The impact of interpersonal conflict on employee burnout and task performance, and the role of conflict management styles

Abstract

Research has shown that interpersonal conflict is inevitable and has far-reaching consequences for a multitude of outcomes. At the workplace, interpersonal conflict can be distinguished into task, process, and relational conflict, which have been linked to a variety of outcome variables, including burnout and task performance. The question is no longer if conflicts can be prevented, but rather how conflicts can be managed effectively to prevent their hazardous consequences. Conflict management styles could potentially be the key but have thus far been neglected as a research topic. Therefore, this study investigated the extent to which interpersonal conflicts at work influence burnout and task performance, and what the effect of conflict management styles is. Results were obtained from 114 employees in the Netherlands who completed an online questionnaire. The data was analysed by performing a multiple linear regression analysis. The results suggested that there is a significant association between relational conflict and burnout and between interpersonal conflict and burnout. No evidence was found for the association between any of the types of interpersonal conflict and task performance. The strength or direction of these associations did not change after the addition of conflict management styles as a moderator. However, a direct effect was found between the passive and active conflict management style and burnout. These results confirm that interpersonal conflict is indeed a strong predictor of burnout and that the way individuals handle conflicts might be more important than the type of conflicts they experience. However, more extensive research is needed to establish a deeper understanding of the exact role of conflict management styles.