ROCKING THE BOAT BUT KEEPING IT STEADY: THE ROLE OF EMOTION REGULATION IN EMPLOYEE VOICE

Intense emotions such as frustration, anger, and dissatisfaction often drive employees to speak up. Yet the very emotions that spur employees to express voice may compro-mise their ability to do so constructively, preventing managers from reacting favorably. I propose that to speak up frequently and constructively, employees need knowledge about effective strategies for managing emotions. Building on theories of emotion regulation, I develop a theoretical model that explains the role of managing emotions in the incidence and outcomes of voice. In a field study at a health care company, emotion regulation knowledge (1) predicted more frequent voice, (2) mediated by the emotional labor strategies of deep acting and surface acting, and (3) enhanced the contributions of voice to performance evaluations. These results did not generalize to helping behaviors, demonstrating that emotion regulation uniquely affects challenging but not affiliative interpersonal citizenship behaviors. This research introduces emo-tion regulation as a novel influence on voice and its consequences. In an increasingly dynamic, competitive, and un-certain economy, organizations depend on ideas from employees (Morrison, 2011; Senge, 1990). The growing pace and complexity of work presents new challenges for leaders and managers to anticipate, identify, and respond to all of the threats and op-portunities that loom on the horizon (Griffin, Neal, & Parker, 2007). As a result, leaders and managers need employees to express voice—a proactive be-havior that involves speaking up with suggestion