The place and role of (moral) anger in organizational behavior studies

Abstract

SummaryThe aim of this article is to conceptually delineate moral anger from other related constructs. Drawing upon social functional accounts of anger, we contend that distilling the finer nuances of morally motivated anger and its expression can increase the precision with which we examine prosocial forms of anger (e.g., redressing injustice), in general, and moral anger, in particular. Without this differentiation, we assert that (i) moral anger remains theoretically elusive, (ii) that this thwarts our ability to methodologically capture the unique variance moral anger can explain in important work outcomes, and that (iii) this can promote ill‐informed organizational policies and practice. We offer a four‐factor definition of moral anger and demonstrate the utility of this characterization as a distinct construct with application for workplace phenomena such as, but not limited to, whistle‐blowing. Next, we outline a future research agenda, including how to operationalize the construct and address issues of construct, discriminant, and convergent validity. Finally, we argue for greater appreciation of anger's prosocial functions and concomitant understanding that many anger displays can be justified and lack harmful intent. If allowed and addressed with interest and concern, these emotional displays can lead to improved organizational practice. © 2015 The Authors Journal of Organizational Behavior Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

More Than Just “Blowing off Steam”: The Roles of Anger and Advocacy in Promoting Positive Outcomes at Work

“…Behfar and Cronin () report listener responses to venting that focused only on emotion support (unburdening) did not enhance postventing problem‐solving, while listeners offering a more instrumental response (present‐focused understanding) did. Recent scholarship examining “moral anger” would recognize anger advocacy as an example of such instances, where individuals experience and express significant anger when injustices or moral code violations hurt others (including complete strangers)—even at potential risk to themselves (Lindebaum & Geddes, ). Observer anger advocacy expressions are highly instrumental in their outcome, while relatively emotional in their emergence.…”

“…Folger's () notion of deontic justice, “a psychological state yielding emotionally charged reactions to events seen as violating moral norms about social conduct,” also is highly relevant to this line of research (O'Reilly & Aquino, , p. 527–529). Those who feel their colleagues are victims of unfair or inappropriate treatment at work are more likely to experience intense emotions (Spencer & Rupp, ), including moral anger (Lindebaum & Geddes, ). Consequently, they may be motived to engage in anger advocacy on behalf of coworkers (see De Cremer & Van Hiel, ; Skarlicki & Rupp, ).…”

“…Anger increasingly is characterized as having prosocial, in addition to antisocial associations. Rather than being synonymous with workplace aggression, hostility, and/or deviance, workplace anger has potential for initiating useful change and addressing injustice (Geddes & Stickney, ; Lindebaum & Geddes, ; Stickney & Geddes, ). Focus has shifted from the angry employee for determining organizational outcomes to observers who witness and react to these displays.…”

Gender, leadership, and the display of empathic anger

“…In line with these findings, Kish‐Gephart, Detert, Treviño, and Edmondson () suggested empathic anger as a possible way to overcome fear‐based silence when individuals observe mistreatment of others (Kirrane, O'Shea, Buckley, Grazi, & Prout, ). Interestingly, despite the considerable attention paid to empathic anger, mainly in the field of social psychology, very little is yet known about the effects of empathic or related forms of anger on leadership effectiveness or other workplace outcomes more generally (Lindebaum & Geddes, ).…”

When Is Anger Helpful or Hurtful? Status and Role Impact on Anger Expression and Outcomes

“…Nevertheless, social functional and instrumental approaches to emotion and its regulation—a growing area of organizational study—highlight a range of ways that anger expressions can be beneficial to work relationships. These benefits include airing of differences, initiating beneficial change, addressing injustice, improving working relationships, and facilitating movement toward individual and organizational goals (Geddes & Callister, ; Gibson, Schweitzer, Callister, & Gray, ; Lindebaum & Geddes, ; Stickney & Geddes, ; Tamir & Ford, ; Van Kleef & Côté, ).…”