Self-control and emotional exhaustion: mediating role of effort-reward imbalance and emotional demands

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between trait self-control (TSC) and emotional exhaustion, and to examine the mediating role of effort–reward imbalance (ERI) and emotional demands. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative study was conducted using data from 441 employees working in different organizations in the information technology sector in India. PROCESS macro with a bootstrap sample size of 5,000 was used for mediation analysis. Findings TSC demonstrated a significant negative relationship with emotional exhaustion. Results indicated the crucial role played by ERI and emotional demands in influencing the emotional exhaustion of employees with higher TSC. Originality/value This study adds substantially to our knowledge of the role of TSC in employee experiences of emotional exhaustion. Results suggest how employees’ ERI perceptions and experiences of emotional demands determine whether higher TSC would reduce experiences of exhaustion. This adds to the knowledge of positive outcomes of self-control while throwing some light on why the use of self-control does not always incur a psychological cost, as suggested by some studies. The findings suggest that self-control is an individual resource that has the ability to alleviate emotional exhaustion through its influence on employees‘ effort–reward perceptions and experiences of emotional demands.