton, 1992). Crawford et al. (1992) note thatsuch limitations are reinforced by theways that psychologists have chosento study emotions. They add that even social constructionists have chosenmethods such as questionnaireswhich fail to capturemuch of the richnessandcomplexityofemotionalexperiences.Amethodisthereforeneededwhichwill recognise that emotions are constructed in interactions involving bothself-interaction and interactionwith others that enables the development oftheoryencompassingsuchinteractions(Crawfordetal.,1992).Therefore,thelimitationsofpsychologicaltheoriesonlyemphasisethat–theoriesconcerningemotionsarecognitive,motivationalandrelational(Lazarus,1991),internalfeelingsofstatesandbehaviours(Strongman,1974,1987),andphysiologicalandpsychologicalphenomena–theJames-Langetheory(inSartre,1948).

Thoits(1989)statedthatculturalbeliefsaboutemotionsincludethequestionofwhat shouldbe feltornot,beexpressedornot, ideologyaboutemotions,commonunderstandingaboutthecauses,consequencesandresultsofemotionalexperiencesandinteractions,beliefsaboutemotionsthattheycanbecontrolledornot,andcircumstances(determinedbysocialcontexts)fromtherequirementofsociety(expectations)toconformtoemotions.Issuesthatcanbeseeninculturalbeliefs(i.e.thefocusedarea)arethetypesofemotions

EmotionalExperiencesandRegulation 39

thatcanbefeltornot,thatmaybeexpressedornot,andthebeliefthatemotionscanbecontrolledornot,whichreflecttheissueofideologyofemotionsinthesettingofchildandfamilypractice(i.e.workingrelationshipsanddecision-makingprocesses).

Goldie (2000) summarises conventional psychological thinkingaboutemotions.Goldie(2000)explainsthephenomenaofemotionsusingacombinationofphilosophyandscience.Theroleofcultureisalsoconsideredin his explanation of the phenomena of emotions. He explores the linksbetweenemotions,moods, and characters.He also explores the contextsofemotions in relation to phenomena such as consciousness, thought, feelingandimagination.Heclarifieshowindividualsareabletomakesenseoftheirownandotherindividual’semotions,andalsoproposeshowindividualscanexplain whichever emotions would lead them to their responsive actions.He outlines six explanations referring to psychological aspects: 1) when aperson experiences an emotion, he/she is engagedwith theworld, graspingwhat isgoingon in theworldand respondingaccordingly,2) anemotionalexperienceoractionoutoftheemotioncanbemadeintelligiblebyreferenceto the thoughtswhichare involved in it,3)anemotioncanbeeducated,4)emotionspartiallyshapeanddeterminewhatwevalue,5)emotionalresponsescanrevealtouswhatwevalueandwhatmightnotbeepistemicallyaccessibletousifwedidnothavesuchresponses,and6)weshouldrespectouremotionalresponsesandlistentowhattheyhavetosaytousandaboutus.Theseportrayhowemotionsmaketheircontributionstoindividuals’relationshipswiththeirenvironments.

Emotionsandemotionalregulationareprominent in theworkplace(Lindebaum&Jordan,2014;Ashkanasy&Daus,2001;Mann,1999).Socialworkersinchildandfamilyservicesarereportedasfacingdifficultiesespeciallyin terms of challenging behaviours, abusive and demanding clients (Kemp,Marcenko,Hoagwood&Vesnesky,2009;Coffey,Dugdill&Tattersall,2004).Therefore,theeffectiveregulationofemotioninselfandothersisseenasanimportantskillforworkerswhoneedtobuildrelationshipswithclients(Aldao,Nolen-Hoksema&Schweizer,2010;Howe,2008).

Practitioners in the social work profession deal with troubledindividuals,families,groupsandcommunitieswhoareinneed.Workingwithpeoplewhoare inneed requires that socialworkersgive thoughts to issuesof resilience and coping strategies (Morrison, 2007). Developing resilientpersonalitieswithgoodself-esteemandasenseofself-control isoneof thestrategies that has been encouraged in order to empower socialworkers tocombatstress(Collins,2008).StoreyandBillingham(2001)notethatstresswithintheworkplaceisprevalentathighlevelsformanyindividuals.Stressisconsidereddangerous,notonly to thepractitioners’healthbutalso to the


