Make or Break? How Positive and Negative Family Experiences Affect Workplace Creativity: The Role of Energy and Mindfulness

Abstract

Employee creativity is pivotal for organizational innovation, yet studies to date have primarily focused on the impact of individual and work-related characteristics on creativity while neglecting the influence of family factors. Drawing on the work-home resources (W-HR) model, this study aims to explore how positive family experiences such as spousal positive affect and negative experiences such as housework could potentially boost or impede work creativity. Using a multi-wave, multisource survey design, data were collected from 238 employee–spouse–supervisor triads. The findings revealed that spousal positive affect fosters employee work creativity by augmenting energy, whereas housework diminishes work creativity by draining energy. In addition, employee mindfulness enhances the pathway through which spousal positive affect increases work creativity via energy but mitigates the pathway through which housework reduces work creativity. This study enriches our understanding of the crossover impacts of family on work, highlighting the significant role that family factors play in influencing work creativity.