Luck plays a significant role in our everyday lives and within the workplace. Individuals perceive, interpret, and are influenced by luck perceptions. Yet, research on how these perceptions of luck in the workplace are formed and how they influence work experience is scarce. This oversight is problematic given that, although luck reflects random chance, it is embedded in employees’ sensemaking process and can have substantial implications for critical work outcomes. Therefore, we must more fully develop our understanding of the phenomenon of luck in the workplace. We begin the process of developing the nomological network of workplace luck perceptions by examining both the antecedent (goal progress) and outcomes (work performance and well-being). Based on 669 daily reports from 134 taxi drivers, our findings indicate that goal progress is positively related to the perception of good luck and such a positive relationship is stronger for people with a stronger belief in luck. Goal progress is negatively related to the perception of bad luck regardless of the strength of one’s belief in luck. Furthermore, perceptions of good luck are positively related to daily work performance and end-of-day well-being, but only for people with a stronger belief in luck. Interestingly, perceptions of bad luck are not related to daily work performance. However, the negative impact of bad luck perceptions on end-of-day well-being is mitigated by a higher belief in luck. Our study thus provides important theoretical and empirical insights into workplace luck perceptions.
