The Direct Effect of Interpersonal Conflict on Creativity and Mediating Role of Challenge-Related Stress and Hindrance Related Stress ()
1. Introduction
Most of the stress comes from the limitation of ability, when you have enough ability to complete the work, naturally there will be no pressure. Therefore, it is essential to make time to learn new skills and consolidate existing ones so you can keep improving. At the same time, when your experience is rich enough to think about problems from different perspectives, then your heart will be strong enough to deal with various pressures calmly. Both reading and traveling can help you expand your horizons and understand the wider world.
It is important to learn how to manage yourself, or how managers manage employees when faced with stressful work, as we will often experience stress at work for decades to come.
Last early decades, researchers have endeavored to comprehend the effect of conflict on organizations; moreover, they try to understand the conflicts impact, specifically on individuals, groups/teams and organization in general.
The traditional conflict views, suggest a simple pathway, which identifies the behavior of peoples, or employees who create conflict. Researchers from this angle suggest, in order improving the employee creativity, we should direct our attention to the causes of conflict. In contracts, the interactionist view of conflict encourages conflict because a harmonious, peaceful, tranquil, and cooperative group is prone to becoming static, apathetic, and un-responsive to needs for change and innovation. Researchers support these views; recognize that, a minimal level of conflict in organization is necessary to achieve employee’s creativity.
How many people actually look forward to a future where conflicts, change, and under-performance in the workforce will be resolved? People managers and HR teams face a variety of interpersonal challenges every day.
From opposing organizational changes to team disagreements, performance management and personnel issues, and even the effects of conflict between just two employees, the workplace can be a minefield full of sensitive topics that require careful navigation.
While we can’t expect managers and team leaders to “enjoy” the tough challenges of managing people, we can build their ability to handle such situations professionally and constructively, protecting and even boosting morale.
Conflict resolution is about acknowledging that everyone is very different in personality and behavioral preferences. Our powerful and objective psychometric assessments give employees a comprehensive and specific understanding of themselves and others, such as preferred communication styles, motivators and concerns. Whether there is conflict or not, the use of psychometric assessments can help to greatly increase self-awareness, empower employees to understand themselves and others, and then modify their behavior accordingly to avoid any negative emotions in the future.
Stress is a dynamic situation. In such situations, individuals face opportunities, constraints, requirements related to their desired goals, and the consequences of this dynamic situation are considered important and uncertain. Stress is an integrated pattern of an individual’s physical, psychological, and behavioral responses to various stimuli. Several major factors related to stress are the stressor, the individual’s perception of the stressor, and the state of stress.
Also known as occupational stress, stress caused by work or factors directly related to work. For example, overloading, changing production positions, time pressure, excessive or changing job responsibilities, machines demanding too much from people, irregular working hours, shift work, working speed determined by machines, working too far, working too hard Poor natural and social environment, etc. Studies have shown that these factors are the most important stressors in the daily life of workers.
Academically, work stress refers to the comprehensive state of psychological and physiological reactions under the influence of the body’s working environment, which represents a response of the body to environmental pressure. The ultimate goal of work stress is to make individuals better adapt to the environment. Work stress refers to the psycho-logical stress caused by work or factors directly related to work. Excessive work stress can lead to fatigue, anxiety, and depression and reduced work ability, and even develop into burnout, etc.
In psychology, stress refers to the body’s response to various social stimuli, including three aspects: physiology, psychology, and behavior. The stress caused by occupational activities is called occupational stress.
Recently, a considerable research on conflicts work place were discussed, in other hand a little studies on the effect interpersonal conflict on creativity has been examined. The purpose of this study is to investigate the direct effect of interpersonal conflict in work on creativity and the mediating role of challenge-related stress and hindrance-related stress. A large percentage of societies, especially the backward ones, are afraid of conflicts because they believe that the consequences are negative. In addition, tensions at work are seen as an important factor that negatively affects the health status of workers, both from the psychological and physical aspect. In order to make the research paper logic and clearer, the study was divided into seven sections, after introducing the study, makes a glimpse of conflict and its relationship to creativity, and given snapshot types of stress and its relation to creativity and conflict, in the third section, dealt with the research framework, methodology and research instruments, after that, we touched the study significance and analyze data using correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis, finally, we discuss the research paper finding and conclude the results of the study.
