Part 14 (2/2)
Workplace relationshi+ps can be grouped and categorized in various ways, but two dimensions seem most crucial The first is whether the two people are at the same level on the corporate ladder or not: these are called lateral or hierarchical relationshi+ps The second is whether the relationshi+p is open (recognized, explicit) or closed (unacknowledged, secret) Thus we have four distinct groups, which are demonstrated in Table 74
Open-lateral refers to, for example, two junior accountants, or nurses, or journalists, who begin to live together and (in tiement Open-hierarchical dimension describes the relationshi+p of the head of , say, who makes no secret of his affair with a new recruit from sales Two divorced boardto keep it quiet, would be an example of a closedlateral di director, say, who is secretly bedding his ory
TABLE 74 Types of romantic workplace relationshi+ps A romance is different from an affair The latter implies that one or both parties arethe whole problee of nepotism can arise where people (say, husband and wife) are appointed together and acknowledge their relationshi+p Another concern al a sexual relationshi+p The paradox is that the , kissing and so on), the less likely they are to be ”physical” outside work, and vice versa Inevitably, e a workplace relationshi+p areor even show a positive attitude towards thenificantly less favorably inclined towards office romance and sexual intimacy than h of course the opposite case could be made
There is also some evidence that when in lateral relationshi+ps, job perforoes downIt may be that work motivation improves because workplace ro at work Equally, workplace relationshi+ps can increase employee motivation because the participants feel better about theer shi+fts in order to extend their tiet more involved with their work, since their ”partners” are part of the job Also, the increase in positive affect experienced by people in a workplace relationshi+p ”spills over” to increase their general level of satisfaction
The more popular lay belief is that workplace relationshi+ps have a detrimental or deleterious effect on the work of both parties Energy is wasted in a closed relationshi+p on the effort of keeping the whole thing a secret, and too much time is spent on irrelevancies
However, there are three factors that determine whether such relationshi+ps help or hinder factors relevant to organizational outcoood, healthy relationshi+p y and enthusiasm, and vice versa Put pressure on a relationshi+p and you stress individuals
Second, there are the corporate cultural values regarding relationshi+ps These are different frouidelines The anization, the more it is a proble the ely, that favoritisht increase their productivity and morale, these factors decrease for the majority not in a relationshi+p If nepotism leads to positive discri alienated and disengaged Soths to show that their relationshi+p does not couage question is, what are the behaviors of attraction? How does one ”knoo people are attracted to one another? What are the separate, perhaps evolutionary, markers of physical and sexual attraction?
To answer these questions, one needs to distinguish between the stages of a couple's relationshi+p develop stage differs from the one displayed by an established couple In line with life wisdom, intimates in an established close relationshi+ps show less liking signals since their relationshi+p are already formed and their association is already revealed to others
The beginning of a ronals of availability and attraction Knapp and Hall (2009) cite three types of gazing that isthe whole roolances at a specific person; and (iii) longer glances continuing for at least three seconds Females also often play with their hair, fiddle with their clothes and accessories, and laugh in response to the comments made by their potential ”lovers”
Clothes andthe ests that woet the s state that wo 40 percent of their body attracted twice as htclub as those women who carefully covered up The experimenters counted bare flesh on different parts of the body as worthy of different percentages or, put simply, of different attraction power Ars 15 percent and torso 50 percent While the percentage assignn a definite nue?), this research raises a nu so instant attraction, hence societies have always prescribed rules over what is an acceptable amount of skin exposure, and situations and places in which it can be shown Next, from the evolutionary point of view, both mates have to be certain of each other's fidelity for the attraction to persist and develop Thus revealing too y Finally, it underscores the significance of the issue of dress code and fores in the style of dress or excessive body revelation may therefore be attributed to some external influences such as romantic involvement
It should be pointed out that most research on courtshi+p has been done in the physical environ, such as clubs and bars Studies looking at the nonverbal signals of flirting in s, for exa the saic, workplace romantic couples would exhibit less overt flirtation, especially if one is hiding the feelings or relationshi+p, but there would be e The office does not provide extensive opportunities for courtshi+p, while infors and after-hours drinks do
Overall, nonverbal behaviors indicative of attraction or greater liking coe researcher, correlated the rate of occurrence of certain nonverbal signals and the degree of liking between two people He found that the frequency of positive signal displays is related to the intimacy between the couple He labelled this type of closeness behavior ”immediacy” Below is the list of the behavioral clusters he studied:Lean towards/ away froularity of looking at the person of interest;Openness or defensiveness of body and ar or turned away froid the posture; andFacial and vocal expressions (negative/positive)
However, in more established couples these behaviors are not as evident Intimacy is usually conveyed by the quality rather than the quantity of positive nonverbal signals Tienuineness of immediacy behaviors becoresses Situational factors also affect the nonverbal display of greater liking in close couples Partners would, for exanals in situations threatening to their relationshi+p, perhaps for reassurance Also, couples tend to acquire iance to each other Nevertheless they would resort to ie about their level of closeness to new acquaintances, who are not faly, research points to the do They select an appealing ns of openness for contact Men, however, can also gain an advantage over their co es Research shows thatat their object of interest, display more body openness, and boost their status by friendly, but unrequited, touching of other s are perhaps not that surprising when one considers other species'behavior It is usually the male of the species, who develops specific ”attraction” er body parts It is also usually theroutine All there is left for females to do is to select the nal their readiness to mate or form a bond
