Daily work engagement and positive emotions in the workplace: Job crafting as a mediator

Abstract

I combined the broaden-and-build and job demands–resources theories, and examined the effect of employees' daily positive emotions outside the workplace before work on work engagement, and the mediating roles of (a) seeking resources and challenges and (b) reducing demands, in this daily job-crafting relationship. I collected data from 103 medical staff daily for 5 days, resulting in 515 data points, and used a multilevel model for data analysis. Results show that positive emotions directly and positively predicted work engagement, and also predicted work engagement indirectly and positively through seeking resources and challenges. Further, the effect of positive emotions was mediated by job crafting during the day through seeking resources and challenges, but not through reducing demands. These results emphasize the importance in subsequent work engagement of employees' emotions experienced in their personal life.