2. Literature Review
First, in the past, many researchers and writers thought that conflict has only negative and harm impact on the organization, particularly its productivity and performance (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2008). In this regard, according to traditional View (1930-1940), which is one school of thought, conflicts should be avoided as they reflect malefactions within groups. Conflicts are viewed negatively related to destructions and violence. However, with the appearance of the human relations or contemporary View (1940-1970), this perception is changed; According to contemporary view, conflict is a natural occurrence in all groups. The human relations schools accept conflicts believe that conflicts may help performance of groups (Robbins, 2005). Another view was by (Rahim, 1986) who suggested that whether the conflict’s effects are positive or negative, they depend on the strategy utilized to handle them. Based on the above-mentioned views, conflicts negatively affect organizations in respect with wastages of scarce resources and performances. Similarly, conflicts do not positively affect organizations particularly in elevating and developing the innovativeness, the decisions’ quality in the organizations. In addition, when employees come together to resolve these conflicts, this builds spirits of cooperation and teamwork among members in the organizations (Rahim, 1986; Robbins, 2005). Employees and management should work together in order to accomplish positive effects instead of negative ones in spite that conflicts have both of them.
Based on the behavior views, Organizations are divided into three levels (Zennouche et al., 2014), and this is based on the factors that affect the behavior of individuals in organizations. Conflict is one of these factors. The interpersonal conflict arises between individual and individual is one of types of conflict.
The problems of uncertainty, incompatibility and unacceptability could be avoided. Hidden self is a situation in which the person knows about himself but does not know about the other. The potential of interpersonal conflict increases if the other has kept his feelings, attitudes and reactions hidden.
The behavior of individual in organization lead to conflict when the person knows about the other but does not know about himself. Consequently, the person may inadvertently, by his acts and expression of views, cause irritation to the other, moreover interpersonal conflict are the highest if person neither knows about himself or about the other.
It is probably the most recognized and popular conflict which arises between two or more individuals. This is what most people associate as conflict in an organization, and it can happen because of differences that occur between two people (Green, 2012). This conflict may take place between the manager and his bosses, supervisor and worker or between worker and worker,…etc. In addition, it may happen because of the differences over the objectives and goals of organizations (Kinicki & Kreitner 2008). The causes that lead to this conflict are personality differences, perceptions (experiences, education, backgrounds, environment…etc), clashes of values and interests, power and status differences, lack of information, role in compatibility, stress and scare resources (Whetten & Cameron, 2012).
Creativity is often defined as idea generation, or ideation. According to (Amabile et al. 1996), creativity is the production of novel and useful ideas. In another definition, creativity expands to include aspects of implementation, being the creation of a valuable, useful new product, service, idea, procedure or process (Woodman, Sawyer, & Griffin, 1993). Yet some scholars still distinguish the two concepts “creativity and innovation” and argue that creativity is solely ideation, whereas innovation is the process of realizing and applying these ideas (Anderson et al., 2004; Mumford & Gustafson, 1988; Shalley & Gilson, 2004). In this paper, consider innovation as the implementation of a new or significantly improved product, or process, a new marketing method, or a new method in business practices, workplace organization or external relations and creativity as the generation of novel and useful ideas.
Last decade, many researchers argued that challenge-related stress can be seen as favorable, as it usually is not overwhelming and can increase job satisfaction and intention to remain. In contrast, hindrance-related stress can be seen as potentially damaging because it usually is so strong that it is associated with poor performance and increasing turnover (Lepine, Podsakoff, & Lepine 2005). The interpersonal conflicts can cause tension and stress in the workplace, the outcome of that conflict (whether beneficial or detrimental) depends on the type of stress. In this regard, (Cavanaugh et al., 2000) may be among the first to theorize about the two types of work stress: beneficial challenge-related stress and detrimental hindrance-related stress.