Workplace romances happen for different reasons, can have different impacts on work productivity, and are displayed differently according to the stage of the relationshi+p It is both reasonable, if not trivial, to state that romantic attraction clearly has no boundaries On the contrary, work structure seereater opportunities to interact within a ed time periods
MIND CONTROL
How do leaders use nonverbal behavior to help theroups? The study of cults and their leaders is particularly interesting from a nonverbal perspective They often behave in heavily prescribed ways: the group members have to dress alike and address each other in a very particular way
There is a great deal of interest in ”cults”, which can take ious or racial, political or ical, but they all have half a dozen recognizable characteristics:Powerful and exclusive dedication/devotion to an explicit person or creed
They use of ”thought-reforrate, socialize, persuade, and therefore control, h recruitment, selection and socialization process
Atte cultthe way people see the world
Consistent exploitation of group oals
Cults nearly always opt forwith different rules, terical and physical harm to cult members, their friends and relatives, and possibly the community as a whole
Most cults start their inductions by trying to stop both individualistic and critical thinking Like the army, their job is first to break the new recruit than remake him or her as one of them This involves the introduction of a ”sacred creed” that h open confession and subordination of the individual to the doctrine, the cult ensures control and ”purity” Nearly all nonverbal behaviors, such as how people walk or gesture, are very clearly prescribed Cults deliberately induce powerful euilt, but also pride They tend to develop their own language, dress and signals, which shows their exclusivity They rejoice in their uniform, and their unifored to look, think and speak alike
By why do people join cults? Could working for certain organizations be seen as cult following? Soanizations induct people and make behavior requirements of them that are essentially similar to the techniques used by cults
All too often, we explain strange, unexpected behaviors (such as joining a cult) in terms of the dispositions (personality) of others; they (the poor, gullible, naive, indoctrinated members) have quite defective personalities But we explain roup's philosophy, leaders or benefits Thus, sad ”inadequates” join cults; but altruistic, caring people beco i different, it is equally iical appeal of cults, extreanizations Any analysis of the e diversity in tery and ability level They can attract postgraduates and illiterates; teenagers and ”senior citizens”; the solidly es of society It is not so ical needs
Studies of those who have signed up for all sorts of cults and extreroups have, however, shown that all cults have similar and sophisticated recruitendas of social influence They use methods of ”indoctrination” and ”h thesetechniques of extreious organizations and prisons These techniques are in fact well known; de heavy persuasive techniques; creating dissonance; and involving emotional manipulation These techniques can easily be observed in the nonverbal behaviors of people ”signing up” to cults They differ only in intensity and duration, and thus in effectiveness
What do all groups (cult and non-cult) and organizations offer to a potential recruit? The answer is friendshi+p, identity, respect and security Organizations also offerto do And they offer a world-vieay of discerning right froood from bad Hence all the talk of vision and mission, both of which are essentially cult words These are powerful incentives for all people, whatever their background They offer more: a structured lifestyle and the ability to acquire new skills Through their (very different) ideologies, and products and processes, they also offer moral explanations of how the world works, what is important, and what is desirable
Essentially, five aspects erous to their roup members sever all ties with other people (faanizations (schools, churches) This naturally makes them more dependent on the cult itself and helps to create the person's new identity They start again, wipe the slate clean This rule is also found in extreme Christian monastic orders
Second, theobedience to rules and regulations which may be arbitrary, petty or pointless, and e rules The idea of this is to ensure allegiance and obedience This strategy is used to ”break-in” army recruits It is the very stuff of boot ca hours of tedious work It , followed by co Recruits usually become physically, eood start It's all part of the induction process
Fourth, all groups need money to exist Some are very much into money, both as an end and as ainvolved in illegal or seal activities Groups that are state supported or those with a long history of operation may, however, be different Members need to understand hohen and whyit quickly
Fifth, groupsis associated with failure, persecution and isolation It is more than just a waste of ti will ever be the sa the cult is made to sound a very unattractive, indeed impossible, option
But it is true that certain individuals are e of cults than others? Recruiters know that what they appear to have in common is they are at soone and not been replaced The person iven up work or education They e or poverty or divorce They ical roots They are dislodged fro for another
In short, such people often feel alienated; they experience all the oes with the state They can feel increasingly isolated from the commercial, political and technical world that offers little to thery and resentful, they can seek each other out
Enter the group recruiter S/he is introduced into a group with simple (but ”sensible”) answers Simple rules and a simple lifestyle and social support are offered Most recruits are happy to trade off their liberty (and assets such as they have) for the (illusory) glory, power and security of that group The group (cult) appears to offer all the recruits what they need and want
Rather shy, unassertive people who seem inhibited and aard in social situations are particularly attracted to groups with formulaic interaction patterns, with their predictability and rule following
People who join extree, disturbed, sheeplike idiots We are all social aniroup, the more we are likely to label it a cult The more zealous the members, the more likely we are to call them deviants And if they are involved in quasi-military activity, they are labelled terrorists
No one sees themselves as a cult roups such as Trappist monks or Amish farmers would never think of themselves as cult members But they owe their survival to many of the principles outlined above