Examining the inverted U-shaped relationship between workload and innovative work behavior: The role of work engagement and mindfulness

Abstract

Is workload good or bad for employee innovation? Workload and innovative work behavior are widely studied research topics. However, the relationship between them is not well understood. As a result, there is a lack of evidence-based knowledge that could inform managers and organizations on how to boost workplace innovation in demanding work contexts. Building on the job demands–resources model, the present study posits that workload relates to innovative behavior through work engagement. Specifically, we argue that this indirect relationship exhibits an inverted U-shaped pattern in which workload is most likely to benefit innovative behavior when it is moderate. We further identify mindfulness as an important moderator that influences individuals’ ability to manage stress. In support of these predictions, three studies – a two-wave time-lagged study of 160 employees from various Canadian firms, a three-wave time-lagged study of 153 employees from US firms, and a two-wave panel study of 208 employees from US firms – found work engagement mediated the inverted U-shaped relationship between workload and innovative behavior. Moreover, when mindfulness was high, intermediate levels of workload were associated with increased innovative behavior through enhanced work engagement (Studies 1 and 2). We discuss the implications of these findings for theory and practice.

Linking Leader Humor to Employee Innovative Behavior: The Roles of Work Engagement and Supervisor’s Organizational Embodiment

“…On the other hand, supervisor’s organizational embodiment was introduced only as one of many boundary conditions in the relationship between leader humor and work engagement. However, many previous studies have indicated that other variables, such as mindfulness ( Montani et al, 2020 ), personal need for structure ( Pundt and Venz, 2017 ), work meaning ( Cai et al, 2018 ), and work autonomy ( Li et al, 2019 ), could moderate the relationship between leader humor and employees’ actions. Hence, future researches could go further by incorporating other moderating variables to examine the boundary conditions of the relationship between leader humor and employee work engagement.…”

“…In a word, if employees dare to face various problems at work and devote themselves to searching for solutions, their creativity will be fully stimulated ( Pieterse et al, 2010 ). The focus and persistence in this process will bring out more ideas and breakthroughs ( Montani et al, 2020 ), while constantly motivating individuals to practice, thus exhibiting a high level of innovative behavior. That is to say, employees with high work engagement can fully mobilize the resources around them to meet the challenge encountered in their jobs with enthusiasm.…”

Analysis of the Influence of Entrepreneur’s Psychological Capital on Employee’s Innovation Behavior Under Leader-Member Exchange Relationship

“…As a special intangible resource, it has become one of the highlights among many factors affecting the occurrence of enterprises. It is a core psychological element beyond human capital and social capital and can promote personal growth and performance improvement (Chen, 2020;Montani et al, 2020). Therefore, in actual business operation, it is very important to pay attention to the development of psychological capital of leaders and employees.…”

The Impact of Teammates’ Online Reputations on Physicians’ Online Appointment Numbers: A Social Interdependency Perspective

“…In most empirical identification of U-shaped relationships, researchers will include a nonlinear (usually quadratic) term in a standard linear regression model [ 36 , 37 , 38 ]. If this term is significant, and the estimated extreme point is within the data range, it is considered that there is a U-shaped relationship.…”