Emotional Contagion at Work and Job Burnout.

Laura Petitta and Fiorenza Di Cave open the symposium by outlining a study on the role of emotional contagion, including emotions absorbed by as well as issued towards others, as a predictor of job burnout. In two studies, conducted in the context of the Italian hospital system, 371 employees completed measures of contagion, burnout, and cynicism. Results were that, from the perspective of both receiver and the sender, positive and negative emotions were more frequently experienced respectively with colleagues, patients, and leaders under conditions conduce to contagion. In effect, positive emotions appear to serve to decrease cynicism and burnout, while negative emotions, and in particular anger serve as “toxins” and contribute to employees’ feelings of depletion and job withdrawal. The authors conclude in a discussion of the research implications of their findings, and implications for practice.