Stress Management in The Banking Industry of Pakistan: Emotion Regulation as A Moderator in Employee Conflict Behavior

This research addresses the critical gap in understanding how different conflict behaviors—Problem-Solving, Dominating, and Non-Confronting—affect work stress in Pakistan's banking sector while also exploring the moderating role of emotional regulation in these dynamics. This research aims to investigate the impact of three distinct dimensions of employees' conflict behavior—Problem-Solving Behavior (PSB), Dominating Conflict Behavior (DCB), and Non-Confronting Conflict Behavior (NCB)—on work stress in the banking sector of Pakistan. The study further examines the moderating role of emotional regulation in these relationships. The study employed a quantitative methodology using a sample size of 387 employees from various banks in Pakistan. Data analysis was conducted using SMART PLS 4. The study confirmed that PSB negatively impacts work stress, while DCB and NCB positively affect work stress. Emotion Regulation was found to play a moderating role in the relationship between PSB and work stress and between DCB and work stress but did not moderate the relationship between NCB and work stress. The sample is restricted to the banking sector in a specific geographic region, and the study uses a solely quantitative approach, limiting the generalizability and depth of understanding. The findings have significant managerial implications for conflict resolution strategies and stress management practices within the banking industry, particularly in Pakistan. This research introduces three novel dimensions of conflict behavior and extends the existing literature by exploring their effects on work stress in the context of the banking sector in Pakistan, with the inclusion of Emotion Regulation as a moderator.