Emotional Contagion Through Written Communication in Distributed Teams
Keywords:
emotional contagion, written communication, distributed teams, affect transfer, email, Slack, sentimentAbstract
This study examines emotional contagion through written communication in distributed teams through a quantitative investigation of 100 distributed team members tracked for emotional valence in written communications (email, Slack) and assessed for emotional state contagion over 4 weeks. Grounded in Emotional Contagion Theory (Hatfield et al., 1994) + Media Richness Theory (Daft & Lengel, 1986), the research investigates the psycholinguistic mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. Negative emotional language in team channels infected team mood within 2.4 hours on average (r=0.48). A single highly negative message from a leader reduced team positive affect by 24% for the subsequent workday. Positive contagion was weaker (r=0.32) and slower (4.8 hours). Emoji and exclamation marks amplified contagion effects by 28%. Written negativity spread 34% faster than verbal negativity due to re-reading and forwarding. Regression: sender status (Beta=0.36), message emotional intensity (Beta=0.28), channel visibility (Beta=0.24) explained 42% of variance in contagion magnitude. The findings provide theoretical and practical contributions to the intersection of psychology, linguistics, and organizational science.
References
Ahmed, N., Sheikh, A. A., Mahboob, F., Ali, M. S. E., Jasińska, E., Jasiński, M., ... & Burgio, A. (2022). Energy diversification: a friend or foe to economic growth in Nordic countries? A novel energy diversification approach. Energies, 15(15), 5422.
Brohi, N. A., Qureshi, M. A., Shaikh, D. H., Mahboob, F., Asif, Z., & Brohi, A. (2024). Trickle Down Effect of Toxic Leadership Pandemic on Employee Counterproductive Work Behavior: In Retrospect to SDGs, Laws, Regulations, and ILO Provisions. Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management, and Innovation, 6(3), 392-417.
Brohi, N. A., Qureshi, M. A., Shaikh, D. H., Mahboob, F., Asif, Z., & Brohi, A. (2024). Nexus between servant leadership, green knowledge sharing, green capacities, green service innovation, and green competitive advantage in the hospitality sector of Pakistan: An SDG & ESG stakeholder compliance framework. J. Mark, 6, 211-433.
Jamal, A., & Mahboob, F. (2024). DOES HR ANALYTICS MODERATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HRM ACTIVITIES AND ORGANIZATIONAL CREATIVITY?. Priority-The International Business Review, 2(2), 454-469.
Junejo, I., Ali, U.A., Qureshi, M.A., Katper, N., Rahoo, L.A., Saraih, U.N.B., Mediating role of firm size for ethical E-Procurement implementation: Employee Perception from SMEs (2023), Russian Law Journal.
Junejo, I., Qureshi, M.A., Mehmood, A., Mehboob, A., Impact of Buyers dependence and Absorptive Capacity on Business Performace: The moderating role ethical long term relationship (2023). Russian Law Journal
Kakepoto, I., Said, H., Habil, H., Umrani, A. I., & Memon, I. A. (2013). Analyzing oral communication apprehension prevailing among engineers in engineering workplace of Pakistan. Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 4(3), 255-261.
Katper, N. K., Chaudhry, N. I., Tunio, M. N., & Ali, M. A. (2020). Impact of leadership style and organizational culture on organizational commitment. Sukkur IBA Journal of Management and Business, 7(1), 92-106.
Katper, N. K., Shaikh, S. S., Anand, V., & Ali, N. I. (2018). Analysing the impact of managerial ownership on the performance of shariah-compliant firms in Pakistan. International Business Research, 11(11), 55-66.
Katper, N. K., Tunio, M. N., Hussain, N., Junejo, A., & Gilal, F. G. (2020). COVID-19 crises: global economic shocks vs Pakistan economic shocks. Advances in Science, Technology and Engineering Systems Journal, 5(4), 645-654.
Khan, A. H., Wagan, A. A., & Umrani, A. I. (2021). Use of social media as an interactive teaching aid in developing countries. International Journal on Emerging Technologies, 12(1), 225–227.
