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Journal of Applied Psychology Copyright 1998 by the American Psychological Association, Inc.1998, Vol . 83 , No. 3 , 486 -493 0021-9010/98/$3.00

R E S E A R C H R E P O R T SE m o t i o n a l E x h a u s t i o n a s a P r e d i c to r o f J o b P e r f o r m a n c e

a n d V o l u n t a r y T u r n o v e r" l~ h om a s A . W r i g h tUniversity of Nevada at Reno R u s s e ll C r o p a n z a n oColorado State University

Recent research suggests that a better understanding of emotion al exhaustion requires thedevelopment of new theoretical perspectives. To that end, with the conservation of re-sources mod el (CO R) as the theoretical framework, the present 1-year longitudinal studywas undertaken. Composed of 52 social welfare workers, this research examined therelationship of emo tional exhaustion to job satisfaction, v olun tary turnover, and jobperformance. Posit ive af fect ivi ty (PA) and negative af fect ivi ty (NA ) were used as controlvariables. W hereas em otional exhaustion was unrelated to job satisfaction, it was associ-ated with bo th perform ance and subsequent turnover. In addition, the relationship betweenemotional exhaust ion and p er formance and also between em otional exhaust ion and turn-over remained significant above and beyond the effects of PA and NA. Future researchdirections and implications of the findings are introduced.

E m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n i s a c h r o n i c s t a t e o f p h y s i c a l a n de m o t i o n a l d e p l e t i o n t h a t r e s u l ts f r o m e x c e s s i v e j o b d e -m a n d s a n d c o n t i n u o u s h a s s l e s ( S h i r o m , 1 9 8 9 ; Z o h a r ,1 9 9 7 ) . E m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n i s a s i g n i f ic a n t t o p i c o f in t e r -e s t f o r o r g a n i z a t i o n a l r e s e a r c h e r s , a s i t h a s i m p o r t a n t i m ,p l i c a t i o n s b o t h f o r t h e q u a l i t y o f w o r k l i f e a n d a l s o f o ro p t i m a l o r g a n i z a t i o n a l f u n c t i o n i n g ( f o r r e v i e w s s e e C h e r -n i s s, 1 9 9 3 ; C o r d e s & D o u g h e r t y , 1 9 9 3 ; K a h i l l , 1 9 8 8 ; M a s -l a c h , 1 9 8 2 ) . F r o m a w o r k e r ' s p e r s p e c t i v e , e m o t i o n a l e x -h a u s t i o n i s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a h o s t o f s o m a t i c d i f f i c u l t i e s ,s u c h a s c o l d s , g a s t r o - i n t e s t i n a l p r o b l e m s , h e a d a c h e s , a n ds l e e p d i s t u r b a n c e s ( B e l c a s t r o , 1 9 8 2 ; B e l c a s t r o & H a y s ,1 9 8 4 ) . F r o m t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n ' s p e r s p e c t i v e , p r i o r r e s e a r c hh a s f o u n d r e l a ti o n s h i p s b e t w e e n e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n a n ds u c h a t t i t u d i n a l a n d b e h a v i o r a l c o r r e l a t e s a s t u r n o v e r i n -t e n t i o n s ( J a c k s o n , S c h w a b , & S c h u l e r , 1 9 8 6 ) , w o r k a t t i -t u d e s ( L e i t e r & M a s l a c h , 1 9 8 8 ; W o l p i n , B u r k e , &G r e e n g l as s , 1 9 9 1 ) , c o u n t e r p r o d u c t i v e w o r k b e h a v i o r( J o n e s , 1 9 8 1 ; Q u a t t r o c h i - T u r b i n , J o n e s , & B r e e d l o v e ,1 9 8 3 ) , a n d j o b p e r f o r m a n c e ( W r i g h t & B o n e t t , 1 9 9 7 ) .E f f e c t i v e l y m a n a g i n g e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n s e e m s t o b ei n e v e r y o n e ' s i n t e r e s t .

Tho mas A. Wright, Managerial Scien ces Department, Univer-s i ty of Nevada at Reno; Russel l Cropanzano, Depar tment ofPsychology, Colorado State University.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressedto Thom as A. Wright, Managerial Sciences Department, U niver-sity of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557-0206. Electro nic mail ma ybe sent to [email protected].

