Positive group affective tone and employee work engagement: A multilevel investigation

We investigated the impact of positive group affective tone on employee work engagement. Participants in the study were 74 research and development groups (324 employees and 74 group leaders) employed by high-technology companies in China. Hierarchical linear modeling results revealed a positive cross-level relationship between positive group affective tone and employee work engagement; this relationship was partially mediated by employee core self-evaluation. In addition, there was a positive relationship between leader psychological capital and positive group affective tone at the group level. We further found that leader psychological capital was a moderator between employee core self-evaluation and their work engagement, such that the positive association was stronger when leader psychological capital was high than when it was low. Implications for organizational and individual change are described, and recommendations for future research directions are discussed.