Workplace Moods and Emotions: A Review of Research

Abstract

This review examines the nature, causes and consequences of momentary affect at work. It focuses on two major categories of affect: moods and discrete emotions. The review begins by explaining the nature of momentary affect and why it is important to study within-person fluctuations in affect. Following that it describes major theories and methods that facilitate research on momentary affect in the workplace, especially affective events theory and time-sampling methods. Next, the review examines the empirical evidence concerning the characteristics of the worker and the work environment that cause momentary mood, and the consequences of momentary mood for workers’ affective response, satisfaction, cognitive performance, behavior and relationships. It then reviews the evidence for the causes and consequences of discrete emotions, including anger and envy. Finally, the review identifies some questions that future research on momentary affect needs to address in the form of ten challenges.

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