Feeling the Approach to Challenges and the Avoidance of Hindrances: Stressors, Affective Shift, and Employee Behaviors.

Drawing from the affect theory of social exchange (Lawler, 2001) and regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 1997, 2012), we theorized when and how challenge and hindrance stressors, representing favorable and unfavorable social exchanges between employees and the organization, respectively, relate to employee performance. In Study 1, we used a weekly experience sampling methodology to collect 12-week diary data from 107 North American workers. Results showed that "emotional uplifts"-upshifts in positive affect (PA) coupled with downshifts in negative affect (NA)-mediated the relationship between challenge stressors and task performance, whereas "emotional downs"-downshifts in PA coupled with upshifts in NA-mediated the relationship between hindrance stressors and task performance, but not the relationship between hindrance stressors and instigated incivility. In Study 2, we collected 3-week, twice-daily experience sampling methodology data from 78 Chinese employees, and our results replicated and expanded Study 1 findings. Further, we found that employees' state promotion focus strengthened the relationship between challenge stressors and PA upshift-NA downshift and the indirect relationships of challenge stressors with task performance and interpersonal helping via PA upshift-NA downshift. Our findings contribute to the understanding of employees' dynamic affect and behavioral regulation during daily and weekly encounters with work stressors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).