When Work Crowds Out Family: How Confidence Keeps Creativity Alive

What is it about?

This study investigates how work-to-family conflict—when job demands interfere with family life—affects employees’ creativity, and how turnover intentions and self-efficacy shape this process. Guided by Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, the research explains that when employees experience work pressures that spill over into their home life, they perceive resource loss, such as emotional energy and time. These losses make them more likely to consider leaving their job, which in turn diminishes their creative engagement. Using survey data from employees in a large pharmaceutical retail chain in Mexico City, the study finds that work-to-family conflict increases intentions to quit, as employees feel unsupported in balancing work and family. These quitting thoughts, in turn, reduce creative behavior—efforts to generate and apply new ideas—because mental withdrawal drains energy and motivation. However, high work self-efficacy, or confidence in one’s ability to perform well, protects employees. Those with strong self-efficacy are less affected by conflict and maintain creativity despite personal strain. Overall, the study highlights that creativity can persist under stress when employees possess strong internal resources. Encouraging self-efficacy and supporting work–family balance may help organizations retain creative talent and reduce the likelihood that personal strain undermines innovation.

Featured Image

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This study is unique in demonstrating how work-to-family conflict indirectly suppresses creativity through turnover intentions, while self-efficacy buffers this negative process. By leveraging the COR theory framework, the study advances understanding of how employees’ confidence in their professional abilities can mitigate the resource depletion caused by work interference with family life. It shifts the discussion from preventing conflict to empowering employees to withstand it through psychological strength and self-belief. The research is especially timely in today’s context of blurred work–family boundaries and growing burnout risks. Conducted in Mexico, a country with strong family values and long work hours, the findings illustrate how self-efficacy acts as a resilience resource, helping employees remain innovative despite personal strain. As organizations increasingly depend on sustained creativity amid high workloads, this study underscores that protecting employees’ confidence and balance is not just a well-being issue—it is a strategic imperative for maintaining innovation and engagement under pressure.