Challenge-related stress has been defined as good stress that creates feelings of fulfilment, challenge, or achievement. Even though such stress includes job overload, time pressure, and increased responsibility, research has suggested that such challenging job demands or work circumstances produce positive feelings (Hon & Kim, 2007); we expect that challenge-related stress will generally be associated with positive work outcomes because it motivates people with feelings of challenge and achievement and the challenge stressors trigger positive emotions and an active or problem-solving style of coping behavior (e.g., increasing effort and time) to improve performance. This argument is supported by studies of (Boswell, Olson-Buchanan, & LePine, 2004; Cavanaugh et al., 2000; Podsakoff et al., 2007). Those researchers also addressed hindrance-related stress, which they defined as bad stress that is associated with job demands or work circumstances involving excessive or undesirable constraints that interfere with an individual’s ability to achieve goals (Boswell, Olson-Buchanan, & LePine, 2004; Cavanaugh et al., 2000; Podsakoff et al., 2007). Typical hindrance-related stressors are role ambiguity, role conflict, red tape, and concerns about job security. Based on those studies, we propose that hindrance-related stress will be associated negatively with creativity, because people tend to appraise role ambiguity and role conflict as potentially threatening to their personal growth and goal attainment (Cavanaugh et al., 2000; LePine, Podsakoff, & LePine, 2005). Those perceived threats cause people to withdraw personal effort from job tasks, resulting in poor job performance and low employee’s satisfaction. Several studies support this argument (Watkins, 2003). Given that challenge stress Given that challenge stress has favorable work outcomes, while hindrance stress can lead to poor performance and lower satisfaction, we posit the hypotheses shown in the part below.
3. Study Significance
Interpersonal conflict, challenge-related stress and hindrance-related stress are key factors of organization behavior outcomes. Studies showed that challenge-related stress and hindrance-related Stress has an important role in facilitating creativity. Moreover, the empirical results founded the effect of interpersonal conflict on creativity. However, the past literature a few research studied the mediating role of challenge-related stress and hindrance-related stress between interpersonal conflict and creativity. For that, present study views the role of challenge-related stress and hindrance-Related Stress as mediators of the relationship between interpersonal conflict and creativity. In this case, new knowledge is obtained due to the characteristics of the analysis sample of subjects; the significance of the work may consist in the development of the field, to more understand the connectivity between the variables well.
4. Methodology
4.1. Hypothesis and Framework
The interpersonal conflict and creativity will be the focus of intensive research effort in the future. How well a hindrance related stress and challenge related stress in order to achieve the organization outcomes (creativity) is of paramount concern. Researchers with new view of conflict are becoming increasingly aware that conflict in organization increases employee’s outcomes. From the foregoing, and looking at today’s ‘economic trend, it is evident that the pace of change in our business environment presents fresh challenges daily. The study of work stress has been carried out in the west for decades. Numerous studies have shown that excessive work stress can cause great harm to the physical and mental health of workers, and it can have a negative impact on the organization, such as causing worker dissatisfaction, negativity, high turnover and absenteeism. Moreover, to studying the negative consequences of work stress, the researchers also examined stress management strategies and their effects. Any scientific research needs the guidance of theory. However, the current problem in the field of work stress and conflict research is that most of the research is related research, and the research is still in the state of description. In addition, the lack of experimental research in the field of work stress research hinders managers to achieve their goals. Despite these, no research work has targeted to investigate the effect of interpersonal conflict on creativity, mediating role of hindrance related stress, and challenge related stress. To this effect, this study attempts to investigate how hindrance related stress and challenge related stress to effectively derive creativity. This paper introduces five relationships that have great influence in the study of conflict and work stress, especially in the interactionist view of conflict of conflict
The theoretical framework in this research was adapted from the above literature were interpersonal conflict is independent variables, creativity is dependent variables, challenge-related stress and hindrance-related stress are mediators between them. The study starts with examine the direct effect of interpersonal conflict on creativity (H1), after that the study examine the mediating role of challenge-related stress and hindrance-related stress which will be tested in (H2, H3, H4, H5), the following hypothesis were developed based on the new research framework,
Hypotheses 1: Interpersonal conflict positively associate to creativity;
Hypotheses 2: Interpersonal conflict will be positively related to hindrance-related stress;
Hypotheses 3: Interpersonal conflict will be negatively related to challenge-related stress;
Hypotheses 4: Challenge-related stress will be positively related to creativity;
Hypotheses 5: Hindrance-related stress will be negatively related to creativity.
