In modern organizations, a leader’s emotional expression is no longer a private matter but a 'public good' that shapes the affective environment and collective resources—time, energy, and psychological stability. While frequent interactions in com...
In modern organizations, a leader’s emotional expression is no longer a private matter but a 'public good' that shapes the affective environment and collective resources—time, energy, and psychological stability. While frequent interactions in complex business environments expose both leaders and followers to constant emotional exchanges, the impact of these interactions often remains profoundly asymmetric. This research addresses the stark 'perception gap' observed in organizational life: while followers may experience a leader's anger as a critical blow to their emotional well-being, leaders may perceive the same event as 'unavoidable feedback' or even a 'cathartic release' of psychological tension.
Moving beyond the traditional dichotomy that views leader anger either as a purely destructive stressor or a functional tool for authority, this study investigates the ambivalence of leader anger expression from a resource perspective. Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory and Ego Depletion theory, it is proposed that leader anger triggers asymmetric resource flows—facilitating resource recovery for the leader while inducing emotional exhaustion for the follower. This mechanism was hypothesized to differentially impact leader effectiveness, job engagement, and task performance. Furthermore, perspective-taking was explored as a boundary condition that potentially alters these resource dynamics.
To test these hypotheses, a three-wave (Time 1–Time 2–Time 3) multi-source longitudinal study was conducted with 112 leaders and 142 followers from private and public organizations in South Korea. The findings provide empirical evidence for the asymmetric internal experiences between actors and recipients, highlighting the often-ignored resource recovery of leaders. Ultimately, this study suggests that 'calculating' emotions is a sophisticated effort to respect mutual resources, providing a new theoretical framework for sustainable emotional management within the leader-follower dyad.