Thriving from Challenges Stress: The Interactive Effect of Role Conflict, Time Pressure, and Negative Affect on Chinese Employees’ Work Engagement

Abstract

The present study examines role clarity as a hindrance stressor that influences how employees stay engaged in their work roles. The proposition is that two occupational stressors interact to impact work engagement via negative affect. Cross-sectional data were collected from working professionals pursuing an Executive MBA at a larger university in China to test the proposed model. Results from our field study (N = 237) revealed role conflict and time pressure as predictors of employees’ negative affect. Also, results reveal that time pressure moderated the association between role conflict and employees’ negative affect. These findings imply that two divergent occupational stressors can influence employee work-related outcomes. We concluded by discussing theoretical and practical implications.