service that practitioners provide to users (Storey & Billingham, 2001).Practitioners’ characteristics, such as age and gender, are associated withstress in theworkplace(Chadsey&Beyer,2001).ResearchdonebyStoreyandBillingham(2001)alsofoundthatpractitionersaged45yearsoryoungerappearedtohaveahigherlevelofstresscomparedtoindividualsagedmorethan45;whereasfemaleswerereportedtohaveahigherlevelofstressthanmales. Theterm‘emotionregulations’isdefinedasdeliberateorautomaticchanges inanyaspectofemotional responses, includingelicitingsituations,attention, appraisals, subjective experiences, behaviour or physiology.Meanwhile, the term ‘response-focused emotion regulations’ is defined asemotionregulationstrategies,whicharemainlydirectedatemotionalresponsesafteremotionshavebeengenerated.Anexampleofsuchaprocessistheactofdenyinganemotionalexperience.On theotherhand,antecedent-focusedemotionregulationstrategiesaremainlydirectedataspects thatoccurearlyin the emotional process (Mauss, Bunge&Gross, 2007).These regulatorystrategies take place in response to situational cues, where socio-culturalcontexts matter so much in automatic emotion regulations. According toMauss,BungeandGross(2007),socio-culturalcontextsprovidenormsaboutappropriate responses, which are activated in response to emotional cues.MesquitaandBoiger(2014)conceivedthatemotionsarelargelyfunctionaltothesocioculturalenvironmentinwhichtheyoccur.InWesterncountries,thepeoplestresspositiveaspectsofemotionsandgenerallyencourageemotionalexperiencesandexpressions(Markus&Kitayama,1991).However,Shiota,Campos, Gonzaga and Peng (2010) showed that among the European-Americanparticipants,theexperesasionofnegativeemotions(i.e.feelingsofanger, contempt,or shame)during interactionwitha romanticpartnerwerethought to preclude feelings of love, whereasAsian-American participantsweremorelikelytoreportfeelingbothtypesofemotion.

Thisarticleaimedtoinvestigatetheuseofemotionsandemotionalregulation in child and family practice in a Malaysian context. Theinterrelationshipbetweenemotion,emotionalregulationandculturalcontextwereexploredfurther.

Methodology

Based on the consideration that emotions are seen as affects and ideaswhosemeaningsareelaborateandsubtlelearned(Lutz&White,1986),thispresentresearchemployedtheethnographicapproachastheresearchdesign.However,thepresentresearchwasnotconductedasafullethnography.Thepresentresearchdrawsonandisframedbysomeideaswhichoriginatefrom


ethnography.Thewayinwhichtheethnographicapproachwasusedwasduetothephilosophicalstanceoftheresearcher(Atkinson&Hammersley,1994),inwhich emotion is perceived as a confluenceofbiological underpinnings,shapedbyaculturalworldviewandscriptforsocialbehaviour.Thus, inthecontext of the social work profession, generally, the present research usedthe ethnographic approach to adopt the narrower focus associated with amini-ethnography. A mini ethnography, like more traditional ethnography,allowstheunderstandingofalocalworld,aswellasthestructureandflowofinterpersonal experienceswithin this; however, itmakes allowances for theconstraints placedon the ethnographer and the difficulties preventing long-termimmersioninthefield(Kleinman,1992).Furthermore,theethnographicframeworkisconsideredasasuitableapproachindealingwith thewaythesocialworkersinMalaysiancultureoperateanduseemotionsandEIintheirdailyactivities,eitherintheircareerorsocialmatters.Inaddition,thechoiceoftheethnographyframeworkastheresearchframeworkinthisresearchaimedatgainingaworkingfamiliaritywiththeframesofmeaningwithinwhichthechildsocialworkersenacttheirlives(Greetz,2000).

The researchers used a mixture of methods including individualinterviews,participantobservation,andaquestionnaire.Thepresentresearchapplied amixture ofmethods,which allowed to build the strength of bothquantitativeandqualitativedatainordertoprovideamorecompletepictureof thephenomenonunder investigation (Creswell,2008).Theuseofmixedmethodsalsoallowedthisresearchtoproduceafullerpictureoftheaspectsthatcoverednotonlythescaleoftheissue(e.g.thelevelsofEI,thedifferencesbetweengender,age,etc.),butalsogavesomeinsightsintotherelevantfactorsthatmight arise from the aspects ofEI (e.g. societal, cultural, professional,etc.), particularly inMalaysia’s local context.Notably, thequantitativedatashowthedimensionsofaphenomenon,whilethequalitativedatarevealricherandmorecomplexfindings.Inaddition,themixedmethods(i.e.questionnaire,observationsandinterviews)werevaluableandmadeworthwhilecontributionsto the discussions on matters being studied in this research (Denscombe,2007). The quantitative aspects aimed to reveal whether any demographiccharacteristics relevant to socialworkwere salient,whereas the qualitativeaspectsaimedtoexploresocialworkers’perceptionsof theseandanyotheraspectsofemotionswhichtheythoughtwererelevanttosocialworkpractice.

