The mediating role of positive affect on the relationship between psychological empowerment and employee outcomes

Purpose: Even though the relationship between psychological empowerment and employee outcomes is well established, less is known about the mechanisms that underlie this relationship. Drawing on affective events theory and broaden-and-build theory, the purpose of this paper is to examine a mediation model in which psychological empowerment influences positive affect which in turn affects job satisfaction and work stress.

Design/methodology/approach: Two-wave longitudinal data from a sample of Welsh local government workers (n=362) were used to test the hypothesized relationships by using structural equation modeling.

Findings: The results indicate that psychological empowerment has a positive influence on positive affect. Furthermore, positive affect mediates the relationship between psychological empowerment and job satisfaction. However, it does not mediate the relationship between psychological empowerment and stress.

Originality/value: This study is among the first to empirically examine the mediating role of positive affect on the relationship between psychological empowerment and both job satisfaction and work stress.