Reattachment to work in the morning and day-level leader outcomes

Successfully reattaching to work (i.e., mentally reconnecting) after a nonwork period can set the tone for the workday. This study examines anticipated task focus and activated positive affect as mechanisms linking leaders’ reattachment to work in the morning to leader experiences and behaviors throughout the workday. Based on daily-survey data from 416 leaders (2646 total morning/evening survey completions), we conducted multilevel structural equation modeling to test our hypotheses. Results indicate that day-level reattachment to work in the morning was associated with anticipated task focus and activated positive affect, which in turn were both associated with leader workplace vitality and transformational leadership behavior. Hypotheses regarding leader task accomplishment were not supported. Supplementary analyses indicated that reattachment was indirectly related to perceived task accomplishment through a two-stage mediation – i.e., via anticipated task focus in the morning and actual task focus throughout the workday. Findings point to the important role of reattachment to work in leader experiences and behaviors throughout the workday. Results also indicate the relevance of reattachment to work as an experience and potential strategy that helps leaders successfully move from nonwork to work domains creating positive outcomes for themselves and their followers throughout the workday.