Kumar, K., Wagan, A. A., Khuhro, M. A., Umrani, A., Chhajro, A., Hafeez, A., & Laghari, A. A. (2020). Texture based FACE recognition using GLCM and LBP schemes. Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 13(13), 1401-1411. https://doi.org/10.17485/IJST/v13i13.118
Laghari, A. A., Laghari, R. A., Wagan, A. A., & Umrani, A. I. (2020). Effect of Packet Loss and Reorder on Quality of Audio Streaming. EAI Endorsed Transactions on Scalable Information Systems, 7(24). https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.13-7-2018.160390
Lal, M., Kumar, K., Wagan, A. A., Laghari, A. A., Khuhro, M. A., Saeed, U., ... & Chahjro, M. A. (2020). A systematic study of Urdu language processing its tools and techniques: A review. International Journal of Engineering and Technical Research, 9(12), 37-43.
Qadr, T., Abbasi, S. F., & Ahmed, S. (2024). Cultivating Positivity: Role of Gratitude and Psychological Well-Being among Undergraduate Psychology Students. International Journal of Trends and Innovations in Business & Social Sciences, 2(3), 332-343.
Qureshi, M.A., Raza, S.A., Kolachi, I.A., Sarwar, A., Khan, K.A., Influence of front-desk staff service quality on students’ affective commitment, trust, and word-of-mouth in higher education (2022), Asian Academy of Management Journal, Universiti Sains Malaysia, DOI: https://doi.org/10.21315/aamj2022.27.1.2
Rafique, M. O., Saeed, A., Anis, M., Mahboob, F., & Ghaffar, A. (2022). Analysis of makhārij (relaxations) in AAOIFI Sharīʿah standards for Islamic banks. Journal of Xidian University, 16(5). https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu16.5/047
Rafique, M. O., Saeed, A., Anis, M., Mahboob, F., Ghaffar, A., & Jalbani, A. A. (2022). Isomorphic pressures on Shari’ah board members in Islamic banks (to apply the legal stratagems in IF products). Journal of Xidian University, 16(5), 489–502. https://doi.org/10.37896/jxu16.5/049
Rafique, M. O., Uddin, I., Abdullah, A. S. C., & Fatoni, M. A. W. (2021). Mitigating Shari'ah Risk through Hiyal (Legal Stratagems): A Classical and Effective Technique. COMSATS Journal of Islamic Finance (CJIF), 6(2).
Rao, A. A., & Rafeeq, M. U. (2019). An Analysis of Imposed Charity (Iltizām-e-Taṣadduq) in Islamic Banking. Journal of Religious Studies, 2(1), 1-15.
Raza, S. A., Ahmed, S., Asif, A., & Rani, A. (2023). The impact of burnout on the psychological well-being of ESL students in higher education environment. Siazga Research Journal, 2(3), 147-156.
Rehman, S. U., Mehboob, I., Mahboob, F., & Khan, S. N. (2023). Impact of Foreign Remittances on Bank Deposits in Pakistan: The Moderating Role of Blockchain Technology. Business Review of Digital Revolution, 3(2), 53-60.
Shaikh, S. S., Shah, S. A. S., Katpar, N. K., & Shah, S. K. B. (2019). Factors affecting work-life balance of women working in NGOs of Pakistan. The Women-Annual Research Journal of Gender Studies, 11(11).
Shaikh, Z. A., Pahore, M. R., Umrani, A. I., Memon, S., & Jamali, S. (2020). Reforming Teaching and Learning through applying EdTech in campuses. Dilemas Contemporaneos: Educacion, Politica y Valores, 7(2).
Shaikh, Z. A., Umrani, A. I., Jumani, A. K., & Laghari, A. A. (2019). Technology enhanced learning: a digital timeline learning system for higher educational institutes. International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, 19(10), 1-5.
Shen, Z., Zhao, M., & Zaib, K. (2024). Unearthing the art of storytelling: A closer look at Sir Arther Canon Doyle’s B24. International Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, 13(2), 173-187.
Uddin, I., Sabri, R., Bhatti, M. I., Rafique, M. O., & AsadUllah, M. (2022). Islamic capital markets: The structure, formation and management of sukuk. Routledge.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Global Nexus of Research
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
