Workplace Conflict and Absence/Lateness: The Moderating Effect of Core Self-Evaluation in China and the United States

We examined the moderating effects of core self-evaluation (CSE) on the relationships between interpersonal conflict and employee's absence and lateness in China and the United States. Employee-coworker matched data were collected from university employees in these 2 countries. The dataset was comprised of 204 employee-coworker dyads from the U.S. and 166 dyads from China. We found that self-reported interpersonal conflict at work was positively related to absence and lateness, but coworker-reported conflict was not. CSE buffered the positive relationship between self-reported conflict and employee's absence, as well as the positive relationships between coworker-reported conflict and absence/lateness. Generally speaking, interpersonal conflict positively related to absence and lateness for employees low in CSE but not for employees high in CSE. Finally, the 3-way interaction analyses indicated that the buffering effects of CSE were significant in the U.S. but not in China.