4.2. Research Instruments
The study used a model shown in Figure 1, through a questionnaire survey for the research variables, with data collected from 205 employees from industrial companies, were 197 valid responses.
4.2.1. Interpersonal Conflict
To measure conflict, we used (Jehn, 1995) four-item scale of interpersonal conflict; (Jehn, 1995) developed the Intragroup Conflict Scale (ICS).
4.2.2. Challenge-Related Stress and Hindrance-Related Stress
We measured employees’ hindrance related stress and challenge related stress using (Cavanaugh et al., 2000) six-item scale of challenge-related stress and five-item scale of hindrance-related stress.
4.2.3. Creativity
We developed a 13-items scale to measure creativity, 3 items in scales adapted by (Scott & Bruce, 1994), and the 10 others items developed by (Zhou & George, 2001), on five points scales ranging from 1, not all characteristics to 5 very characteristics.
4.3. Test Validity and Reliability
To ensure the validity and reliability of the questionnaire used for the study, a number of experts were consulted to look at the questionnaire items in relation to its ability to achieve the stated objectives of the research, level of coverage, comprehensibility, logicality and suitability for prospective respondents. Reliability was determined using a sample of employees from an industrial companies (n = 197), ranged from .79 to .97; as shown in the graph below as follows 1) interpersonal conflict, 2) challenge relates stress, 3) hindrance related stress, 4) creativity.
As shown in Figure 2, for interpersonal conflict and creativity, the Cronbach’s alpha is higher than .90, which are extremely excellent, were the Cronbach’s alpha of challenge relates stress, hindrance related stress, which is a mediating variable between interpersonal conflict and creativity are .77, .79 respectively which are acceptable.
5. Results
5.1. Correlation Analysis
Mean, standard deviation, and correlation between interpersonal conflicts, challenge related stress, hindrance related stress and creativity have been given in table below and demonstrated in Figure 3 and Figure 4.
Interpersonal conflicts was positively related to hindrance-related stress (r = .36, p < .01) but negatively related to challenge-related stress (r = −.18, p < .01). Challenge-related stress was also significantly and positively related to creativity (r = .22, p < .01). Whereas hindrance-related stress was negatively related to creativity (r = −.28, p < .01). All these relationships provided preliminary
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Figure 2. Test reliability results for all variables.
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Figure 4. The standard deviation of all variables.
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Table 1. Descriptive of correlation analysis.
Note. The information’s given in Table 1, was prepared from the author using SPSS As it has seen in Table 1, the mean of interpersonal conflicts = 5.54; for creativity, mean = 7.21; for Hindrance-related stress mean = 6.07 and the mean of Challenge-related stress = 6.90.
support to our hypotheses.
5.2. Hierarchical Regression
Hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) is a powerful and flexible statistical framework for analysing complex nested relationships. HLM is used across a variety of disciplines to examine multilevel effects.
Our study relied on collecting all data related to the studied variables from team members; a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted target of evaluation the distinctness of these four variables. Structural modelling results suggested that the hypothesized model fit the data well (χ2 = 668.80, df = 420, p = .01, CFI = .91, RMSEA = .08). Moreover, all of the factor loadings were significant, indicating convergent validity.
Hierarchical multiple regression was used to examine the role of hindrance related stress, challenge related stress as a mediator of the relationship between interpersonal conflict and creativity. Hierarchical regression is one of the most useful tools for testing interaction effects because it allows a researcher to base variables’ order of entry on their causal priority (Cohen & Cohen, 1983). All interaction variables were mean-centered to reduce multicollinearity (Aiken & West, 1991).
5.3. Testing Hypothesis
We observed a positive relationship between interpersonal conflict and hindrance-related stress (B = .29, p < .01), and a negative relationship between interpersonal conflict and challenge-related stress (B= −.34, p < .01).
We found a positive association relationship between interpersonal conflict and creativity as seen in table 1 (r = .11, p < .01) which confirmed hypotheses 1.
Hypotheses 3 and 4 predicted that challenge-related stress would be positively related to creativity (r = .22, p < .01). In addition, Hypotheses 4 predicted that hindrance-related stress would be negatively related to creativity (r = −.28, p < .01).
