How are knowledge workers’ private thoughts and feelings influenced by the events of the work day, and are there consequences for performance? What is the role of managerial action, and are managers aware of these effects?

In this talk, I will report some of the key findings in a longitudinal research program on the psychology of everyday work life. The research analyzes a database collected over several years, consisting primarily of nearly 12,000 daily electronic diary reports from 238 professionals working in 26 creative project teams in 7 companies. The diaries provide quantitative and qualitative data on participants’ perceptions, affect, and motivation, as well as the events that they experienced during the work day. We assessed performance on several dimensions, including creativity.

This talk will focus on three questions: How does affect influence creativity at work? Which types of everyday events most strongly influence affect at work? Are managers aware of these influences?