Individual initiative and burnout as antecedents of employee expediency and the moderating role of conscientiousness

In this study, we extend the nomological network of employee expediency by identifying antecedents of this specific form of unethical behavior in the workplace. We draw on the conservation of resources theory to argue that employee expediency may be the result of employee engagement in individual initiative—a specific type of organizational citizenship behavior, which induces higher levels of burnout and, ultimately, leads to employee engagement in expedient behavior at work. We further argue that the personality trait of conscientiousness serves as a valuable resource that buffers the relationship between employee burnout and expediency, which then conditionally moderates the indirect effect of individual initiative onto employee expediency though the resource depletion process as indicated by employee burnout. Findings from a time-lagged, multisource (i.e., employee—supervisor—spouse triads) field study obtained from numerous organizations within different industries in the United States provide full support for the entire moderated-mediation model. We discuss implications for theory and practice and identify avenues for future research.