Hypotheses 2 and 5 test the relationship between interpersonal conflict and hindrance-related stress. We found a positive relationship between interpersonal conflict and hindrance-related stress (B =.29, p < .01), and a negative relationship between interpersonal conflict and challenge-related stress (B = −.34, p < .01).
Hypotheses 2 and 5 state that interpersonal conflict positively related to creativity under the mediating role of hindrance related stress, while our results supported this view from the positive relationship between interpersonal conflict and hindrance related stress (β = .33, p < .05), and from the positive relationship between hindrance related stress and creativity (β = .40, p < .05).
Hypotheses 3 and 4 state that interpersonal conflict positively affects creativity under challenge related stress, where we can see this positive relationship from (r = .22, p < .01).
6. Discussion
Today world, all organizations constitute stressful workplaces. The understanding element here is that this stress is not always a negative factor. The conflict views focused on the negative effects on work outcomes and this may be the general view of work-related stress. In contrast, our study confirmed the new views of conflict, contributes a new dimension to the literature on conflict and work stress by specifying when conflict is beneficial to creativity and when conflict is not helpful to the creativity and to organization in general.
This paper has both theoretical and methodological contributions to the literature. This study is the first to investigate the effects of interpersonal conflicts on creativity. The findings suggest that interpersonal conflicts have important effects at individual level of organizational behavior. This finding is valuable for two reasons. First, previous findings were inconsistent and further research in real settings was needed to support the positive proposition in favor of this interpersonal conflicts. In line with the few last findings, this research, conducted in real work settings, finds a positive relationship between interpersonal conflict and creativity. Second, investigation of mediating effect of hindrance related stress and challenge related stress. A few studies shared the mediating role hindrance related stress and challenge related stress. The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating role of hindrance related stress and challenge related stress on the relationship between interpersonal conflict and creativity. The results showed a positive impact of interpersonal conflict on creativity. In the first hypothesis, were interpersonal conflict associate with creativity, this hypothesis was substantiated had a significant and positive impact on creativity. The particular finding in this study is the relationship between hindrance related stress and challenge related stress with creativity, moreover of this relationship to creativity, the two types of stress pressure in opposite direction, hindrance-related stress was negatively related to creativity whereas challenge-related stress was positively related to creativity.
This study highlights the existence of a significant positive relationship between interpersonal conflict and creativity. Moreover, hypothesis testing has revealed the mediating effect of hindrance related stress and challenge related stress on the link between interpersonal conflict and creativity. In the literature, few studies have examined hindrance related stress and challenge related stress-mediating path that links interpersonal conflict and creativity.
However, empirical research on how conflict relationships affect the impact of interpersonal conflict on creativity is inconsistent and limited. Results of the current study high-lighted the importance of hindrance related stress and challenge related stress as a mediator factor on the impact of interpersonal conflict on creativity. The findings of this study support the notion that the effect of interpersonal conflict on creativity will differ according to type of stress. This study suggests that hindrance related stress and challenge related stress factor are important mediators of the effect of interpersonal conflict and creativity. Thus, from a learning point of view, the results of this study not support the assertion of conflict and stress scholars that conflict usually negative in organization and negatively affect employee’s outcomes approaches emphasizing creativity might be effective in enhancing employee’s relationships in the workplace taking in consideration the impact of hindrance related stress and challenge related stress .
On an academic level, this study contributes to the literature by conducting empirical re-search into the connection between interpersonal conflict and both creativity and the two type of stress. Based on previous research in this field, this study investigates how interpersonal conflict can enhance creativity through a direct link, and second by, the mediating effect hindrance related stress and challenge related stress between them.
Furthermore, an important aspect of this study is that it represents a significant leaving from previous work that has linked with theoretical arguments and practical evidence; it proposes a theoretical framework for an empirical investigation. In addition, few prior research studies conflict and creativity relationship, but this study has confirmed that creativity can be encouraged through interpersonal conflict. The relationship between interpersonal conflict and creativity can be made more positive and significant through employee support for creativity, hindrance related stress, and challenge related stress. In this study hindrance, related stress and challenge related stress play role of a facilitators. Moreover, larger hindrance related stress and challenge related stress can accommodate any consequences of the steps taken by the interpersonal conflict to foster creativity, this aspect demonstrate that organizations must take measures to enhance creativity within the hindrance related stress and challenge related stress. Larger organizations have enough resources, which help leaders to exhibit charisma, managing conflict that encourages employee’s creativity.
