Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T04:07:53.397Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The impact of negative mood on team performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2015

Peter J Jordan ,
Sandra A Lawrence  and
Ashlea C Troth
Peter J Jordan
Affiliation:
Griffith Business School, Department of Management, Griffith University, Brisbane QLD, Australia
Sandra A Lawrence
Affiliation:
Griffith Business School, Department of Management, Griffith University, Brisbane QLD, Australia
Ashlea C Troth
Affiliation:
Griffith Business School, Department of Management, Griffith University, Brisbane QLD, Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Although organisations often implement team-based structures to improve performance, such restructuring does not automatically ameliorate poor performance. The study in this article explores the relationship between team members' negative mood and team processes (social cohesion, workload sharing, team conflict) to determine if negative mood has a detrimental effect on team performance via team processes. Two hundred and forty one participants completed surveys and were involved in an independently rated performance task that was completed over eight weeks. Negative mood was found to influence team processes and as a consequence, team performance. The results, however, were not uniformly negative. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Keywords

moodteam performanceconflictsocial cohesionworkload sharing
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , September 2006 , pp. 131 - 145
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Albanese, R and Van Fleet, DD (1985) Rational behavior in groups: The free-riding tendency, Academy of Management Journal 10(2): 244–255.Google Scholar
Alicke, MD (2000) Culpable control and the psychology of blame, Psychological Bulletin 126(4): 556–574.Google Scholar
Allen, NJ and Meyer, JP (1990) The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization, Journal of Occupational Psychology 63: 1–18.Google Scholar
Aquino, K, Grover, S, Bradfield, M and Allen, D (1999) The effects of negative affectivity, hierarchical status, and self-determination on workplace victimization, Academy of Management Journal 42: 260–273.Google Scholar
Ashforth, BE (1985) Climate formation: Issues and extensions, Academy of Management Review 10: 837–847.Google Scholar
Ashforth, BE and Humphrey, RH (1995) Emotion in the workplace: A reappraisal, Human Relations 48: 97–125.Google Scholar
Ashkanasy, NM, Härtel, CEJ, and Zerbe, WJ (Eds) (2000) Emotions in the workplace: Research, theory, and practice, Quorum Books, Westport CT.Google Scholar
Aydin, B and Oztutuncu, F (2001) Examination of adolescents' negative thoughts, depressive mood, and family environment, Adolescence 36(141): 77–83.Google Scholar
Baron, RA (1988) Negative effects of destructive criticism: impact on conflict, self-efficacy, and task performance, Journal of Applied Psychology 73: 199–207.Google Scholar
Baron, RM and Kenny, DA (1986) The moderator- mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 51: 1173–1182.Google Scholar
Barrick, M, Stewart, G, Neubert, MJ and Mount, M (1998) Relating member ability and personality to work-team processes and team effectiveness, Journal of Applied Psychology 83: 377–319.Google Scholar
Barsade, SG (2002) The ripple effects: Emotional contagion and its influence on group behavior, Administrative Science Quarterly 47(4): 644–675.Google Scholar
Beal, DJ, Cohen, RR, Burke, MJ and McLendon, CL (2003) Cohesion and performance in groups: A meta-analytic clarification of construct relations, Journal of Applied Psychology 88(6): 989–1004.Google Scholar
Berkowitz, L (1990) On the formation and regulation of anger and aggression. A cognitive-neoassociationistic analysis, American Psychologist 45(4): 494–503.Google Scholar
Berkowitz, L, Hatfield, EJ and Adams, S (1976) Equity theory: Toward a general theory of social interaction, Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Beyerlein, MM, Johnson, DA and Beyerlein, ST (Eds) (1997) Advances in interdisciplinary studies of work teams, JAI Press, Greenwich NJ.Google Scholar
Borisoff, D and Victor, DA (1998) Conflict management: a communication skills approach, Allyn and Bacon, Boston MA.Google Scholar
Campion, MA, Medsker, GJ and Higgs, AC (1993) Relations between work group characteristics and effectiveness: Implications for designing effective work groups, Personnel Psychology 46: 823–850.Google Scholar
Carrell, MR and Dittrich, JE (1978) Equity theory: The recent literature, methodological considerations, and new directions, Academy of Management Review 3: 202–210.Google Scholar
Clore, GL, LeDoux, JE, Zajonc, RB, Davidson, RJ and Ekman, P (1994) In Paul Ekman, and Richard J., Davidson (Eds) The nature of emotion: Fundamental questions: 283–299. Oxford University Press, New York NY.Google Scholar
Cohen, J and Cohen, P (1983) Multiple regression! correlation for the behavioral sciences (3rd Edn), Erlbaum, Mahwah NJ.Google Scholar