The researchwas conducted in three locations inMalaysia:KualaLumpur,PetalingandKotaKinabalu.Participantsconsistedofchildprotectorsandchild rehabilitationofficers from theMalaysiaWelfareDepartment andmedical social workers in hospitals. In this research, the selected socialworkers(i.e.thechildprotectorsandchildrehabilitationofficers)werethosewho currently deal with issues relating to (i) children in need of care andprotection,and(ii)childreninneedofprotectionandrehabilitationinhospitals


andwelfare departments in Sabah, Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur. Thesamplingmethod,whichwas a non-probability purposive one,was utilisedtogaininsightsintoanyspecifickindofpractice(Rubin,Fein&Vandenberg,1983). In this instance, the child protectorswhowere assigned to handlingchildandfamilycasesduringthetimetheresearchwasbeingconductedwereinvited to participate. The data were collected from the volunteered maleandfemalesocialworkers,experiencedandnewlyqualifiedsocialworkers,peopleofdifferentagegroups,levelsofeducation,andlengthsofserviceintheircurrentjobs,andindividualsworkinginavarietyofroles(e.g.asachildprotector,achildrehabilitationofficeror/andanadministrator).

This article presents an analysis of individual interviews in thethree locations. By using the qualitativemethod in interviews during thispresentstudy,theparticipantsthemselvesweregivenopportunitiestoexplaintheir emotional experiences. Individual interviewswereused toprovide thequalitativedatathataimedatgainingaworkingfamiliaritywiththeframesofmeaningwithinwhichthechildsocialworkersperceivedandusedemotionsand emotional regulation in their professional practice. Through the semi-structured interviews, thesocialworkers’perceptions towardsemotionsandemotionalregulationintheirworkplacewereexplored.Atotalof25interviewswereconducted(12,13female;agerange29-51).Datawerethencodedandanalysedmanually.Thedatawereanalysedutilisingthematicanalysis,whichsearchedforthemesandpatternsasdevelopedbyBraunandClarke(2006).More specifically, the taped interviews were transcribed. The transcribedinterviews were translated into English. Guided by the research questions,codes were developed to represent categories or themes (e.g. experiencedemotionsandemotionalregulations.Itisnotedthatanyunfittedthemeswereexcludedfromthefinalreport.

ResultsOne theme have been identified concerning the cultural effects on emotionand emotional regulation in the setting of child and family social worknamelyregulatingnegativeemotions.Underthethemeofregulatingnegativeemotions,therearetwosubthemes:(i)Respectothers–societal cultureand,(ii)Encouragementofpositiveattitudeindealingwithclients–professional culture. During the interview sessions, theMalaysian child social workersrevealedfrequentemotionalstates,whichtheyhadexperiencedwhendealingwith clients, interacting with colleagues and the top management in theworkplace.

The participants reported that they had experienced a variety ofemotional states, such as sadness, resentment, anger, dissatisfaction, love,


gratificationandothers,during theirprofessionalpracticeencounters. Withregard to emotional expressions, during the interview sessions,most of theparticipantsdisclosedandshared(talkedabout)theiremotionalexperiences,bothpositiveandnegativeemotionalexperiences.Theparticipants reportedthat they always felt various kinds of emotionswhen dealingwith clients,interactingwithcolleagues,andworkingundertheorganisationalmanagement.Nevertheless,howtheyexpressedtheiremotionsdependedoncertainsituationsandcontexts.Excerptsbelowillustratedemotionsexperiencedbytheworkersintheworkplace:

Love/Affection

“Emotions,suchasconsiderateandlove…Ifeellike...like…he’smyownchild.Ifeellike…Ilovehim.It’slike...notsympathy,no,no,notsympathy.InmanycasesthatIhandledbefore,thiscasehasitsattraction.That’swhyIcanfeelit.Ilikehim[herchildclient].”

