Turning Tensions Into Performance: The Role of Promotive Voice and Paradoxical Mindset

This study examines how workplace communication tensions can influence employee performance through promotive voice, with paradoxical mindset as a critical moderator. We employ a mix-methods approach, combining exploratory interviews and two quantitative studies. The qualitative study identifies context-specific variables affecting the relationship between communication tensions and employee performance, and premised on the qualitative findings we build the conceptual framework and hypotheses. In quantitative Study 1, the findings reveal that experiencing tensions in communication with colleagues indirectly enhanced employee performance through promotive voice behaviors, with this relationship strengthened when employees possessed higher levels of paradoxical mindset. The fsQCA results identified specific configurational paths leading to enhanced performance. In quantitative Study 2, we replicated and confirmed the findings in Study 1. A subsequent qualitative phase revealed that paradoxical mindset leads to more reflective processing of tensions and enhances voice quality rather than frequency. These findings contribute to understanding how workplace tensions can be transformed into positive outcomes through appropriate cognitive framing and constructive voice behaviors, providing valuable insights for organizational theory and management practice.