When do employees need warm leaders for higher performance? The moderated mediating effects of benevolent leadership

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between employees’ insomnia and job performance. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the multi-source data was collected from 131 full-time restaurant employees and their supervisors, in Time 1, Time 2, Time 3 (daily surveys for seven consecutive days) and Time 4 (supervisor ratings). Findings The results showed that insomnia had a negative effect on job performance and that two types of conflict (i.e. task and relationship conflict) mediated this relationship. Benevolent leadership positively moderated the association between relationship conflicts and job performance. Specifically, when leaders exhibited low benevolent leadership, the negative main effect of relationship conflict was significant, whereas this relationship disappeared when leaders exhibited high benevolent leadership. Originality/value By investigating the mechanism that links insomnia to job performance, this study unraveled how employees’ insomnia triggers conflicts at work (e.g. task and relationship conflicts) and further impairs job performance. This study advances the understanding of the relationship between insomnia and job performance by examining interpersonal mechanisms such as task and relationship conflicts and offers additional insights into the insomnia – job performance linkage.