(ProbationOfficer10,female,aged34)

“Thischild[hisclient]isintelligent.Ilikeher.IwashappyhandlinghercaseandIenjoyedit.”

(ChildProtector8,male,aged39)

Happiness

“We feel happy when our colleagues share or tell us their funnystoriesormakejokes.Sometimes,whenwefeelstressedwithworkload,ourcolleagueshelpmakingushappy.”


“Errr ... I realise, normally, the thing that can make mehappyiswhenfamiliescometothisinstitutionandvisittheirchildren.Whentheycome,wegivethemtheopportunitytomeetandinteractwiththeirchildren.Parentswillgivetheirpositivefeedbackconcerningtheirchildren’sprogress.Theywillsaythattheirchildren’sattitudewasnegativebeforeandnowtheyareshowingthepositiveattitude.Ifwelookbackatourfunction,itmeanswe’vesucceededinimprovingtheirattitude.So,wefeelhappy.”


(ProbationOfficer4,male,aged47)

Gratitude/Thankfulness

“Really?[Theyenjoyworkinghere?][laughed]…Ohh ...Alhamdulillah[praisebetoAllah].”

Sadness

“...withtheirlivingcondition,poor,verypoor,ofcourse,wefeelsad.Whenweknowhowmuchincometheyget,thenwecanassumeitisnotenough.So,wefeelsad.”


“Children should be protected or cared by their own parents, themother,thefather,forexample.Butforthechildreninthisinstitution,theirsituationisdifferent.They[thechildren]didnothingwrong.But,becauseoftheir[thechildrenandtheirfamilies] life condition, the children have to stay here. So,sometimes, of course, we feel sad when we think about their fate.”

(ChildProtector4,female,aged48)

Resentment/Anger

“Yes,itis[feltresentful/angry/’geram’].Ifeltangrytowardsthe mother who simply left her children without her protection and love.Amother shouldn’t act like that. Just because oftheir poor condition, she [the mother] abandoned them becauseshecouldnotliveinthatsituation”.


Depression

“Whenwelacktheexperience,beingyoungandsurroundedby experienced workers even though they are just oursubordinates, because of our limited capability to manage this institution, forme ... Ialways feeldepressed.Wewantto show the best of our charisma, of course, but if our subordinatesrefusetoshowtheirrespectorgivecooperation


tous,wewouldfeeldepressed,yeah…depressed.”


Dissatisfaction/Disagreement

“...errr… forexample,whenhandlingacase,wewouldhave our own option for the case. When we propose oursuggestion to our boss and he/she doesn’t agreewith it ...of course, we would feel dissatisfied. Then, he/she wouldcomeoutwithhis/herownsuggestion.Wewoulddisagree,actually.We’ve handled the case before andwe know ourcase better, but then, our boss would come out with his/her optionandwehavetofollowit.Ifeeldissatisfied..yeah…dissatisfied.”


Furthermore, during the interview sessions, the participantsseeminglypreferredtodisclosetheirexperiencesinvolvingnegativeemotionsascomparedtopositiveemotions.Thesenegativeemotions,suchassadness,resentment and anger, were said to have been experienced in all contexts,namely,whenhandlingclients’cases,workingwithcolleaguesandinteractingwiththeirsuperiorsatthetoplevelofmanagement.Forexample,theparticipantbelowsaid:

“Ifeltsadandpityforthebaby.Herpregnancywasalready5 months old but she [herclient]abortedherbaby.”

(MedicalSocialWorker7,female,aged37)

Intermsoffeelingresentful,oneoftheparticipantsreported:

“Sometimes, they [his clients – the unmarried pregnantteenagers]don’twanttotellus.Theywouldratherhidetheirproblems.So,thereisemotion.Ofcourse,wefeelresentful!Wewant to help them here, but they don’t want to talk tous. If theydon’t talk, itwill take longer time to settle theirproblems!”

(MedicalSocialWorker5,male,aged42)Meanwhile, the feelings of anger and dissatisfaction towards the

superiorswhofailedtoplaytheirroleastheleaderwerealsoexpressedbythe


participants.Oneoftheparticipantssaid:

“How could she/he think that way?! There are manycandidates who are more eligible for that post! So I’mdissatisfied!”


