RCT of an App-Based Workplace Conflict Intervention Focused on Individual Coping Skills

Abstract: Workplace conflict is a common occupational stressor with implications for employee well-being. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of an app-based, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)–informed conflict management training and examined mechanisms through which the training influenced conflict-related outcomes. Using a randomized controlled design, working adults who had experienced workplace conflict were assigned to a training or waitlist control condition. Outcomes included proximal processes (rumination, conflict-specific self-efficacy, and ACT-related processes) and distal indicators of psychological disturbance and strain. Results indicated that the training reduced conflict-related psychological disturbance, including social discord and negative affect, and improved conflict-specific self-efficacy and ACT-related processes. Mediation analyses revealed that reductions in rumination accounted for improvements across multiple distal outcomes, whereas conflict self-efficacy and ACT processes did not function as mediators. These findings highlight rumination as a key mechanism of change and support the utility of scalable, process-focused interventions for managing workplace conflict.

Keywords: Workplace conflict, Conflict management training, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Employee well-being, App-based intervention