Emotion Regulation Can Build Resources: How Amplifying Positive Emotions Is Beneficial for Employees and Organizations

Abstract

Prior research has framed emotion regulation as resource-depleting and has primarily focused on strategies that avoid feelings. In this paper, we present an alternative view that emotion regulation can generate resources, and we investigate amplification of positive emotions, a potential resource-generating strategy. In study 1, using a field design, we demonstrate that amplification of positive emotion is positively related to employee psychological resources. Furthermore, we show that amplification of positive emotion may reduce absenteeism. In study 2, using a longitudinal lab design, we demonstrate that amplification of positive emotions predicts changes in employee psychological resources over time and does so above and beyond positive affect. We discuss the theoretical implications of our findings for emotion researchers, the practical applications of our findings for managers, and areas that require future research.