Theparticipantsreportedthattheyexperiencedavarietyofpositiveemotions in the workplace. They remarked that they care for their clients(particularly the children) and tend to express their happiness when beingsurroundedbyhappycolleagues. Inaddition, theyalsomentioned that theywouldexpresstheirgratitudewhentheyarebeingacceptedbytheenvironment.In termsof theexplorationof theparticipants’emotionalexperiences in theworkplace,whentheyrevealedthattheyexperiencedsomeemotions,itcanbesaidandbelievedthatemotionsarecentraltotheconstitutionoftherealitiesthatpeoplesoreadilytakeforgrantedintheirworkandorganisation(Fineman,1993).

Besides positive emotions, the participants in the present researchalso reported that they also experienced some negative emotions in theworkplace.Thesenegativeemotionsseemedtoresultfromtheirconnections,communication and relationships with clients and the top managementpersonnel. The reported negative emotions, according to the participants,occurreddue to ill-treatment from the co-workersor superiorswhen facingunfairnessinthedepartment,lackofsupport,lackofworkingexperienceorincompetence,andpressurefromresponsibilitiesandothers’behavioursandattitudes (i.e. of clients).All these events or situations resulted in negativeemotionsamongthechildsocialworkers.Thissuggeststhat,whileatwork,onemayfeeltheemotionswithregardtoone’swork,socialrelationshipandotherpeople.Itcanbesaidthatinsocialworkprofessionarena,people(i.e.socialworkers)mayalsoexperiencesomeemotions,andtheirworkprocessesmayalsocontributetopositiveandnegativeemotionalexperiences.

Regulatingnegativeemotions

The participants reported their experiences of some negative emotions (i.e.Sadness, infuriation and anger) during professional practice. The emotionwas said to arise from the clients’ attitudes and behaviours. However, theparticipants reported that they did not show their negative emotionswhilstcarryingouttheirtasks.Participants’statementsincluded:

“My client, a child aged 12 years old, claimed that she was


a victim of sexual abuse. She claimed that her stepfatherrapedher.IamnotsayingthatIdon’tbelieveher[herclient], but after I met her mother and the stepfather, I realised that shelied.Duringthesessions,Ididn’tshowmyanger.Ifeltinfuriated.


“ItriednottobebiastothemotherevenifsheclaimedthatI was bias! She claimed that I had received an amount ofmoneyfromherhusband.Ofcourse,Ifeltangryinside.But,Ijustletherbe.Iletherexpresseverythingshethoughtaboutme.Of course, theangerwas therebut I could controlmyfeelingsatthatparticulartime.”


Theparticipantsreportedthatworkingexperiencescouldteachthemtobecompetentinregulatingtheiremotions,aswellasinhandlingcases.Inaddition,suchfeelingsweresaidtoeventuallydecreaseastimepassesbyandwhentheyareoccupiedwithheavierworkloads.Theparticipantsreported:

“Itistrue.MaybeatthattimeIwasnewandhadnoexposureto the situations [sad cases]. I was easily saddened inmyearlycareer.”


“Previously,whenIfirststartedmycareerhere, it tookmelonger time to manage my emotions. My first case reallyaffectedme[achild’sneglectcase].IfeltsadevenwhenIwasathome.Ijustkeptonthinkingofthatchild(herchildclient).

However,duetoworkloadandbeingbusywithnewcases,thesadnessfadedaway.”


Theparticipantsreportedthattheemotionofsadnesswasfeltintheearly stage of their career.However, they agreed that being too emotional,suchasbeingextremelysadovercertaincases, isnotwiseandusefultobedisplayedintheworkplace.Hence,theparticipantsreportedonusingemotional


regulationsinordertohandleemotionalcircumstances.

Moreover,sharingtheirfeelingsbytalkingtofriends,colleaguesandpartnersalsohelpedthemregulatetheiremotions.Oneparticipantreported:

“Wejustshareamongus!Imean,amongthecolleaguesinthissection.Theyunderstandbecausetheyalsofacethesameissues(laughed).They[hiscolleagues]know,theyknow”


Furthermore, amongtheMuslimparticipantsofthisstudy,performingprayerstoAllahs.w.t.wasalsoperceivedasawayforthemtoregulatetheirownandothers’internaldistress.

