SummaryThis paper examines the role of affect as a linking mechanism between experiences at work (perceived prosocial impact and situational constraints) and two distinct components of proactive work behavior (issue identification and implementation). Based on a dual-tuning perspective, we argue that both positive affect and negative affect can be beneficial for proactive work behavior. Multi-level path analysis using daily-survey data from 153 employees showed that perceived prosocial impact predicted positive affect and that situational constraints as a typical hindrance stressor predicted negative affect. Negative affect, in turn, predicted issue identification, and positive affect predicted implementation. Overall, our study suggests that both positive and negative affects can be valuable in the organizational context by contributing to distinct components of proactive behavior.
Building on the affective events theory framework, we argue for voice as affect‐relevant action and investigate the affective consequences of voice in meetings within persons. We administered daily surveys over one workweek to examine how suggestion‐focused and problem‐focused voice in meetings relate to state positive and state negative affect at work. Our analyses are based on the data of 124 employees reporting on 224 meetings. Employees’ problem‐focused voice in meetings was associated with a decrease in employees’ state negative affect at the end of the next workday. Employees’ suggestion‐focused voice, however, was not associated with an increase in employees’ state positive affect at the end of the next workday. Future studies should investigate boundary conditions that might change the affective consequences of employees’ voice in meetings.
Practitioner points
Meetings offer employees the opportunity to voice work‐related issues to bring about change. There is substantial intra‐individual variability in employees’ voice in meetings, such that an employee sometimes takes this opportunity, whereas sometimes the same employee passes it on.
An employee can show suggestion‐focused voice (i.e., make suggestions of how to improve current work processes) or problem‐focused voice (i.e., address problems about inefficiencies or poor performance) in a meeting. Both types of voice can provide valuable information for work teams and organizations.
When employees suggest an improvement in a meeting, they do not necessarily feel more active at the end of their next workday, but when they address a problem, they feel less distressed. This favourable affective consequence may help to develop a more positive view of problem‐focused voice among supervisors and employees.
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