Explain Affective Events Theory. What Are Its Implications for Managing Emotions?

Explain affective events theory. What are its implications for managing emotions?

Affective events theory (AET) is the theory that employees react emotionally to things that happen to them at work and that this emotional reaction influences their job performance and satisfaction.

The model states that there is a relationship between the employees' internal influences (such as emotions) and their reactions to incidents that happen during their workday that affect their performance, job commitment, and long-term job satisfaction.

Work events trigger positive or negative emotional reactions; this affect has an important influence on job satisfaction, performance, development and commitment.

An example to describe the above would be:

When an employee learns that his colleague who is doing exactly the same tasks as him, receives a higher salary, this could trigger negative emotions in one such as frustration and so on. These negative emotions could demotivate you to perform well and thereby affect your performance at work.

Now you decide to discuss with your boss and demand an explanation; your boss explains to you that your colleague’s salary is higher because he has a master’s degree and you have just a bachelors and that they are considering to increase your salary because you are doing a great job; this might change your perspective, mood and emotions. You thereby end up with a positive feeling where you feel proud of your work and are motivated to do better as it pays off.

In summary, AET offers two important messages. First, emotions provide valuable insights into how workplace events influence employee performance and satisfaction and secondly that employees and managers should not ignore emotions or events that cause them, even if they appear to be minor because they can add up.