D e s p i t e t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o np h e n o m e n o n a n d t h e p r o m i s e o f t h e se r e s e a r c h f in d in g s ,L e e a n d A s h f o r th ( 1 9 9 6 ) c a u t i o n e d t h a t a b e t te r u nd e r -s t a n d i n g r e q u i r e s t h e f u r t h e r d e v e l o p m e n t o f n e w t h e o r e t i -c a l p e r s p e c t i v e s . L i k e w i s e , W r i g h t a n d B o n e t t ( 1 9 9 7 )n o t e d t h a t t h e l a c k o f t h e o r e t i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t e x p l a i n sw h y p r i o r r e s e a r c h i n v e s t i g a t in g t h e r e l a t io n s h i p b e t w e e ne m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n a n d j o b p e r f o r m a n c e h a s p r o d u c e di n c o n s i s t e n t re s u l ts . F o l l o w i n g L e e a n d A s h f o r t h ' s a d m o -n i t i o n , th e p r e s e n t r e s e a r c h u s e s t h e c o n s e r v a t i o n o f r e -s o u r c e s ( C O R ) m o d e l o f s t r e s s a s t h e t h e o r e t i c a l f r a m e -w o r k f o r b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n .

E m o t i o n a l E x h a u s t i o n a n d t h e C O R M o d e lH i s t o r i c a l l y , m o s t e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n r e s e a r c h h a s

b e e n g u i d e d b y M a s l a c h ' s ( 1 9 8 2 ) a n d M a s l a ch a n d J a c k -s o n ' s ( 1 9 8 6 ) t h r e e - c o m p o n e n t c o n c e p t u a l i z a t io n o f b u m -o u t . I n t h i s m o d e l , b u r n o u t h a s t h r e e i n t e r r e l a t e d p a r t s :e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n , d e p e r s o n a l i z a t i o n , a n d d i m i n i s h e dp e r s o n a l a c c o m p l i s h m e n t ( L e e & A s h f o r t h , 1 9 9 0 ; P i n e s &A r o n s o n , 1 9 8 8 ) . E m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n , t h e s u b j e c t o f th ep r e s e n t s t u d y , d e s c r i b e s f e e l i n g s o f b e i n g e m o t i o n a l l yo v e r e x t e n d e d a n d e x h a u s t e d b y o n e ' s w o r k . I t is m a n i -f e s t e d b y b o t h p h y s i c a l f a t i g u e a n d a s e n s e o f f e e l in gp s y c h o l o g i c a l l y a n d e m o t i o n a l l y " d r a i n e d . " D e p e r s o n a l-i z a t i o n , a l s o c a l l e d " d e h u m a n i z a t i o n , " i s b e s t u n d e r s t o o di n r e f e r e n c e t o t h e s o c i a l s e r v i c e o c c u p a t i o n s i n w h i c hb u r n o u t h a s b e e n m o s t f r e q u e n t l y e x a m i n e d . D e p e r s o n a l -i z a t i o n r e f e r s t o a s e t o f c a l l o u s a n d i n s e n s i t i v e b e h a v i o r s

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displayed by a worker toward a client. Finally, diminishedpersonal accomplishment refers to negative evaluationsabout the self. A sense o f diminished personal accomplish-ment would be shown when a worker feels ineffective andincompetent.Although all three components are potentially im-portant, a growing research consensus has concluded thatemotional exhaustion is the key dimension of burnout(Cordes & Dougherty, 1993; Gaines & Jermier, 1983;Wright & Bonett, 1997; Zohar, 1997). For example , onthe basis of a detailed review of the available literature,Shirom (1989) maintained that the "core meaning" ofburnout can best be found in the physical and psychologi-cal depletion that characterizes emotional exhaustion.Shirom further noted that defining burnout as emotionalexhaustion helps distinguish it from other social scienceconcepts. Likewise, a field study by Lee and Ashforth(1993a) determined that emotional exhaustion plays acentral mediating role in the burnout process. In keepingwith this recent work, the present study emphasizes emo-tional exhaustion. We now provide the necessary theoreti-cal framework, derived from COR theory, to better under-stand the role of emotional exhaustion in organizationalbehavior.COR theory provides particularly valuable insights forthe study of prolonged emotional exhaustion. Accordingto this framework, emotional exhaustion is most likely tooccur when there is an actual resource loss, a perceivedthreat of resource loss, a situation in which one's re-sources are inadequate to meet work demands, or whenthe anticipated returns are not obtained on an investmentof resources (Hobfoll, 1988). Hobfoll (1989) defined re-sources, "as those objects, personal characteristics, condi-tions, or energies that are valued by the individual or thatserve as a means for attainment of these objects" (p.516). Examples of resources include social support, jobenhancement opportunities, degree o f participation in de-cision making, level o f autonomy and established behav-ior-outcome (i.e., reward) contingencies (Lee & Ashforth,1996). Workload level, role ambiguity, role conflict, andstressful events in general are examples o f work demands.For many workers, the key decision becomes one of ac-quiring and" stockpiling" the resources necessary to meetcurrent work demands and protect themselves from fur-ther resource depletion. Proionged strain or emotional ex-haustion occurs when individuals feel they no longer havesufficient emotional resources to handle the stressors con-fronting them (Hobfoll, 1989; Lee & Ashforth, 1996).

