Feeling Good Makes Us Stronger: How Team Resilience Mediates the Effect of Positive Emotions on Team Performance
This study investigated the relationship between collective positive emotions at work and team resilience, expanding on the Broaden and Build theory of Fredrickson (Rev Gen Psychol 2:300 319, 1998; Am Psychol 56:218 226, 2001) at the collective (i.e. work teams) level of analysis. Through the aggregate scores of 1,076 employees (61 men) grouped into 216 teams and belonging to 40 companies, five collective positive emotions were evaluated (i.e. enthusiasm, optimism, satisfaction, comfort, and relaxation) as well as team resilience. Additionally, ratings of the 216 supervisors of the teams were used to assess team performance (i.e. in and extra role performance) Structural equation modeling at the team level of analysis indicated that team resilience mediates the relationship between collective positive emotions and team performance, both in and extra role. The results highlight the importance of developing collective positive emotions to help teams to foster team resilience and improve their performance. The article concludes with practical strategies aimed at developing collective positive emotions, together with limitations and suggestions for future research.