How Employees Adapt to Change Prompted by COVID-19: Importance of Discrete Emotions and Proactivity

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has initiated unprecedented organizational change. Whereas the organizational change literature has focused on how employees reactively respond to planned strategic change efforts, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrust employees into an active role in which they must adapt to the rapidly evolving demands of their environment. Drawing on appraisal theories, we argue that employees can appraise how the changes prompted by COVID-19 have impacted the meaningfulness of their work and their work effectiveness. In turn, these appraisals can elicit positive and negative discrete emotions, which can provide employees with guidance on how to navigate the opportunities and challenges in their work environment. We test our predictions using a three-wave survey design (N = 402) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate that COVID-19 related changes that increased the meaningfulness of work elicited pride whereas changes that reduced work effectiveness elicited frustration and anxiety. In turn, these discrete emotions differentially prompted promotion-oriented and prevention-oriented proactive behaviors. Importantly, both promotion-oriented and prevention-oriented proactive behaviors enhanced employees’ subsequent adaptivity to change. Our findings provide insight into how employees can actively respond to change related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including how they can self-initiate changes to their jobs in response to rapid change in their environment, how discrete emotions (i.e., pride, anxiety, and frustration) can differentially propel proactive behaviors, how negative emotions may prompt behaviors that can enhance adaptivity (rather than being dysfunctional for change), and how both promotion and prevention-oriented proactive behaviors can enhance employees’ adaptivity to change.