Emotional dynamics in the workplace: a multilevel and multimethod investigation of affective process in organizations

Emotions are a critical yet historically underexplored dimension in understanding organizational behavior. In today’s workplaces, marked by rapid change and uncertainty, this research adopts a multilevel and multimethod approach to investigate affective processes that shape employee performance, engagement, and well-being. The first study integrates Playful Work Design into Affective Events Theory, showing that proactively introducing elements of fun and challenge into daily tasks enhances the positive emotional impact of work events on performance and psychological flourishing. The second study, grounded in the Job Demands–Resources model, examines how perceived intrateam hypercompetition undermines team and individual engagement, and how crafting leadership can buffer these effects. The third study, using an experimental design, explores the mechanisms of positive emotional contagion, focusing on facial mimicry and physiological synchrony as affective transmission channels, moderated by relational and communicative factors. The findings contribute to a more systemic and integrated understanding of emotions in organizational life, offering both theoretical insights and practical implications for fostering resilient and engaging work environments.