Angry leaders and coworkers: Cross-cultural evaluation of anger expression through high-status and equal-status roles

Abstract

Anger expressed in organizations conveys potent social information that influences social perceptions and determines subsequent relationships among employees. The present research examined how cultural contexts and hierarchical structure of a given relationship interact to shape perceptions of anger expression. Conducting a survey on subsidiary employees of a multinational high-tech company, Study 1 showed that employees from the Confucian Asian culture (specifically Korea) evaluate anger expressed by high-status counterparts (i.e., managers) more positively in terms of appropriateness and effectiveness compared to those from the Anglo culture (specifically the United States). Study 2, which was based on different samples from the same company, showed that employees from another Confucian Asian country (Japan), compared to those from the Anglo culture (the United States), provide more positive evaluations of the anger expressed by high-status counterparts. In contrast, Study 2 further showed that this cultural difference is reversed when anger is expressed by equal-status counterparts (coworkers). Finally, Study 3 replicated the findings of Study 2 using online-recruited samples and further demonstrated that Confucian Asian sample (Koreans) is more likely to decide to hire a job applicant who expressed anger as a leader than Anglo sample (Americans) is. In contrast, this pattern is reversed when considering a job applicant who expressed anger as a coworker. Theoretical and practical implications for social emotions and cross-cultural management are discussed.