De Dreu, C and Weingart, L (2003) Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction, Journal of Applied Psychology 88(4): 741–749.Google Scholar
Druskat, V U and Wolff, SB (2001) Building the emotional intelligence of groups, Harvard Business Review 03: 81–90.Google Scholar
Fineman, S (2003) Understanding emotion at work, Sage, London.Google Scholar
Fisher, CD (2000) Mood and emotions while working: Missing pieces of job satisfaction? Journal of Organizational Behavior 21: 185–202.Google Scholar
Forgas, JP (1995) Mood and judgment: The affect infusion model (AIM), Psychological Bulletin 117: 39–66.Google Scholar
Forgas, JP, Bower, GH and Krantz, S (1984) The influence of mood on perceptions of social interactions, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 20: 497–513.Google Scholar
Forgas, JP and Locke, J (2005) Affective influences on causal inferences: The effects of mood on attributions for positive and negative interpersonal episodes, Cognition & Emotion 19: 1071–1081.Google Scholar
Fredrickson, BL (2000) Extracting meaning from past affective experiences: The importance of peaks, ends, and specific emotions, Cognition & Emotion 14: 577–606.Google Scholar
Fredrickson, BL (2003) The value of positive emotions, American Scientist 394: 330–335.Google Scholar
Frijda, NH (1986) The emotions. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
George, JM (1990) Personality, affect, and behavior in groups, Journal of Applied Psychology 75: 107–116.Google Scholar
George, JM and Brief, AP (1996) Motivational agendas in the workplace: The effects of feelings on focus of attention and work motivation, Research in Organizational Behavior 18: 75–109.Google Scholar
George, JM and Zhou, J (2002) Understanding when bad moods foster creativity and good ones don't: the role of context and clarity of feelings, Journal of Applied Psychology 87: 687–97.Google Scholar
Gersick, CJ (1991) Revolutionary change theories: A multilevel exploration of the punctuated equilibrium paradigm, Academy of Management Review 16: 10–36.Google Scholar
Harkins, S (1987) Social facilitation and social loafing, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 23: 1–18.Google Scholar
Isen, AM and Baron, RA (1991) Positive affect as a factor in organizational behavior, Research in Organizational Behavior 13: 1–53.Google Scholar
Jehn, K (1995) A multimethod examination of the benefits and determinants of intragroup conflict, Administrative Science Quarterly 40: 256–282.Google Scholar
Jehn, K and Mannix, E (2001) The dynamic nature of conflict: A longitudinal study of intragroup conflict and group performance, Academy of Management Journal 44(2): 238–251.Google Scholar
Jehn, KA, Northcraft, GB and Neale, MA (1999) Why differences make a difference: A field study in diversity, conflict, and performance in workgroups, Administrative Science Quarterly 44: 741–763.Google Scholar
Jones, GR and George, JM (1998) The experience and evolution of trust: implications for cooperation and teamwork, Academy of Management Review 23: 531–546.Google Scholar
Jordan, P J, Ashkanasy, NM, Hartel, CEJ and Hooper, G (2002) Workgroup emotional intelligence: Scale development and relationship to team process effectiveness and goal focus, Human Resource Management Review 12: 195–214.Google Scholar
Jordan, PJ and Troth, AC (2002) Emotional intelligence and conflict resolution: Implications for human resource development, in Callahan, JL and McCollum, EE (Eds) Advances in Developing Human Resources, Special Edition on Perspectives of Emotion and Organizational Change 4(1): 62–79.Google Scholar
Jordan, PJ and Troth, AC (2004) Managing emotions during team problem solving: Emotional intelligence and conflict resolution, Human Performance 17 (2): 195–218.Google Scholar
Kelly, JR and Barsade, SG (2001) Mood and emotions in small groups and work teams, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 86(1): 99–130.Google Scholar
Kerr, NL and Tindale, RS (2004) Small group decision making and performance, Annual Review of Psychology 55: 623–656.Google Scholar
Kozlowski, SWJ and Klein, KJ (2000) A levels approach to theory and research in organizations, in Klein, KJ and Kozlowski, S. W. J. (Eds) Multilevel theory, research and methods in organizations, pp 3–90, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco CA.Google Scholar
Lieberman, MA, Yalom, ID and Miles, MB (1973) Encounter groups: First facts, New York, NY: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Mayer, JD, Gaschke, YN, Braverman, DL and Evans, TW (1992) Mood-congruent judgment is a general effect, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 63: 119–132.Google Scholar
Mitchell, TR, Thompson, L, Peterson, E and Cronk, R (1997) Temporal adjustments in the evaluation of events: The ‘rosy view’, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 33(4): 421–448.Google Scholar
Mossholder, K, Setton, R, Armenakis, A and Harris, S (2000) Emotion during organizational transformation: An interactive model of survivor reactions, Group and Organization Management 25(3): 220–243.Google Scholar
