How power at work follows you at home – for better and worse

New University of Florida research reveals how feeling powerful at work both helps and harms your ability to disconnect after hours.

New research reveals that feeling powerful at work creates both benefits and challenges that can impact your ability to relax at home. The study, authored by researchers at the University of Florida and Florida State University, offers important insights for employees with influence and their managers.

The researchers conducted two studies examining how psychological power – the perception that one has influence and control over others – affects employees both at work and after hours. Their findings reveal a surprising dynamic: power triggers competitive feelings that lead to two opposing outcomes simultaneously.

“Power isn’t simply good or bad for the powerholder,” explained Daniel Kim (Ph.D. ’25), University of Florida researcher. “The same competitive mindset that helps you achieve goals can also lead to maladaptive social behaviors that come back to haunt you at night.”

The research shows that when employees feel powerful at work (by being reminded of the influence they have over important decisions or resources at work), they competitively make more progress on their work goals, which helps them disconnect in the evening at home.

At the same time, however, these powerful employees become bottom-line oriented, where they aggressively prioritize work results over maintaining collegial relationships with their colleagues. Interestingly, pursuing the bottom-line at the expense of collegial relationships keeps them ruminating about such acts in the evening at home.

By recognizing the double-edge nature of power at work, employees and managers can create strategies to harness its benefits while avoiding its pitfalls – leading to greater success at work and better recovery at home. The researchers offer these practical insights for employees with power and their managers.

For employees with power:

• Be aware that power-induced behaviors at work affect your ability to disconnect at home, which is paramount for your wellbeing and your relationships with loved ones.
• When you are in a position of power and influence at work, feel free to work hard but do not neglect or underestimate the importance of maintaining collegial relationships with others. Not only do these relationships help you be more successful at work in the long run, but when they go sour, they keep you ruminating instead of relaxing at home.
• Develop self-monitoring skills, where you adjust your behavior to the demands of the situation. In this way, you can capitalize on the benefits of power (competitively pursing work goals) while working on reducing its negative effects (competitively prioritizing the bottom line at the expense of your colleagues).

For organizations and managers:

• Recognize that employees at all levels in the organization – despite their job titles – may experience feelings of power that fluctuate from day to day, which is both a good and bad thing.
• To maximize the good that comes with power, provide opportunities for employees to manage such feelings by increasing their access to trusted mentors and leadership development programs.
• To curb the bad that comes with power, foster a culture that encourages healthy competition while emphasizing respectful interactions among coworkers.

This research is in press at Personnel Psychology.