Affective events theory proposes that employees react emotionally to things that happen to them at work. Say that you just found out your company is downsizing. You might experience a variety of negative emotions, causing you to worry that you’ll lose your job. Needless to say, your job satisfaction will also be down. Prior research supports the notion that the extent to which one’s personality is negative or positive is related to emotional reactions when experiencing workplace events. However, we experience some events more often than others.

AET offers two important messages. First, emotions provide valuable insights into how workplace events influence employee performance and satisfaction. Second, employees and managers shouldn’t ignore emotions or the events that cause them, even when they appear minor, because they accumulate. Emotional intelligence helps us understand the impact of emotions on performance.