Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Communication
University of California, Santa Barbara
2017
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Faculty
Faculty
Samantha Rae Powers, JD, PhD ( she/her)
Associate Professor
Department/Office
- Communication Studies
School/College
- School of Communications
Biography
Samantha Rae Powers, J.D., Ph.D. is a generalist in the Department of Communication Studies (COMM) (fka Strategic, Legal and Management Communication (SLMC)), with teaching and practical experience across the department’s three major areas of study. Samantha earned her B.S. in public relations at University of Florida, while gaining work experience in media relations, event planning and coordinating, and hospitality management. She also earned her M.A. and J.D. at University of Florida, including coursework in strategic public relations, media law, employment law, negotiation, and mediation. Prior to earning her Ph.D. specializing in organizational communication at University of California, Santa Barbara, Samantha worked as a Florida litigator in private practice and volunteered as a Florida Supreme Court-certified County Mediator for the Orange County Bar Association. Her research focuses on communicative behaviors related to occupational stress and employee well-being, vocational and organizational socialization, workplace discrimination, and negotiation. In addition, Samantha serves as the Internship Coordinator for COMM and as the Cathy Hughes School of Communications Interdisciplinary Studies Program Coordinator. When not engaged in teaching, research, or service for HU or academia-at-large, she practices family and employment law in Virginia.
Education & Expertise
Education
Juris Doctor (J.D.)
Law
University of Florida
2005
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Mass Communication
University of Florida
2005
Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
Public Relations
University of Florida
2000
Academics
Academics
Practicum-Internship
Principles of Persuasion
Introduction to Organizational Communication
Introduction to Communication Policy
Intro to Communication Theory
Research
Research
Specialty
Communication and Occupational Stress; Workplace Emotional Communication; Vocational and Organizational Socialization; Employee Discrimination; Gender and NegotiationFunding
Principal Investigator: Summer Faculty Research Fellowship. Project Title: “Work-related Emotional Communication and the Practice of Law – Phase II.” Funding source: Office of Research Development, Howard University. 2018. $10,000.
Co-Investigator: Faculty Innovative Research in Science and Technology (FIRST) Program Grant. Project Title: “Impact of Work Stress on Lawyer Health and Wellbeing.” Funding source: University Research Council, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. 2017-2018. $12,491.
Accomplishments
Accomplishments
Management Communication Quarterly 2020 Article of the Year, 2020
HU-Teach VI Finalist, 2018
Publications and Presentations
Publications and Presentations
Emotional Communication and Human Sustainability in Professional Service Firms (PSFs)
Emotional Communication and Human Sustainability in Professional Service Firms (PSFs)
This study examines the role of work-related emotional communication in promoting the well-being and sustainability of professionals working for professional service firms (PSFs), which depend upon the well-being of their professionals for their own organizational sustainability. Using survey data from 1465 attorneys, a structural equation model was tested including key work-related emotional communication variables as mediators between a dichotomous variable of professional seniority and three dimensions of burnout. Results showed that more experienced attorneys’ reliance on automatic regulation over surface acting has a significant effect on reported burnout. There is no difference based on professional seniority in use of deep acting or communicative responsiveness. We conclude with a discussion of the findings and theoretical and practical implications, as well as provide suggestions for future research.
Imperfectly perfect
Existing evidence suggests that perfectionism is related to depressive symptoms, burnout, and clinical disorders and that socially prescribed, rather than self-oriented, perfectionism is the most maladaptive. Thus, social expectations of perfection can have detrimental effects on workers that may result in negative organizational outcomes. Using a sample of 176 Arizona attorneys, this two-wave longitudinal study examined whether psychosocial safety climate (PSC) may reduce perfectionist ideals and, in turn, improve employee well-being.
Work-Related Emotional Communication model of burnout
Work-Related Emotional Communication model of burnout: An analysis of emotions for hire
This study proposes the Work-Related Emotional Communication model of burnout to explicate the relationships between processes of emotional work and emotional labor leading to burnout. The model was validated drawing on survey data from 2,067 practicing attorneys. Our analyses found emotional contagion to have a stronger positive influence on burnout through its direct effect on exhaustion than through its indirect effect on communicative responsiveness. Sensitivity to the Expressive Behavior of Others was a prominent influence on empathic communication. Inefficacy partially mediated the positive effects of exhaustion on cynicism. Surface acting did not contribute to inefficacy but had positive effects on exhaustion and cynicism. Deep acting had no apparent effect on burnout, whereas automatic regulation negatively influenced burnout. We conclude with theoretical and practical implications for future research and offer suggestions for management to work toward the reduction of worker burnout.
Vocational Anticipatory Socialization: College Students’ Reports of Encouraging/Discouraging Sources and Messages
Framed by social cognitive career theory, this study identified college students’ perceptions of the most influential sources and content of encouraging/discouraging career messages (vocational anticipatory socialization [VAS]). A survey of 873 university students found that mothers, followed by teachers/professors, friends, and fathers, were perceived to be the most influential encouraging VAS sources.
Book Chapters
Chapter 9: Millennials in the workplace: Research findings and managerial implications in Generational Differences in Work Values and Ethics: An International Perspective
Chapter 1: Contradictions and dialectics as keys to conflict transformation in Transforming conflict through communication in personal, family, and working relationships
Developing negotiation competencies in Communication Competence (Vol. 22) (pp. 367-395)