Research on subjective well-being has revealed the existence of diverse work related micro-events evaluated and experienced as hassles and uplifts. These events occur frequently throughout the working day and thus have a significant effect on individuals’ well-being and productivity (Nezlek, 2007). Affective events theory assumes that several events at work have immediate affective consequences causing emotional reactions, and consequently emotional fluctuations (Walter & Bruch, 2009). These momentary emotions influence employees´ work related behaviours and attitudes. Furthermore, cognitive evaluation theory assumes that micro-events stimulate emotional reactions, but these are mediated by an individual’s interpretation and evaluation of the event (Lazarus, 1999). These evaluations influence employees’ subsequent decisions regarding work and organization, such as turnover intentions, absenteeism, and extra-role behaviors (Ilies, Keeney, & Scott, 2011). Despite their daily frequency at work, there is insufficient evidence to systematize what the main micro-events are, or to draw specific conclusions about their effect on an individual’s welfare and performance. With the aim of contributing to the further development of this issue, this study intended to identify what are the main micro-daily events at work related to productivity and well-being levels. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. All the participants were full-time employees with ages ranging between 32 and 58 years old. 73% of the participants were female. Organizational tenure was 24 years on average (SD=9.87). Content analysis was used to classify the interviewees’ responses. These responses were organized into categories by the researcher according to their specific nature. The created categories were mutually exclusive and, where necessary, subcategories were developed to capture the richness of the data. This process encourages semantic validity (Weber, 1985) and allows categories to emerge that can be theoretically justified. After coding the interviewees´ responses, five categories of positive job-related micro-events emerged: goal achievement, interpersonal pleasant relationships, favorable working conditions, pleasant breaks and receiving recognition. Likewise, nine categories of negative work-related micro-events emerged: unfavorable working conditions, lack of goal achievement, immoral behavior, interpersonal unpleasant relationships, others’ mistakes/incompetence, public humiliation, perceived disrespect/arrogance, unpleasant breaks and not receiving recognition. Results show the existence of several positive and negative micro-daily events at work arousing emotional reactions. Data show that the most frequent overall positive event category was “interpersonal pleasant relationships”, while the most frequent overall negative category was “others’ mistakes/incompetence”. Results also evidence that some of these micro-events seem to be associated to different levels of subjective well-being and productivity. As such, the results of this study might be useful to managers who wish to improve the emotional quality of life of their employees. Clearly, there is much to be gained, from knowing when and why employees experience positive and negative events that might affect their daily performance and well-being.

--

Affective events theory,micro-daily events,hassles and uplifts,well-being at work,emotional reactions