Hobfoll (19 89) noted the similarity between COR the-ory and the popular management concept of person-envi-ronment (P-E) fit (French, Caplan, & Harrison, 1982).Like COR theory, P-E fit theory posits that an incongruentrelationship between organizational demands and an indi-vidual's resources to meet those demands leads initially

to job stress and, i f left unattended over time, to emotionalexhaustion and other potentially maladaptive outcomes.However, COR theory goes beyond P-E fit theory andmakes specific predictions regarding what individuals willdo and why they do it when confronted with stress. Morespecifically, COR theory predicts that individuals will ex-perience a sense of discomfort and will attempt to mini-mize losses. This affords researchers a great deal of preci-sion in predicting the outcomes of emotional exhaustion(Lee & Ashforth, 1996). Leiter (1991; 1993) proposedthat emotionally exhausted individuals overemphasizeavoidance or withdrawal coping mechanisms. The mostcostly of these employee withdrawal-related correlates ofemotional exhaustion are diminished job satisfaction, vol-untary turnover, and diminished job performance (Lee &Ashforth, 1996). Thus, on the basis of COR theory, weexpected that each of these outcomes would be signifi-cantly correlated with emotional exhaustion.

Emotional Exhaustion and Affective DispositionsIn keeping with COR theory, we have thus far discussed

the situational correlates of emotional exhaustion, suchas job resources and demands. However, though less atten-tion has been given to personality factors, there is someevidence that affective-based or dispositional correlatesare related to emotional exhaustion (Cordes & Dougherty,1993). Consequently, it might be that affective personalitydispositions are accounting for the relationship betweenemotional exhaustion and various work outcomes. Leeand Ashforth (1996) noted the need for research provid-ing additional clarification of these proposed rela-tionships.The measurement of affect is frequently divided intopositive and negative dimensions (Cropanzano, James, &Konovsky, 1993; Watson & Tellegen, 1985). The first di-mension is negative affectivity (NA). High NA is charac-terized by the experience of negative emotion; low NA,by its lack. The second dimension is positive affectivity(PA). High PAs experience a good deal of positive emo-tion; low PAs experience less. The Positive and NegativeAffectivity Schedule (PANAS) developed by Watson andhis colleagues (Watson, 1988; Watson & Clark, 1984;Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) is probably the mostwidely used measure of NA and PA.Because emotional exhaustion involves negativelytoned feelings of being emotional ly overextended and ex-hausted by one 's work, we predic ted that NA is positivelyand PA negatively related to emotional exhaustion. If theserelationshiPs are found, it raises the possibility that emo-tional exhaustion is only spuriously associated with jobsatisfaction and work behavior. The actual "driver" ofthese outcomes might be affective personality disposi-tions. For example, Brief, Burke, George, Robinson, and


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48 8 R E S E A R C H R E P O R TSW e b s t e r ( 1 9 8 8 ; s e e a l s o B u r k e , B r i e f , & G e o r g e , 1 9 9 3 )m a i n t a i n e d t h a t N A m a y i n f lu e n c e t h e re l a t i o n s h i p b e -t w e e n s e l f - r e p o r t e d s it u a t i o n a l d e m a n d s a n d s e l f - r e p o r t e ds t ra i n . I n a n a n a l o g o u s f a s h i o n , N A a n d P A m i g h t i n fl u -e n c e e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n , t u rn o v e r , p e r f o r m a n c e , a n ds a t i s fa c t i o n . C o n s e q u e n t l y , a n o b s e r v e d r e l a t i o n s h i p b e -t w e e n e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n a n d t h e s e o u t c o m e v a r ia b l e sw o u l d b e s p u r i o u s . W e c o n t r o l l e d f o r t h i s p o s s i b i l i t y i nt h e p r e s e n t s t u d y .

