Good feelings and increased job performance : pleasure and interest as predictors of skill improvement and work achievement among Norwegian job-holders

Research within neurobiology has provided evidence for two distinctive classes of positive emotion, represented by separate brain systems called the “reward seeking-” (appetitive) and the “pleasure-” (consummatory) system (Burgdorf & Panksepp 2006). Recently, happiness research has provided empirical evidence for a distinction between the emotions “interest” and “pleasure” (Vittersø, Overwien & Martinsen, 2009), which share remarkably much of the same qualities and functions as the respective brain systems. In organizational science there has been a long lasting debate whether employee happiness promotes job-performance. This study aimed to show how and why pleasure and interest should be analyzed as separate emotions in an organizational context. By this route the thesis contributes new knowledge to the controversy of the “Happy Productive Worker”. Knowledge workers (N = 53) working in an energy corporation in Norway participated in the study, and answered a maximum of five events reconstruction samplings during one workweek (N = 170). By using a multilevel design both withinpersonand between-person variance is analyzed. By analyzing a series of events, the results showed that pleasant feelings promoted event satisfaction whereas interest promoted event achievement. Hence, interest and pleasure interact with job-related skill development in distinct ways. A path model suggested that interest predicted skill improvement indirectly through event achievement. Interest and pleasure were only moderately correlated with each other. Keyword: emotions, interest, pleasure, employee happiness, satisfaction, event reconstruction method, multilevel analysis, job performance, skill improvement Good Feelings and Job Performance (! Good Feelings and Job Performance )! Abstrakt Norsk versjon Forskning innen nevrobiologi har funnet bevis for to ulike typer positive emosjoner, representert av separate systemer i hjernen kalt det “belønningssøkende”og “velbehag” system ( Burgdorf & Panksepp 2006). Nylig har man innen lykke forskning fremskaffet empirisk bevis for distinksjonen mellom emosjonene “interesse” og “velbehag” (Vittersø, Overwien & Martinsen, 2009) som deler mye av kvalitetene og funksjonene til respektive hjerne systemer. Innen organisasjonsvitenskap har det pågått en langvarig debatt hvorvidt økt velvære hos ansatte fører til økt produktivitet. Denne studien til hensikt å vise at hvordan og hvorfor en differensiering av positive emosjoner også er valid i en organisatorisk kontekst, samt hvordan dette kan gi ny kunnskap om velvære-produktivitet hypotesen. Kunnskapsarbeidere (N = 53) ansatt i et norsk energiselskap deltok i studien, og besvarte maksimalt fem hendelsesrapporter i løpet av en arbeidsuke (N = 170). Ved å bruke et multinivå design ble både inter-personog intra-person varians analysert. Som forventet viste resultatene at emosjonene interesse og velbehag bare korrelerer moderat. Tilfredshet blir kun predikert av emosjonen velbehag. En sti modell viser at interesse predikerer ferdighetsforbedring indirekte gjennom hendelses mestring. Studien konkluderer med at tilfredshet ikke gir et helhetlig bilde av ansattes velvære. Og at man også i organisasjonsforskning bør skille mellom de to positive emosjonene: velbehag og interesse. Nøkkelord: emosjoner, interesse, velbehag, tilfredshet, velvære, hendelses rekonstruksjons metoden, flernivå analyser, jobb prestasjon, ferdighets forbedring Good Feelings and Job Performance *! Good Feelings and Job Performance +! Preface The idea to this project stems from a dialog between the author and Professor Joar Vittersø in September 2009. We discussed what it feels like to build job-related competence and to grow as a person. The author’s curiosity on the topic relates to his interest in organizational science, while Vittersø curiosity comes from earlier research within the field of positive psychology. We agreed to explore the topic further by collaborating on an empirical study by assessing positive emotions during events in which employees strived toward improving their work-related skills. First the author contacted a local consultant company to get inspiration and knowledge about how this topic is regarded and handled by practitioners. The consultant company also helped with recruiting participants to the project, through one of their biggest business costumers. The process of creating and carrying out this project has been a joint voyage by the author and his supervisor. The author has administered the practical details of the project, from graphical layout of the questionnaires to holding information meeting with both the participants and personnel director of the participating company. The author distributed the survey to every participant himself through email. Most instruments used in the project are well established and validated selfreport scales. The statistical analyses were conducted by the author, under the guidance of supervisor. Vittersø analyzed the path model, due to his access and knowledge of the appropriate software. The project has enriched the author by giving a valuable insight to a scientific community that is growing by an incredible speed. In addition to opening doors for the author, the project has established contact between the university, consultant practitioners and the local the business sector. Hopefully this contact can give rise to more exiting collaboration-projects in the future. Vegard Warholm Joar Vittersø Student Supervisor Good Feelings and Job Performance ,-! Good Feelings and Job Performance ,,!