Satisfied in the Outgroup: How Co-Worker Relational Energy Compensates for Low-Quality Relationships with Managers

ABSTRACT Past research suggests that employees who establish a high-quality Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) relationship with their supervisor are more likely to feel energized and are also more satisfied at work. We propose that relational energy—that is, the heightened level of psychological resourcefulness generated from interpersonal interactions that enhances one’s capacity to do work—is a mediating link between LMX and employee job satisfaction. Furthermore, we examine whether employees with low-LMX relationships (those in the out-group) who receive lower levels of relational energy from their supervisor compared to high-LMX employees, can still be satisfied at work depending on their embeddedness in a larger network of energizing relationships with co-workers. In other words, we empirically test a second-stage moderated-mediation model examining relational energy as a mediator between LMX and job satisfaction and relational energy from co-workers as a boundary condition. Results using a sample of 185 employees support our prediction and hence highlight the valuable source of relational energy that co-workers represent. Finally, we suggest practical actions individuals and managers can take to improve their own relational energy and the energy in their workplace.