The Relationship between Role Ambiguity and Workers’ Creativity during the COVID-19 Pandemic in China

Abstract

Job role ambiguity is becoming more and more common due to the increase in telecommuting caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. In order to understand the internal mechanism of the association between role ambiguity and creativity, this study examined it in the context of the Demands–Resources–Individual Effects (DRIVE) model. Participants were employees from all walks of life in mainland China, with a total of 437 valid data. The results showed that role ambiguity had no significant direct effect on creativity but exerted a negative effect on creativity through the chain mediating effect of affective rumination and perceived stress. A good relationship with a supervisor helped employees reduce their affective rumination when faced with the pressure of role ambiguity. The results show that how employees perceive role ambiguity plays an essential role in determining the potency of the after-effect of role ambiguity. Resources from supervisors can help reduce the negative perception of ambiguous roles.

Double-Edged Sword Effect of Flexible Work Arrangements on Employee Innovation Performance: From the Demands–Resources–Individual Effects Perspective

“…Some studies failed to find a significant relationship between role ambiguity and innovative behaviors [13], while others found a significant negative correlation [102]. Research on innovation has shown that when distracted by other goals, people automatically engage in habitual behavior rather than innovative behavior [13]. Role ambiguity is negatively correlated with innovation performance, the finding supported by a few studies [103,104].…”

“…The DRIVE model is a comprehensive and flexible theory. It integrates the combined effects of various work demands, work resources, and personal resources on individual health, behavioral outcomes, organizational outcomes, and other outcome variables [13,27,28]. Flexible work arrangements are seen as job demands, making employees isolated from their leaders and colleagues in time and space, prone to information lag as well as incomplete information transfer, and causing depletion of individual resources [29].…”

“…Flexible work arrangements give employees more autonomy at work. Still, they also lead to less supervision and contact from supervisors and less information for employees, which leads to role ambiguity [13]. Work with autonomy may also lead to more family matters permeating the work domain [95].…”

“…Several researchers have investigated the impact of role ambiguity on innovative behaviors with inconsistent results. Some studies failed to find a significant relationship between role ambiguity and innovative behaviors [13], while others found a significant negative correlation [102]. Research on innovation has shown that when distracted by other goals, people automatically engage in habitual behavior rather than innovative behavior [13].…”

“…Some studies have shown that FWAs also have a "dark side". Flexible working practices and changing workplaces lead to role ambiguity for employees [13], bring a larger workload and more responsibilities [14], and increase work-family conflicts and turnover intentions [8]. In addition, remote communication is more likely to cause employees' emotional exhaustion, leading to a decrease in work enthusiasm and engagement [15].…”