How Challenge Demands Have Offsetting Effects on Job Performance: Through the Positive and Negative Emotions.

Qiong Wang,Xiaofei Teng,Wei Zhang,Aijing Xia,Jing Zhang,Jing Qian,Zijun Cai,Xiyang Zhang

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.745413

Abstract

By combining the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2001) and the transactional theory of stress (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984), this study examines how challenge demands (i.e., task complexity and time pressure) have dual effects on employees’ job performance through the mediating effects of positive and negative emotions. We collected data from 414 employees from three firms located in China, including two hi-tech firms and one financial firm. The results indicated that challenge demands (i.e., task complexity and time pressure) have an overall positive effect on employees’ job performance (i.e., task performance and contextual performance) by offsetting positive indirect effects with negative indirect effects. The theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

Highlights

People encounter many stressors at work, such as red tape, time constraints, and workload
Because of a low factor loading for one item, contextual performance was reduced to a four-item scale
Using data collected from three firms, we showed that (1) challenge stressors, as manifested by time pressure and workload, had a positive indirect effect on job performance through positive emotions; (2) simultaneously, challenge stressors had a negative indirect effect on job performance through negative emotions; (3) due to that the strength of the positive indirect effect was stronger than that of negative one, the total effect was positive

Summary

Introduction

People encounter many stressors at work, such as red tape, time constraints, and workload. To better understand the influences of stressors, Cavanaugh et al (2000) introduced the challengehindrance framework. Hindrance stressors are those stressors that are likely to constrain personal development (Podsakoff et al, 2007). Challenge stressors are the stressors that will enhance one’s capability and promote personal growth (Podsakoff et al, 2007). This theory argues that different kinds of stressors would yield different outcomes, with hindrance stressors posing more negative effects and challenge stressors posing more positive effects. Existing research has got contrasting findings related to challenge stressors

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion