Please note that this event has been postponed.

Perceiving Criers At Work : A Framework Of Behavioural Scripts In Stressful Work Contexts

The John Molson School of Business Concordia University Research Chair in Management presents Kimberly D. Elsbach, Professor Of Management and Stephen G. Newberry Chair in Leadership Graduate School of Management, University Of California, Davis.

Concordia University MB 6.260 (sixth floor)
1450 Guy Street (corner of Guy and de Maisonneuve Blvd., 6th floor). Click here to view location on Google maps.)

Using qualitative stories from professional workers across a variety of organizations, we develop a framework describing how and why criers are perceived at work. Our findings confirm earlier work by showing that observers use behavioral scripts to evaluate appropriate behavior in common work contexts. Additionally, our findings show that, in stressful work contexts, observers also use four common behavioral scripts to evaluate both prohibited and required behaviors. Further, our findings suggest that crying is commonly defined as a prohibited behavior in scripts for stressful work contexts, and engaging in such prohibited behavior prompts observers to make attributions of criers. Finally, our findings reveal that employees who violate behavioral scripts by crying are routinely perceived as unprofessional and weak, and occasionally perceived as manipulative. We discuss these findings in terms of their implications for theories of person perception and behavioral scripts in organizations.

Kimberly D. Elsbach

Kimberly D. Elsbach is Professor of Management and Stephen G. Newberry Chair in Leadership at the Graduate School of Management, University of California, Davis. She received her PhD in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University. Prior to her academic career, she worked as an Industrial Engineer for the Quaker Oats Co. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Kim’s research focuses on the perception and management of individual and organizational images, identities, and reputations. She has studied these symbolic processes in variety of contexts ranging from the California cattle industry and the National Rifle Association, to Hollywood screenwriters. She is currently studying how creative identities of toy designers affect their ability to be good colleagues and how crying at work affects images of professional women. Her book Organizational Perception Management was recently published by Lawrence Erlbaum as part of its Organization and Management Series.

Informal Morning Session

On the morning of February 4, Dr. Elsbach will also meet informally with interested MSc and PhD students from all universities. This session will be held in room MB 13-101 (13th floor), 1450 Guy Street (at de Maisonneuve Blvd.) from 10 AM-11:30. Coffee will be served. Please RSVP to Elena Lvina at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to assist in planning for this morning session.

Download the event poster(pdf)