Guilt at Work: An Employee Perspective

Guilt is a common emotion in everyday life. The objective of this research was to study guilt in the context of work. Exploratory research was conducted in order to: 1- identify guilt-inducing situations at work and the effects of this emotion; and 2- determine if guilt inducement is a management strategy to obtain more work from employees.

Interviewees are employees with diverse profiles according to age, gender, position, sector of activity, size of company and status. Twenty-eight semi-directive interviews were conducted. The results identify the characteristics of guilt felt at work. It shows that guilt is a familiar emotion, of varying intensity and frequency and which is evolutionary. The analysis of the interviews also revealed eight guilt-inducing situations: absence or delay, perception of work poorly done, unfulfilled requests or promises, inappropriate behaviour or attitude, personal characteristics (status, flaw, lack of competencies), not paying enough attention to a client or to a colleague who is suffering (crying, dismissal), lack of time and the impact of work on private life.

This research shows that guilt generates a discomfort for people. Above all, it has positive effects on work carried out by employees. Guilt thus has a beneficial effect on effort at work, except when this emotion is too intense. Guilt-inducement is another important axis of this study. In the event that some managers tried to induce guilt among their employees, the latter considered it ineffective. It was rejected and badly received.

This article opens up research perspectives to deepen our understanding of the role and place of this emotion at work and to concentrate upon managerial implications in terms of well-being and performance at work.

Keywords: guilt, guilt inducement, emotions at work, effort, well-being at work.