Cognitive reappraisal emotion regulation interventions in the workplace and their impact on job performance: An ecological momentary intervention approach

Abstract

Emotion regulation at work is important; however, effective emotion regulation is difficult, necessitating timely intervention. We developed an ecological momentary emotion regulation intervention that incorporated two cognitive reappraisal strategies. Using a randomized controlled trial design, we assessed the impact of the cognitive reappraisal intervention on employees' workplace affective experiences and, in turn, counterproductive work behaviour (CWB) and overall job performance. Participants in the between-person intervention and control groups (N = 88 and N = 88, respectively) completed two cognitive reappraisal or control activities daily for three workweeks and reported on their daily work outcomes. Results revealed that the cognitive reappraisal intervention significantly mitigated negative affect and enhanced positive affect, which in turn reduced CWB and improved overall job performance, respectively. Furthermore, a follow-up 1 month after the end of the intervention revealed no “fade out” of the intervention effect. Finally, among the two cognitive reappraisal strategies tested, results revealed that reappraising the situation was more effective than reappraising the emotion. Substantively, the study provides valuable evidence linking reappraisal-based emotion regulation interventions to sustained improvements in job performance. Methodologically, the study provides a causal yet in situ demonstration of the effectiveness of workplace ecological momentary interventions.