Taking time for patience in organizations

Purpose – Patience is underestimated in organizations. The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of patience and the individual and organizational benefits it confers. Then, the paper discuses emotional self-regulation and explain how two self-regulatory techniques can affect the patience of individuals in organizations. Design/methodology/approach – The paper considers religious, philosophical, and psychological perspectives on patience; and highlight the emotional underpinnings of patience. Findings – The paper argues that patience plays an important role in organizations and that individuals can use emotional self-regulation to enhance their patience. The paper offers two key points about the relationship between self-regulation strategies and patience: first, situation selection mitigates the need for patience and second cognitive reappraisal facilitates the execution of patient responses and the development of the virtue itself. Practical implications – The paper provides recommendations for increasing individuals’ patience in organizational settings. Originality/value – The virtue of patience has received scant research attention. This paper focusses on the importance of patience in the workplace and examines how emotional self-regulation can facilitate its activation.