Mulvey, PW and Klein, HJ (1998) The impact of perceived loafing and collective efficacy on group goal processes and group performance, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 74: 62–87.Google Scholar
O'Reilly, C, Caldwell, D and Barnett, W (1989) Work group demography, social integration, and turnover, Administrative Science Quarterly 34: 21–37.Google Scholar
Ortony, A, Clore, GL, and Collins, A (1988) The cognitive structure of emotions, New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Pelled, LH (1996) Demographic diversity, conflict, and work group outcomes: An intervening process theory, Organization Science 7: 615–631.Google Scholar
Pelled, LH, Eisenhardt, KM and Xin, KR (1999) Exploring the black box: An analysis of work group diversity, conflict, and performance, Administrative Science Quarterly 44(1): 1–28.Google Scholar
Porter, COLH, Hollenbeck, JR, Ilgen, DR, Ellis, APJ, West, BJ and Moon, H (2003) Backing up behaviors in teams: The role of personality and legitimacy of need, Journal Of Applied Psychology 88: 391–403.Google Scholar
Preacher, KJ and Leonardelli, GJ (2006) Calculators for the Sobel test. Accessed at http://www.unc.edu/~preacher/sobel/sobel.htm on 28 April 2006.Google Scholar
Rafaeli, A and Sutton, RI (1989) The expression of emotion in organizational life, Research in Organizational Behavior 11: 1–42.Google Scholar
Robinson-Whelen, S, Kim, C, MacCallum, RC and Kiecolt-Glaser, JK (1997) Distinguishing optimism from pessimism in older adults: Is it more important to be optimistic or not to be pessimistic? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 73(6): 1345–53.Google Scholar
Rousseau, DM (1985) Issues of level in organizational research: Multi-level and cross-level perspectives. In Cummings, LL and Staw, B (Eds) Research in Organizational Behavior 7: 1–37.Google Scholar
Salovey, P, Mayer, JD and Rosenhan, DL (1991) Mood and helping: Mood as a motivator of helping and helping as a regulator of mood. In Clark, MS (Ed) Review of Personality and Social Psychology, 12: 215–237. New York, NY: Sage.Google Scholar
Schellenberg, JA (1996) Conflict resolution: Theory, research, and practice, State University of New York Press, Albany NY.Google Scholar
Shah, P and Jehn, K (1993) Do friends perform better than acquaintances? The interaction of friendship, conflict and task, Group Decision and Negotiation 2: 149–166.Google Scholar
Simons, T, Pelled, LH and Smith, KA (1999) Making use of difference: Diversity, debate, and decision comprehensiveness in top management teams, Academy of Management Journal 42: 662–673.Google Scholar
Stewart, GL, Fulmer, IS and Barrick, MR (2005) An exploration of member roles as a multilevel linking mechanism for individual traits and team outcomes, Personnel Psychology 58: 343–365.Google Scholar
Stokes, JP (1983) Toward an understanding of cohesion in personal change groups, International Journal of Group Psychotherapy 33(4): 449–67.Google Scholar
Swezey, RW, Meltzer, AL and Salas, E (1994) Some issues involved in motivating teams, in O'Neil, HF Jr and Drillings, M (Eds) Motivation: Theory and research, pp 141–169, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale NJ.Google Scholar
Tannenbaum, SI, Beard, RL and Salas, E (1992) Team building and its influence on team effectiveness: An examination of conceptual and empirical developments, in Kelley, K (Ed) Issues, theory, and research in industrial/organizational psychology, 82: 117–153, Elsevier Science, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Thoresen, CJ, Kaplan, SA, Barsky, AP, Warren, CR, and de Chermont, K (2003) The affective underpinnings of job perceptions and attitudes: a meta-analytic review and integration, Psychological Bulletin 129(6): 914–945.Google Scholar
Tuckman, B (1965) Developing sequences in small groups, Psychological Bulletin 63: 384–399.Google Scholar
Waller, BN (2003) The sad truth: Optimism, pessimism, and pragmatism, Ratio 16(2): 189.Google Scholar
Watson, D and Clark, LA (1984) Negative affectivity: The disposition to experience aversive emotional states, Psychological Bulletin 96: 465–490.Google Scholar
Watson, D, Clark, LA and Tellegen, A (1988) Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54: 1063–1070.Google Scholar
Wegge, J and Kleinbeck, U (1996) Goal setting and group performance: impact of achievement and affiliation motives, participation in goal setting, and task interdependence of group members, in Gjesme, T & Nygard, R (Eds) Advances in Motivation, pp 145–177, Scandinavian University Press, Oslo Norway.Google Scholar
Weiss, H and Cropanzano, R (1996) Affective events theory: A theoretical discussion of the structure, causes and consequences of affective experiences at work, Research in Organizational Behavior 18: 1–74.Google Scholar
West, MA (1994) Effective teamwork, BPS Books, Leicester England.Google Scholar
Wheelan, SA (1999) Creating effective teams: A guide for members and leaders, Sage, Thousand Oaks CA.Google Scholar
Yang, JX and Mossholder, KW (2004) Decoupling task and relationship conflict: The role of intragroup emotional processing, Journal of Organizational Behavior 25: 589–605.Google Scholar