S u m m a r yT h e p r e s e n t r e s e a rc h b u i l d s o n t h e p i o n e e r in g w o r k o f

H o b f o l l ( 1 9 8 8; 1 9 8 9 ) a n d L e e a n d A s h f o r t h ( 1 9 9 6 ) . W i t ht h e C O R m o d e l a s th e th e o r e t i c a l f ra m e w o r k , t h i s 1 - y e a rl o n g i t u d i n a l s t u d y t e s t e d t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s a m o n g e m o -t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n , a f f ec t iv i t y , j o b s a t i sf a c t io n , v o l u n t a r ye m p l o y e e t u r n o v e r, a n d j o b p e r f o r m a n c e . I n p a r t i cu l a r , w ef o r m u l a t e d t h e f o l l o w i n g f i v e r e s e a r c h h y p o t h e s e s :

H y p o t h e s i s 1 . J ob s a t i s f a c t i on w i l l be ne ga t i ve l y r e l a t e d t oe m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t io n .H y p o t h e s i s 2 . J o b p e r f o r m a n c e w i l l b e n e g a t i v e l y r e l a t edt o e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t io n .H y p o t h e s i s 3 . E m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n w i l l b e p o s i t i v e l y r e -l a t e d t o s u b s e q u e n t v o l u n t a r y e m p l o y e e t u r no v e r.H y p o t h e s i s 4 . N A w i l l b e p o s i t i v e ly r e l a te d t o e m o t i o n a le x h a u s t io n . P A w i l l b e n e g a t i v e l y r e l a t e d t o e m o t i o n a le x h a u s t i o n .H y p o t h e s i s 5 . A l l o f t h e r e l a ti o n s h i p s p r e d i c t e d i n H y p o t h e -s e s 1 - 3 w i l l re m a i n s i gn i f i c a n t e ve n a f t e r c on t r o l l i ng f o rt h e e f fe c t s o f N A a n d P A .

M e t h o dR e s e a r c h P a r t i c i p a n t s

T h e p r e s e n t 1 - y e a r l o n g i t u d i n a l s tu d y w a s s p e c i f ic a l ly d e -s i gne d t o i nve s t i ga t e t he c on t r i bu t i on o f a f f e c ti v i t y , j ob s a t i s f a c -t i o n , v o l u n t a r y t u r n ov e r , a n d j o b p e r f o r m a n c e t o e m o t i o n a l e x -h a u s t io n . T h o m a s A . W r i g h t a s k e d s o c i a l w e l f a r e w o r k e r s e m -p l o y e d b y a l a r g e c it y o n t h e W e s t C o a s t o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s( N = 6 4 ) t o p a r t i c ip a t e i n th e s t u d y b y m e a n s o f a d i r e c tc o n t a c t p r o c e d u r e . T h e a c t u a l s a m p l e i n c l u d e d 5 2 e m p l o y e e s ,r e p r e s e n t in g a r e s p o n s e r a t e o f 8 1 % . A l l r es p o n d e n t s h a d c o m -p l e t e d t h e i r b a c h e l o r ' s d e g r e e , w e r e e m p l o y e d w i t h in t h e s a m ed e p a r t m e n t , a n d p e r f o r m e d t h e s a m e j o b d u t i es . T h e m e a n a g ef o r th i s m o s t l y m a l e ( 6 9 % ) s a m p l e w a s 4 2 y e a r s; th e m e a nt e nu r e w a s 13 ye a rs . T he s a m p l e i nc l ude s a l l r e s pond e n t s f o rw h o m t h e m e a s u r e s o f a ff e c ti v i t y ( P A a n d N A ) , e m o t i o n a l e x -h a u s t i o n , j o b s a t is f a c ti o n , j o b p e r f o r m a n c e , a n d t u r n o v e r w e r ea v a i l ab l e . T h e m e a s u r e s o f a f f e ct i v i ty (P A a n d N A ) , e m o t i o n a le x h a u s t i o n , j o b s a t is f a c ti o n , a n d j o b p e r f o r m a n c e w e r e o b t a i n e da t T i m e 1 . T h e t u r n o v e r d a t a w e r e o b t a i n e d a t T i m e 2 , 1 y e a rla ter .

