Failure to attain important work-related goals is a frequent source of negative emotion for employees, and research has identified supportive management as central in shaping work-related outcomes following failure. However, there is limited research examining the specific behaviors that managers can use to respond to employees' negative affect. Drawing on the theory of interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) et al., 2009, we examine how specific IER strategies employed by managers influence employees' goal adjustment and turnover intentions. Across two experimental vignette studies (N = 1148), we test a mediation model in which employees' negative affect and trust in the manager act as parallel mechanisms linking IER strategies to behavioral intentions. In Study 2, we additionally investigate whether regulatory focus moderates these indirect effects. We conceptualize regulatory focus as a proximal self-regulatory frame that shapes how individuals interpret and respond to goal failure. Our findings show that trust, more than affect, serves as the key mediator linking IER strategies to behavioral intentions. Regulatory focus did not moderate these paths. This study advances understanding of the relational dynamics underlying specific IER strategies and highlights the central role of trust in managing employee responses to goal failure.