Communicating without words. The relationship between supervisors’ nonverbal communication and employees’ emotional well-being

Abstract

Employees’ well-being can influence companies’ perfomance and therefore it is important for managers to do what they can so their employees are feeling well at work. Supervisors can increase the likelihood of their employees well-being by putting an emphasis on engaging in good communication with them. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between how employees perceive their supervisors’ nonverbal communication and the emotional well-being of employees. The focus was on three types of emotional well-being when it comes to employees well-being at work; emotional support, emotional work, and emotional valence. Through an online convenience sample answers were collected from 802 individuals in the labor market. The results show a positive relationship between how employees perceive their supervisors’ nonverbal communication and percieved emotional support which involves supervisors being accessible and listen to their employees. Furthermore, if supervisors’ nonverbal communication is perceived positive it diminishes employees emotional work, but emotional work can be disadvantageous and have negative effect on employees. Additionally, the results show that employees emotional valence is higer if they perceive their supervisors’ nonverbal communication as positive, but previous studies have shown that emotional valence has a positive effect on job satisfaction and positivly effects behaviour within the workplace. According to the findings, it is first and foremost nonverbal communication related to bodily and facial expression that explains employees emotional well-being. Emphasis should therefore be put on keeping eye contact and on showing positive facial expression like smiling when communicating with employees. Likewise, supervisors should pay attention to their body position and try to be relaxed but spirited, for example by using their hands and arms to gesture while talking to others. The study offers an empirical contribution to strenghten the theoretical foundation regarding communication in the workplace and offers an insight into a field of mangement that has not been empirically studied to much extend.