Positive Social Interactions and the Human Body at Work: Linking Organizations and Physiology

Abstract

Human physiological systems are highly responsive to positive social interactions, but the organizational importance of this finding has been largely unexplored. After reviewing the extant research, we illustrate how consideration of the physiological effects of positive social interactions at work opens new research questions about (a) how positive social interactions affect human capacity (e.g., work recovery, engagement) and (b) how organizational contexts (e.g., practices, culture and leadership) affect employee health and physiological resourcefulness. Finally, we address the practical implications of integrating physiological data into organizational research. Overall, our paper invites a fuller consideration of how employees' bodies are affected by everyday work interactions, and in so doing, encourages a stronger tie between human physiology and organizational research.

Keywords: Relationship, Physiology, Body, High Quality Connections, Resourcefulness, Health

JEL Classification: M59