Positive task feedback from a supervisor can influence the
relationship between stress and creativity. It is conceivable that
positive and useful feedback from supervisors contributes to channeling
challenge-oriented stress into creativity by influencing the
employee’s perceptions of the effectiveness of creative activities
(such as the perception that new ideas can be produced and that
leaders will support them). Task-focused and positive feedback
from supervisors may therefore be conducive to generating new
and useful ideas. In essence, positive and useful feedback from
supervisors directs employees’ attention to the task at hand, fosters
their interest in the task itself as opposed to workload and
time pressure, and nurtures an orientation toward learning and
development and solving difficult problems, all of this may lead
to creativity (Hon and Kim, 2007; Utman, 1997; Woodman et al.,
1993). Positive task feedback is a source of encouragement and
support from supervisors. It indicates that an employee’s performance
is acceptable, and so reinforces creative behavior by shifting
challenge-oriented stress into creativity by encouraging employees
to try different approaches to improve an unfavorable situation.
Consistent with this logic, Zhou (1998) shows that people exhibit
the highest levels of creativity when they have high autonomy and
receive positive task feedback from the supervisor. Furthermore,
such feedback also results in high creativity for individuals with a
high need for achievement (Fodor and Carver, 2000). Positive task
feedback from supervisors may therefore direct employees’ attention
toward making improvements on the job and facilitate the
creation of new ideas. It may also increase employees’ confidence
in the possibility of transforming challenge-related stress into a
more satisfactory situation by engaging in creative activities. Thus,
we have the following hypothesis.