The Effect of Sleep on Workplace Interpersonal Conflict: The Mediating Role of Ego Depletion

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep and workplace interpersonal conflict and the role of ego depletion as the mediating mechanism. A survey was conducted daily for two weeks using an experience sampling method. A sample of 79 employees from the East Coast of China was collected. A multilevel regression analysis was conducted to test the proposed hypotheses. Results indicated that higher sleep quantity was associated with lower daily ego depletion at noon and lower workplace interpersonal conflict. Moreover, ego depletion mediated the effects of sleep quantity on workplace interpersonal conflict. The findings identified the adverse effects of insufficient sleep on daily interpersonal interactions and provided a valuable perspective on workplace interpersonal conflict management. Furthermore, the study broadened the scope of antecedents that impact how employees experience daily workplace interpersonal conflict and assessed the mediating role of ego depletion in this relationship.