Theparticipantsreportedthattheycouldrelievetheirinternaldistress,suchasdepression,sadnessandsuppressedanger,byperformingprayersandaskingforAllah’shelp.Oneoftheparticipantssaid:

“Ialwayspray”


Whileanotherparticipantreported:

“Iusedtoplanaprogrammefortheuncontrolledchildren.Ipurposelyplanneditatnightfrom9pmtill5am.Whenfajrcame,weperformedthefajrprayertogether.Itackledtheiremotionsbypraying togetherandasking forAllah’smercyandforgiveness.They[clients]cried and regretted what they haddone”.


Withreferencetoemotionandemotionalregulationinthesocialworkprofession, efforts to prevent the social workers from using over or underinvolvementofemotionsintheirpractice,requirethemtohavetheemotionalintelligent skills so that they canwork effectively.Thus, how they regulatetheir emotions is very important.Apparently, the limited literature relatedto emotion, emotional regulation and social work may reflect an uneasyrelationshipbetweentheroleofemotionswithinsocialworkpracticewhenitissetagainstabackdropofincreasinglyproceduralpractices(Ingram,2012).


Hence, the challenge for socialwork is not to ignore the role of emotionswithinpractice,buttorecognise,embraceandincorporatethemintotheprofileof the profession (Ingram, 2012). The present research evidently providessupportorevidencetovariousemotionssurroundingsocialworkpracticeinorganisations.

Respectothers–societalculture

The participants reported that they hide their negative emotionstowardsclientsand/orleadersduetotheirmoraldutytorespectothers.Theparticipantssaid:

“Thisiswhatwecallthewayofourlife.Actually,wecareabout others’ feeling. It is our value in life. It is value insociety.We care about clients’ feeling. This is because weweretaughtsincewewerelittletorespectothers.”


“Idon’tshowhim[theheadofunit].Idon’ttellhim.Imean,Idon’texpressmydissatisfactiontowardshim.Tome,it’slikeI just want to showmy respect to him as he ismy leader.I need to learn fromhim.What he says,what he shows tous, I just take it as I want to know and take it as a learning process.Eventhough,sometimes,actually,wecanfeelthatheiswrong…errr…orunethical,ofcourseit’sapressure.ButifIthinkthatIcouldnotstandanymore...justavoidhim..errr…takeourtime.”

(MedicalSocialWorker4,male,aged32)

In addition, theworkerswould avoid expressing their emotions tootherparties(i.e.clients,leaders)duetoprofessionalpurposesandtomaintainharmony.Theparticipantssaid:

“...forprofessionalpracticewithclients,Iwouldminimisemy negative emotions so that I could restrainmyself fromexpressingthem[negativeemotions]”


“...becausewecareaboutourrelationships.Weknowthem[hisclients].Theyalwayscomeandmeetus.So,it’shardfor


ustoexpressournegativeemotions” (ChildProtector1,male,aged35)

Encouragement of positive attitude in dealing with clients/colleagues/management–professionalculture

Toleranceofothers’emotionwasperceivedasagoodpracticeintheprofessionandseentobeadoptedasapartoftheprofessionalculture.

“We have been advised by our seniors that it is useless ifwe argue or not use tolerationwith our clients even ifwedisagree with them. This is because they [clients] are the publicwhomaynotunderstandourtasks.So,asgovernmentservants,weneedtothinkpositivelyandensureourclientsunderstandourtaskssothatattheend,wecanachieveourexpectations.”


Emotionscanbeused inacquiringone’sconfidenceat theworkplace. Theuseofemotionsisalsodependantonsituationsandcases.Anotherparticipant,whoisalsotheheadofchildrenrehabilitationinstitution,perceivedemotionsasbeneficialtobeusedingainingsupportandconfidenceforprogrammesthatonewants toconduct.Hehasbeenworkingasaprobationofficer formorethan20yearsandhasbeenholdingthepostofaleaderinthisinstitutionforthepastfiveyears.

“With regard to any decisions related to the management oradministrationafterI’vemadereferencestomystaffandpeople who are in the top level, at the final stage, I needto make the decision myself. I use emotions, but the rightemotions ... I mean the emotions in my relationship withmy staff. The challengingdecision iswhen it is related topolicies.Forexample,ifIwanttocreateanewprogrammeoractivityforthechildreninthisinstitution,Ineedtothinkofhowfaritwillbenefitthechildren,manpower,andfinancialmatter.All these thingswillmake us think a lot beforewemakeadecisionbecauseitinvolvesthegovernmentmoney.Idon’twant tocarryoutaprogrammewhereourchildrenwill haveno interest in it. Itwillwaste ourmoney. So,wewouldfeeldoubtful.So,that’swhyIneedtoshareitwithmy


colleagues,mystaff.Ineedtheirsupport.So,Iuseemotionsand emotional intelligence, but this depends on situations andcases.”


