The reciprocal relationship between emotions and agency in the workplace

Päivi Kristiina Hökkä; Katja Vähäsantanen; Susanna Paloniemi; Anneli Eteläpelto

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_9

The reciprocal relationship between emotions and agency in the workplace

Päivi Kristiina Hökkä^*
, Katja Vähäsantanen
, Susanna Paloniemi
, Anneli Eteläpelto

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Scientific › peer-review

33 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In conjunction with a growing interest in professional agency, there is a need to understand how emotions are embedded in agentic practice. This chapter examines the emotions bound up with work and how these emotions are related to professional agency. The subjects of our study were leaders (middle management) and employees working in Finnish education and health-care organisations. A qualitative meta-synthesis was conducted to describe the relationship between professional agency and emotions. The study revealed a variety of emotions, including fear and enjoyment, related to professional identity, work, and social relationships. Among both employees and leaders, emotions were found to play an important role in the enactment of agency. Negative emotions seemed to trigger the enactment of professional agency regarding one’s professional career and work practices, while positive emotions activated agency in terms of renegotiating professional identities. On a reciprocal basis, the enactment of agency seemed to foster positive emotions. Weak agency, for its part, seems to arouse negative emotions. The study suggests that the relationships between professional learning, agency, and emotions seem likely to provide avenues for research in the future.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Agency at Work
Subtitle of host publication	An Agentic Perspective on Professional Learning and Development
Editors	Michael Goller, Susanna Paloniemi
Publisher	Springer
Pages	161-181
Number of pages	21
ISBN (Electronic)	978-3-319-60943-0
ISBN (Print)	978-3-319-60942-3, 978-3-319-86964-3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_9
Publication status	Published - 2017
Externally published	Yes
Publication type	A3 Book chapter

Publication series

Name	Professional and Practice-based Learning
Volume	20
ISSN (Print)	2210-5549
ISSN (Electronic)	2210-5557

Funding

Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Academy of Finland under grant number 288925 [The Role of Emotions in Agentic Learning at Work]. We are thankful for the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive insights and comments. We also want to thank Donald Adamson for polishing the manuscript.

Keywords

Collective agency
Emotions
Meta-synthesis
Professional agency
Professional identity
Subject-centred sociocultural approach

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Business and International Management
Education

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_9

Cite this

Hökkä, P. K., Vähäsantanen, K., Paloniemi, S., & Eteläpelto, A. (2017). The reciprocal relationship between emotions and agency in the workplace. In M. Goller, & S. Paloniemi (Eds.), Agency at Work: An Agentic Perspective on Professional Learning and Development (pp. 161-181). (Professional and Practice-based Learning; Vol. 20). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_9

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note = "Funding Information: Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Academy of Finland under grant number 288925 [The Role of Emotions in Agentic Learning at Work]. We are thankful for the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive insights and comments. We also want to thank Donald Adamson for polishing the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} Springer International Publishing AG 2017.",

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Hökkä, PK, Vähäsantanen, K, Paloniemi, S & Eteläpelto, A 2017, The reciprocal relationship between emotions and agency in the workplace. in M Goller & S Paloniemi (eds), Agency at Work: An Agentic Perspective on Professional Learning and Development. Professional and Practice-based Learning, vol. 20, Springer, pp. 161-181. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60943-0_9

The reciprocal relationship between emotions and agency in the workplace. / Hökkä, Päivi Kristiina; Vähäsantanen, Katja; Paloniemi, Susanna et al.
Agency at Work: An Agentic Perspective on Professional Learning and Development. ed. / Michael Goller; Susanna Paloniemi. Springer, 2017. p. 161-181 (Professional and Practice-based Learning; Vol. 20).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Scientific › peer-review

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N1 - Funding Information: Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Academy of Finland under grant number 288925 [The Role of Emotions in Agentic Learning at Work]. We are thankful for the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive insights and comments. We also want to thank Donald Adamson for polishing the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © Springer International Publishing AG 2017.

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AB - In conjunction with a growing interest in professional agency, there is a need to understand how emotions are embedded in agentic practice. This chapter examines the emotions bound up with work and how these emotions are related to professional agency. The subjects of our study were leaders (middle management) and employees working in Finnish education and health-care organisations. A qualitative meta-synthesis was conducted to describe the relationship between professional agency and emotions. The study revealed a variety of emotions, including fear and enjoyment, related to professional identity, work, and social relationships. Among both employees and leaders, emotions were found to play an important role in the enactment of agency. Negative emotions seemed to trigger the enactment of professional agency regarding one’s professional career and work practices, while positive emotions activated agency in terms of renegotiating professional identities. On a reciprocal basis, the enactment of agency seemed to foster positive emotions. Weak agency, for its part, seems to arouse negative emotions. The study suggests that the relationships between professional learning, agency, and emotions seem likely to provide avenues for research in the future.

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SN - 978-3-319-86964-3

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A2 - Paloniemi, Susanna

PB - Springer

ER -

The reciprocal relationship between emotions and agency in the workplace

Abstract

Publication series

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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Cite this