“Want to hang out after work?”
It’s an everyday offhand gesture. Such invitations to ramp up around the holidays. Whether it’s as casual as an intimate lunch with a co-worker or as formal as a crowded office party, the social pressure this time of year can be overwhelming to some.
Now, new research confirms that simple social invites such as these can trigger a chain reaction that can either boost employee morale or drain it completely.
A new paper in Personnel Psychology reports that workplace social invitations can elicit positive and negative reactions – often at the same time. The only difference, the study’s authors insist, isn’t the initial invite, but how employees respond to it.
The international research team shifts attention away from after-work socializing as a leisure activity and instead focuses on the invitation as a distinct workplace event. The authors argue that being invited can spark competing “resource gain” and “resource loss” spirals. It can either fuel engagement and gratitude for some workers, while stirring up exhaustion, stress, and even withdrawal for others.
The Good,
Social invitations can serve as a powerful signal of inclusion. Employees who receive are normally grateful, seeing it as a gesture of belonging and goodwill.
Across a series of experiments and field studies in Taiwan and the United States, the researchers look at how this sense of gratitude played out in the office. They found that gratitude translated into higher organization-based self-esteem – a sense that one is respected and valued.
Consequently, that boost made employees more likely to engage in organizational citizenship behaviors, such as helping colleagues or exceeding their formal responsibilities.
Put simply, for many workers, a simple invitation kicks off an encouraging feedback loop. Feeling appreciated encourages self-worth, which spurs on greater cooperation and generosity on the job. And these effects cropped up even before any socializing ever took place. Just being invited appeared to be enough to shift behavior.
And the Bad.
But that same invitation can also act as a stressor. Unlike voluntary leisure activities, invitations arrive unannounced and demand a response. In an instant, employees must weigh competing concerns. Do they have the energy? What are the ramifications of refusal? How will it look to others?
The researchers discovered that these moments of snap judgment, spurred on by social pressure and uncertainty, often stirred up a lot of stress. As a result, that stress led to emotional exhaustion and a mental withdrawal from workplace interactions.
It’s worth noting that the paper’s authors observed these consequences regardless of whether employees accepted the invitation. Simply receiving was all it took to tax emotional resources, particularly when workers felt unsure how to respond to begin with.
Who Thrives? Who Struggles?
Interpersonal self-efficacy repeatedly steered how employees responded. Workers more confident in navigating social interactions seemed to be better equipped to handle invitations without stressing out about it. They trusted their ability to respond tactfully, set boundaries, and manage relationships, which served as a buffer against exhaustion and stress.
Employees with lower interpersonal self-efficacy, on the other hand, appeared to be much more vulnerable. Invitations came across as more threatening, felt more like a burden, and ramped up the likelihood of workplace disengagement.
Notably, interpersonal self-efficacy didn’t significantly pave the way toward feelings of gratitude. Instead, it played a more protective role, tamping down stress rather than amplifying the emotional upside.
Rethinking ‘Fun’ at the Office
Taken together, the findings muddy the waters around an enduring belief of organizational psychology: that socializing at work is ultimately a good thing. And while many studies have reinforced the restorative power of after-work socialization, this data show that the social calculus begins earlier. And it can cut both ways.
The authors contend that organizations embrace a more cautious approach to social participation in after-hours activities. What feels like inclusion to one employee might feel more like a dreaded obligation to another. That’s especially true in cultures or teams where declining is frowned upon.
The study also illustrates an often-overlooked truth about the modern workplace (as fluid as it is of late). Emotional labor doesn’t begin and end with one’s formal responsibilities. Even friendly gestures come with hidden costs, particularly for employees already juggling heavy workloads, caregiving responsibilities, or social anxiety.
In an era of hybrid work and heightened concern about employee well-being, the research offers a timely reminder. Social connection matters. But autonomy does, too.
Further Reading
Employee Mental Health is a Global Issue