M e a s u r e sE m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n . E m o t i o n a l ex h a u s t i o n w a s m e a s u r e d

w i t h M a s l a c h a n d J a c k s o n ' s ( 1 9 8 6 ) n i n e - i t e m e m o t i o n a l e x -h a u s t i o n s c a l e ( M a s l a c h B u r n o u t I n v e n t o r y ) . T h i s n i n e - i t e ms c a le m e a s u r e s h o w o f t en o n e f e e ls e m o t i o n a l l y o v e r e x t e n d e da n d e x h a u s t e d b y o n e ' s w o r k . T h e i n v e n t o r y u s es a 7 - p o i n t s c a l e( 0 = n e v e r , a nd 6 = e v e r y d a y ) . S a m p l e i te m s i n c l u d e " I f e e le m o t i o n a l l y d r a i n e d f ro m m y w o r k , " " I f e e l f a t ig u e d w h e n Ig e t u p i n t h e m o r n i n g a n d h a v e t o f a c e a n o t h e r d a y o n t h e j o b , "a n d " I f e e l I ' m w o r k i n g t o o h a r d o n m y j o b . " E v i d e n c e o f t h ec o n s t r u c t v a l i d i ty o f e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n h a s b e e n p r o v i d e db y c o r r e l a ti o n s b e t w e e n e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n a n d s e l e c te d j o bc ha r a c t e r i s t i c s ( i . e . , d i r e c t c on t a c t w i t h pa t i e n t s ; L e e & A s h -f o r t h , 1990 ; M a s l a c h & J a c ks on , 1986 ) . T he p r e s e n t s t udy e s t a b -l i s h e d a C r o n b a c h ' s a l p h a o f . 89 .

D i s p o s i t i o n a l a f f e c t i v i t y . T h i s s t u d y u s e d t h e P A N A S S c a l ede ve l o pe d by W a t s on e t a l. ( 198 8 ) a s the m e a s u r e o f a ff e c t iv i t y .T h e P A N A S S c a l e is d e s i g n e d t o m e a s u r e b o t h P A a n d N A . P Ai s m e a s u r e d by de s c r i p t o r s s uc h a s " a c t i ve , a l e r t , e n t hus i a s t i c ,i n s p i r e d , a n d i n t e r e s t e d . " N A i s a s s e s s e d b y d e s c r i p t o r s s u c ha s " a f r a i d , hos t i l e , i r r i ta b l e , j i t te r y , a nd ups e t . " P a r t i c i pa n t si n d i c a t e d th e e x t e n t t o w h i c h t h e y e x p e r i e n c e d e a c h d e s c r i p t o ro f a f f e c t i n g e n e r a l o n a 5 - p o i n t s c a le r an g i n g f r o m 1 ( v e r ys l i g h t l y o r n o t a t a l l ) to 5 ( e x t r e m e l y ) . C r o n b a c h ' s a l p h a f o rP A w a s . 90 ; a l pha f o r N A w a s . 88 .

Sat is fac t ion . F i v e w i d e l y r e c o g n i z e d d i m e n s i o n s o f t h e s a t -i s f ac t i o n c o n s t r u c t - - d e g r e e o f s a t i sf a c ti o n w i t h t h e w o r k i ts e lf ,de g r e e o f s a t i s f a c t i on w i t h c ow or ke r s , de g r e e o f s a t i s f a c t i onw i t h s u p e r v i s i o n , d e g r e e o f s a t i sf a c ti o n w i t h p r o m o t i o n a l o p p o r -t u n i t i e s , a n d d e g r e e o f s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h p a y - - w e r e u s e d t om e a s u r e s a t i s f a c t i on ( P r i c e & M ue l l e r, 1986 ) . T he s a t i s f a c t i oni t e m s a s ke d t he f o l l ow i ng que s t i ons : " A l l i n a l l, how s a t i s f ie da r e y o u w i t h th e w o r k i t s e lf o f y o u r j o b ? " ; " A l l i n a l l, h o ws a t is f ie d ar e y o u w i t h y o u r c o - w o r k e r s ? " ; " A l l i n a l l, h o ws a t is f ie d a re y o u w i t h t h e s u p e r v i s i o n ? " ; " A l l i n a l l , h o w s a t is -f i ed a r e y o u w i t h t h e p r o m o t i o n a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s ? " ; a n d " A l l i na l l , how s a t i s f i e d a r e you w i t h t he pa y? " E a c h o f the s a t i s f a c t ioni t e m s u s e d a 5 - p o i n t s c a l e r a n g in g f r o m 1 ( v e r y u n s a t i s f i e d ) to5 ( v e r y s a t i s f i e d ) . T h e s e 5 i t e m s w e r e s u m m e d t o f o r m a c o m -pos i t e m e a s u r e o f s a t i s f a c ti on f o r e a c h pa r t i c i pa n t ( c oe f f i c i e n ta l p h a = . 7 5 ) .