Fromtheexcerptsabove,itislikelythatexpressinganger(ordissatisfaction)andresentmentopenlyisconsideredinappropriateasthiswillthreatenworkingrelationshipandinterpersonalharmonybetweenclientsandworkers,orstaffand leader. It seems like theyprefer to avoid emotional expressions duringtheirprofessionalencounters.

Discussion, Implication and Suggestion

Theimportanceofworkplaceemotionsandattitudesseemstobeemphasisedin organisations. That is because emotions and attitudes can make a hugedifference in an individual’s behaviour and well-being, as well as in theorganisation’s performance and clients’ satisfaction. Positive emotions andattitudescanbeextremelybeneficialtoworkenvironments.Positiveemotions,suchashappiness,pride,andsatisfaction,can lift thespiritsofpeople.Thepresentresearchshowsthatemotionsclearlyplayakeyroleasadeterminantof human attitudes and behaviours (Ashkanasy, Dasborough & Ascough,2009). In addition, positive emotions have an impact on relationshipswithothers(e.g.clientsandcolleagues).Thechildsocialworkers’emotionsseemtounfoldasaconsequenceoftheirclients’situationsoremotions.Thisshowsthesocialworkers’reactionstowhatishappening,forexample,whentheysharethe relationship or affiliation with their clients. Positive emotions broadenan individual’s thought-action repertoire that can have the often incidentaleffectofbuildinganindividual’spersonalresources,whichincludephysical,intellectualandsocialresources(Fredrickson,1998).

Emotionshavebeentreatedasaphysiologicalstateinwhichpeopleregardthemasavalue-ladenconceptthatisoftentreatedasinappropriateforanorganizationallife(Putnam&Mumby,1993).Thismeansthatemotionalreactions are often seen as disruptive, illogical, biased and weak. Thus,emotions become a deviation from what is seen as sensible or intelligent.Moreover,emotionsarealsolinkedtotheexpressivearenasoflife,andnottotheinstrumentalgoalorientationthatdrivesanorganisation.

Thepresentresearchfindingsseemtoshowthatemotions(positiveandnegative)arisebecauseoftheworkitself,thesocialrelationshipsheldat


work,andhowapersonfeelsabouthimselforherselfduetowork,socialandprofessionalrelationships.Inthetraditionaltrendthatopposesreasontopassionanddrawsa rigiddistinctionbetween reasonandpassion in theworkplace,onlyemotionswhicharisefromthecognitiveaspectsofworkwouldhavebeenaccepted.However,thepresentresearchfindingsseemtoshowthatemotionsareubiquitousintheworkplaceandhaveanimportantparttoplay(Hess,2003).Thefindingsalsoseemtoshowthatemotionsarecausedby the interactionwithotherpeople.Inthiscase,thisreferstotheinteractionbetweenworkersandtheirclients,aswellastheleaders.Thechildsocialworkersreportedthatthe occurrence of emotions is related to their interaction with people whoareconnectedtothemintheworkplace.Furthermore,emotionalexperienceshavebeenreportedascouldhelptheparticipantstobeefficientintheirtasks,particularlypositiveemotions (e.g.emotional labour). Inaddition, thechildsocialworkers inthisstudyalsoperceivedthatemotionsatworkarelinkedto image and self-image emotions.An important class of emotions is thosethatmonitor thegoalsof imageand self-imagewhich includesgratification(Poggi&Germani,2003).ThepresentresearchfindingshavearelevanteffectonhowtheMalaysianchildsocialworkersseethemselves,anditwasshownthattheiremotionsatworkarealsolinkedtotheirself-image.Imageandself-imageemotion(e.g.religiousandgratefulness)seemtoguidethechildsocialworkersinhowtoexpressandregulatetheiremotions.

