Abstract
This article is predicated on the idea that leaders shape workplace affective events. Based on Affective Events Theory (AET), I argue that leaders are sources of employee positive and negative emotions at work. Certain leader behaviors displayed during interactions with their employees are the sources of these affective events. The second theoretical underpinning of the article is the Asymmetry Effect of emotion. Consistent with this theory, employees are more likely to recall negative incidents than positive incidents. In a qualitative study, evidence that these processes exist in the workplace was found. Leader behaviors were sources of positive or negative emotional responses in employees; employees recalled more negative incidents than positive incidents, and they recalled them more intensely and in more detail than positive incidents. Consequently, leaders may need to exercise their emotional intelligence to generate emotional uplifts to overcome the hassles in the workplace that employees seem to remember so vividly.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 163-178 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Leadership Quarterly |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2006 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Affective events
- Asymmetry
- Emotions
- Leadership
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Business and International Management
- Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
- Applied Psychology
- Sociology and Political Science
Cite this
Cognitive asymmetry in employee emotional reactions to leadership behaviors. / Dasborough, Marie.
In: Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 2, 04.2006, p. 163-178.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Cognitive asymmetry in employee emotional reactions to leadership behaviors
AU - Dasborough, Marie
PY - 2006/4
Y1 - 2006/4
N2 - This article is predicated on the idea that leaders shape workplace affective events. Based on Affective Events Theory (AET), I argue that leaders are sources of employee positive and negative emotions at work. Certain leader behaviors displayed during interactions with their employees are the sources of these affective events. The second theoretical underpinning of the article is the Asymmetry Effect of emotion. Consistent with this theory, employees are more likely to recall negative incidents than positive incidents. In a qualitative study, evidence that these processes exist in the workplace was found. Leader behaviors were sources of positive or negative emotional responses in employees; employees recalled more negative incidents than positive incidents, and they recalled them more intensely and in more detail than positive incidents. Consequently, leaders may need to exercise their emotional intelligence to generate emotional uplifts to overcome the hassles in the workplace that employees seem to remember so vividly.
AB - This article is predicated on the idea that leaders shape workplace affective events. Based on Affective Events Theory (AET), I argue that leaders are sources of employee positive and negative emotions at work. Certain leader behaviors displayed during interactions with their employees are the sources of these affective events. The second theoretical underpinning of the article is the Asymmetry Effect of emotion. Consistent with this theory, employees are more likely to recall negative incidents than positive incidents. In a qualitative study, evidence that these processes exist in the workplace was found. Leader behaviors were sources of positive or negative emotional responses in employees; employees recalled more negative incidents than positive incidents, and they recalled them more intensely and in more detail than positive incidents. Consequently, leaders may need to exercise their emotional intelligence to generate emotional uplifts to overcome the hassles in the workplace that employees seem to remember so vividly.
KW - Affective events
KW - Asymmetry
KW - Emotions
KW - Leadership
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=33644893066&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.12.004
DO - 10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.12.004
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:33644893066
VL - 17
SP - 163
EP - 178
JO - Leadership Quarterly
JF - Leadership Quarterly
SN - 1048-9843
IS - 2
ER -