Cultivating a conflict-positive workplace: How mindfulness facilitates constructive conflict management

Adam A. Kay and Daniel P. Skarlicki

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2020, vol. 159, issue C, 8-20

Abstract: What can organizations do to cultivate a more conflict-positive workplace? A promising line of inquiry can be found in mindfulness. This paper examines the effect of mindfulness on the constructive management of workplace conflict - conceptualized as high collaboration and low avoidance - and tests the mediating role of cognitive reappraisal. Results reveal that mindfulness facilitates constructive conflict management by increasing collaboration and reducing avoidance, showing that the advantages of mindfulness in conflict management stem from more than its benefits for affect. Results further reveal that while cognitive reappraisal explains how mindfulness increases collaboration, it does not clarify why mindfulness reduces conflict avoidance. Ultimately, this paper shows that mindfulness can be an effective tool for promoting constructive conflict management in the workplace.

Keywords: Mindfulness; Intervention; Conflict management; Collaboration; Avoidance; Cognitive reappraisal; Metacognition; Emotion regulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:159:y:2020:i:c:p:8-20

DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2020.02.005

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