ResearchfindingsalsoseemtoshowthatMalaysiansocialworkersfrequentlytalkedaboutexpressingnegativeemotions.Thismaybeduetosomepossibilitieswhichrelatetothecontextsofsocialwork,suchasworkingwithvulnerable, poor and problematic people. Howe (2008) states thatworkingwithpeoplewhoareunderstressisoneofthebasicsinsocialworkpractice.Thus, theexpressionofnegativeemotionsamong theworkers is seeminglyrelevant in its context,purposeandcause.Theemotionof sadnesswas feltwhen relating to someone’s fate, such as the client’s fate. Meanwhile, thefeelingof resentmentwas reportedwhen the clientsdidnot cooperatewiththemduringassessmentprocesses.Anothernegativeemotion,i.e.anger,wasalsoreportedwhensomeonefailedtoplayhisorherrole. The negative emotion were suppessed when dealing with clientsbecause the workers tended to perceive negative emotions as a form ofweakness.ThismayberelatedtocollectivistorientationoftheEastgenerally,and Malaysian cultures particularly. The cultures in Malaysian societiesand organisations may reflect their suppression of negative emotions inthe workplace, for instance, to maintain group harmony or organisationalproceduresinpractice.AsmentionedbyAverill,KooChonandWoongHahn(2001),theEasternsocietiestendtoemphasisegroupharmonyoverindividualinterest or more proper speaking, whereby the group’s welfare is seen asinseparablefromthatoftheindividuals.Bycontrast,theWesternsocieties,at


leastoverthepastseveralcenturies,emphasisetherightsoftheindividuals,evenattheexpenseofthegroup.

The findings of this research show that societal and professionalcultureshaveinfluencedhowchildsocialworkersexpressandregulatetheiremotionswhendealingwithclients.Thisstudysupportstheviewthatculturalfactorscaninfluencetheoutcomesofemotionsuppression(Butler&Gross,2009).Forexample,theworkersinthisstudywhosuppressedtheiremotionsremained interpersonally responsive. In addition, the participants perceivedthat regulating their emotions is important in helping them to finish theirwork.ThisrelatestoemotionallabourwhereaccordingtoHochschild(1983)emotionallabourisimportantandvitalpartinfacilitatingandregulatingtheexpressionofemotionsintheworkplace.

Howthechildsocialworkersmanagedtheiremotionalexperienceswasrelatedtohowtheyregulatedtheiremotions.Thereweremanywaysonhow theMalaysian social workers could regulate their emotions. Thinkingpositively, showing understanding, acting and talking calmly, leaving thesituation for awhile, talking to someonewho they trusted, and performingprayerswere among theways that could help these childworkers regulatethenegativeemotions.TheMalaysiansocialworkersshowedtheiremotionalcompetency by regulating the negative emotions in a positive way. Theyunderstoodtheemotionswhichtheyexperienced;however,duetoprofessionalandsocialrules(i.e.showingrespecttopeoplewhowereinthehighranks),they had to suppress their emotions. Gross (1998) refers to ‘emotionregulations’ as theprocesswhereby ‘we influencewhichemotionswehave,whenwehavethem,andhowweexperienceandexpressthem’(inGross,2000,p.282). Ingeneral, sharing theexperiencewithsomeonewhoalso faces thesameemotionalexperience,orwhohas thesamepersonalbackground(e.g.placeoforigin),orwhounderstandsandistrustworthy(i.e.aclosefriendorapartner)isperceivedastherightwayofregulatingone’semotions,particularlythefeelingofanger.

As an implication, the present research findings suggest thateffectiveemotionalregulationareimportantandneedtobeemphasisedintheworkplace.Asemotionalsuppressionintheworkplacehavebeenencouragedduetothesocietalandprofessionalcultureandrequirement,workersinhumanservice organisations need supportive environments. Positive environmentssuchassupportsfromthetopmanagement,leaders,colleaguesareimportant.Supervisionandguidancefromleaderscanalsobeofferedtoworkerswhoareinneeds.Supportiveenvironmentsareneededtoavoidnegativeeffectstotheworkerssuchasstressandburnout.


Conclusion

The present research revealed that a variety of emotions (e.g. positive andnegative emotions) have been reported in the workplace (i.e. in child andfamily socialwork setting). However, due to professional and social rulesin the workplace, workers need to suppress their emotions particularly thenegativeemotion.Furthermore,howthechildsocialworkersmanagedtheiremotionalexperienceswasrelated tohowtheyregulated theiremotions.Toprotectworkersfromnegativeeffectsofemotionalsuppression,apositiveandsupportiveenvironmentsneedtobeprovided.

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