Antecedents and consequences of positive emotions in the workplace

an article by Avas Sahu (Ispat Bhawan Durgapur Steel Plant, West Bengal, India) and Kailash B.L. Srivastava (Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal, India) published in International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion Volume 8 Number 2 (2017)

Abstract

This paper examined the relationship of social relations, role characteristics; transformational leadership and group emotions with positive individual emotions, its consequences on job satisfaction, stress, work motivation, individual performance and the mediating effect of positive emotions on the relationship of antecedent and outcome variables.

The data were collected from 406 respondents from six organisations across hierarchy. The results suggested that social relations, transformational leadership and group emotions significantly predicted positive emotions, but role conflict and role ambiguity negatively predicted positive emotions.

Positive emotions significantly predicted job satisfaction, work motivation and individual performance, but negatively predicted stress. Positive emotions also mediated the relationship between antecedent and outcome variables. The study contributes to the literature by identifying the role of certain individual and group level factors in building positive emotions and its impact on employee performance, motivation and satisfaction.

The implications of the study are discussed.

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