6.1. Implication for Manager
1) Our findings contribute managerial insights for each company, by identifying the types of work stress, and pointing out the need to focus on creativity.
2) Our results suggested that both challenge related stress and hindrance related stress mediate the relationship interpersonal conflict and creativity.
3) Thus, it is suggested that managers need to play a dual role in providing direct leadership to their followers and in creating an organizational environment in managing conflict in organization.
4) Our findings suggest each type of stress has different impact in fostering creativity. Managers may need to employ different perspectives of leadership that adapt to the organizational creativity.
5) In addition, our finding indicates that manager’s within high efficacy in managing his employee’s gets better organization outcomes.
6) Our study has implications for the management of creativity; the human resources department for each company should look for interpersonal conflict, which has an important role in fostering creativity as new view of conflict.
7) Manager’s should encourage and manage interpersonal conflict in organization to create opportunities and use organization employee’s individual initiative.
6.2. Direction for Future Research
This study focuses on the mediating role of hindrance related stress and challenge related stress between interpersonal conflict and creativity, moreover the study examines the impact of interpersonal conflict on creativity. Future research might examine the processes that mediating role hindrance related stress and challenge related stress between interpersonal conflict and employee’s creativity to achieve organizational innovation. Moreover, the study of mediating role of hindrance related stress and challenge related stress between the other types of conflict such as individual conflict, emotional conflict, organizational conflict,…etc. on creativity. In addition, Future research should examine whether the mediating and moderating influences of individual or group factors of organizational behavior that influence innovation and creativity. The model of conflict, stress and creativity that this study develops and uses might be useful for studies in industries, which encourage creativity. Studies in different countries can also use this measure.
6.3. Limitation
Like any study, this one is not without limitations. First, although the use of structural equation modelling permitted a simultaneous test of the entire system of variables in the hypothesized model, the explanation of results should still be made with caution.
Second, data on many of the major constructs were collected with self-reports from employees, raising the possibility of same-source bias. Since these constructs (interpersonal conflict, hindrance related stress, challenge related stress, creativity) address individuals’ internal states, we would argue that it is logical to collect the data from participants themselves. A mitigating factor is that the rating of creativity was collected from employees.
Third, all data were collected within more 45 organizations (industries companies), which limits the observed variability and decreases external validity. Of course, conducting this study in a little number of organizations did provide the advantage of controlling for potential organization-level confounding variables. Future research in more organizational settings may increase the generalizability of the findings to other types of employees and organizations.
Finally, the model was tested in Chinese organizations. Although previous studies have shown consistent results for the organizational factors effect employees performance, to our knowledge there have been no prior empirical studies connection of the application of interpersonal conflict, hindrance related stress, challenge related stress and creativity in African countries. Thus, this study provides initial support that interpersonal conflict, hindrance related stress, and challenge related stress and creativity theories could be applied to other cultural contexts. Future work in other cultures can help verify the generalizability of our findings.
7. Conclusion
The important pathway for managers regulates and changes their approach to conflict. The study results go to oppose the current thinking and view of employees work stress that argued that is bad for employee’s performance and creativity. In this paper, use multidimensional construct of stress, that can be classified into two types, challenge-related stress and hindrance-related stress, which can regroup in work stress. To manage stress, any organizations should distinguish between the types of conflicts and stress to achieve logical results. The main objective of this study is the addition of empirical investigation by linking interpersonal conflict, challenge-related stress and hindrance-related stress and creativity as outcomes of the study.
Moreover, specifically, our findings indicated that challenge-related stress and hindrance-related stress are both related to creativity, in details of this, the types of stress push in opposite directions. Challenge-related stress was positively related to creativity, whereas hindrance-related stress was negatively related to creativity.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the referees for giving some valuable instructions to improve this paper. Specially thanks to our beloved colleagues for helping us to write this paper.