Sharmin Tunguz
Associate Professor of Psychology
my Research Interests
As an I/O psychologist, I am a keen observer of how individuals manage their feelings and behaviors in the workplace, specifically in customer-service settings. My work looks at the relationship between organizational justice and emotional labor – the effort to regulate one’s emotions at work – and has generally found that workplace injustice wrecks havoc on one’s ability to manage one’s emotions. Typical reactions to undeserved customer rudeness, for instance, include anger and even guilt, prompting service interactions to become strained and imbued with emotional labor.
In a related vein, I have looked at the factors that enhance both employee and customer satisfaction. My research shows that when employees are schooled in effective training methods, customer injustice exacts less of an emotional toll on otherwise hapless workers. Furthermore, customer satisfaction is also enhanced when employees are trained to more effectively manage their emotions. An interesting discovery, however, that emerged from a set of field studies that my students and I conducted suggests that employee and customer satisfaction might actually have more to do with individuals’ internal dispositions than with outward organizational practices.
The bottom line? I/O psychology reflects the tried and tested nature/nurture divide with the same level of ferocity seen in other, more basic, areas of psychology. It suggests that within customer service, at least, selection of the right employees is as important as training them in the right practices… and interacting with the right customers.
Selected Publications & Presentations
(*DePauw student)
|
Tunguz, S. (forthcoming). Emotional labor: Clarifying a confusing construct. In C. |
|
|
Tunguz, S., & Carnevale, P. J. (2011). Social context effects in the display of |
|
|
Spencer, S., & Rupp, D. E. (2009). Angry, guilty and conflicted: Injustice toward |
|
|
Rupp, D. E., & Spencer, S. (2006). When customers lash out: The effects of |
|
|
Tunguz, S., & *Riggs, L. E. (2012). Customer satisfaction links between service |
|
|
Tunguz, S., Lee, W. C., Wu, C., & Diamond, J. A. (2011). Guiding undergraduates |
|
|
Tunguz, S., *Riggs, L. E., & *Searles, J. A. (2011). Employee displays and customer |
|
|
*Woods, W. K., & Tunguz, S. (2010, May). Organizational and individual differences |
|
|
McCance, A. S., & Tunguz, S. (2010, April). Emotional regulation training reaps |