A study conducted by researchers at the University of Haifa has confirmed what the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson of righteous memory, always told his followers in the Chabad-Lubavitch Chassidic movement: “Tracht gut un zein gut!” (Think good and it will be good!)
The study led by Professor Dana Yagil from the university’s Department of Human Services, found that “suppressing positive interpersonal emotions is detrimental to employees as well as to customer satisfaction.”
“The expression of natural positive emotions is well received by the other party,” Yagil observed, adding that it is “likely to contribute to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.”
The findings were published in the journal Motivation and Emotion. “Suppression of positive interpersonal emotions is contrary to natural behavior in social interactions,” Yagil said. Among service employees working in call centers, marketing and sales, employees are often expected to maintain a neutral demeanor. Yagil found that neutrality comes at a “price,” however.
Some 246 participants of various ages, employed in customer relations, were included in the study.
The findings indicated that suppressing negative emotions was linked to positive customer satisfaction; suppressing positive emotions increased the sense of employee inauthenticity, which in turn increased customer dissatisfaction.
