The Role of Healthcare Leaders’ Regulation of Followers’ Emotions on Follower Wellbeing

Abstract

Intrinsic emotion regulation (the process of regulating one’s own emotions) is conceptually distinct from extrinsic emotion regulation (the process of regulating others’ emotions). Much less is known about extrinsic regulation, especially in the context of how leaders influence followers’ wellbeing. Drawing on resource perspectives, we argue that leader extrinsic regulation is a valuable socioemotional resource that followers can draw on to manage resource loss during times of high stress. We investigate the influence of two types of leaders’ extrinsic regulation –reappraisal and suppression– on followers’ burnout and job satisfaction. Leaders’ reappraisal and suppression differentially influenced followers’ wellbeing via the mediating role of positive and negative affect over and above the effects of followers’ intrinsic regulation. Leaders’ use of extrinsic reappraisal was most beneficial for followers with high levels of internal resources for coping with change, but extrinsic suppression was more detrimental. These results extend our understanding of extrinsic regulation in the important context of leaders and followers, and provide new insights into how and for whom different types of leader extrinsic regulation affect followers’ wellbeing. These results have important practical implications in terms of developing more targeted leadership-based interventions to help manage the mental health and wellbeing of healthcare workers.