Abstract
Among the limited studies that have examined the correlation between emotions and productivity under different organisational events, evidence suggests that the strength of this relationship varies, is often statistically non-significant, and that both positive and negative emotions may converge in the direction of their association with certain productive and unproductive activities. This is an unexpected finding, given that the correlation between emotions and performance typically shows a clear pattern: positive emotions are associated with higher performance and negative emotions with lower performance. This raises questions such as whether conditions determine if productivity relates to both valences, and why positive emotions might sometimes be inversely related to productivity. Grounded in affective events and self-determination theories, the study proposes that productivity improves when organisational events satisfy needs for interaction and foster the development of labour skills and autonomy. Accordingly, informational social support was examined as a trigger for emotional change and for enhancing employee productivity. To assess this, a quasi-experiment with repeated measures was conducted among 299 employees from eight economic sectors. Three experimental conditions were tested through assembly tasks (one unsupported control and two supported), and six emotions were assessed before, during, and after assembling each figure. The results indicated that informational support generated significant changes in emotions, displaying distinct patterns at different moments. Furthermore, it strengthened the correlation between emotions and productivity, even reversing its direction. Finally, the effect of emotions on productivity was enhanced, with joy emerging as the primary driver of increased employee productivity under informational support conditions.