P e r f o r m a n c e . E m p l o y e e p e r fo r m a n c e w a s m e a s u r e d w i th a1 - it e m , g l o b a l r a ti n g o f p e r f o r m a n c e . B e c a u s e a l l e m p l o y e e su l t i m a t e ly r e p o r t t o a n d a r e e v a l u a t ed b y t h e s a m e t o p - r a n k i n ga dm i n i s t r a t i ve o f f ic e r , t h i s o f f i c e r w a s a s ke d , " O v e r a l l , howw o u l d y o u r a t e t h i s e m p l o y e e ' s p e r f o rm a n c e o v e r t h e l as t s ixm o n t h s " ? A 5 - p o i n t s c a l e w a s p r o v i d e d w i t h r a t i n g s r a n g i n gf r o m 1 ( p o o r ) to 5 ( e x c e l l e n t ) .

Turnover. P a s t r e s e a r c he r s ha ve c a l c u l a t e d t u r nove r i n an u m b e r o f w a y s ( W r i g h t & B o n e t t , 1 9 9 2 ). I n t h i s st u d y , t u r n o v e rw a s d e f i n e d o n l y a s v o l u n t a r y w i t h d r a w a l f r o m t h e o r g a n i z a ti o n .T he po t e n t i a l p r ob l e m s r e s u l t i ng f r om a f a i l u r e t o a de qua t e l yd i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n v o l u n t a r y a n d i n v o l u n t a r y t u r n o v e r h a v eb e e n w e l l n o t e d ( G e r h a r t , 1 9 9 0; M c E v o y & C a s c i o , 1 9 8 7 ;S t u m p f & D a w l e y , 19 81 ) . I n t he p r e s e n t s t udy , w e w e r e a b l et o c o n f i rm , t h r o u g h i n d e p e n d e n t c o n v e r sa t i o n s w i t h b o t h a d m i n -i s t ra t i ve pe r s onn e l a nd t he e m p l oy e e s t he m s e l ve s , t ha t ea c h a nde ve r y e m p l o ye e d i d , i n f a ct , vo l un t a r i l y w i t hd r a w . T h i s s pe c i f i c -


4/8

RESEARCH REPORTS 48 9Table 1Means, Standard Deviations, a nd lntercorrelations Am ong the Study Variables

Variable M SD 1 2 3 4 5 61. Em otional exhaustion 2.6 1.3 - - -.2 3 .34** -.2 7* -.39 ** .72***2. Job satisfaction 2.8 0.7 - - -.05 .11 .36** -.2 03. Turnover - - - . 37 ** .00 .25*4. Job performance 4.0 0.7 - - - .04 -.1 25. Positive affectivity 3.4 0.7 - - -.47* **6. Ne gative affectiv ity 1.9 0.7

Turnover was dum my coded " 1" for no turnover and " 2" for turnover.*p "~ .05 . ** p -~ .01. *** p --- .001 (all one-tailed tests).

i ty i s widely recomm ended , though no t o f ten avai lab le in p rev i -ous research (cf . C am pion , 1991; Jackofsky , 1984; Wrigh t &Bonett , 1993). Althoug h infrequent (all turnove r wa s voluntaryin the p resen t s tudy) , em ployees have been terminated for cause.Typically, term ination is for drug-related infractions. Da ta sup-plied by the organization indicated that annual voluntary turn-over ranges between 10- 15% . In the p resen t s tudy , the rate was13.5%.

R e s u l t sC o r r e l a ti o n a l A n a l y s e s : H y p o t h e s e s 1 - 4

T a b l e 1 c o n t a i n s m e a n s , s t a n d a r d d e v i a t i o n s , a n d i n te r -c o r r e l a t i o n s f o r t h e s t u d y v a r i a b l e s . H y p o t h e s i s 1 p r e -d i c t e d a n e g a t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s -t i o n a n d j o b s a t i s f a c t io n . T h i s p r e d i c t i o n w a s n o t s u p -p o r t e d . E m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n w a s n o t a s s o c i a t e d w i th j o bs a t i s f a c t io n . I n s u p p o r t o f H y p o t h e s i s 2 , e m o t i o n a l e x -h a u s t io n w a s c o r r e l a t e d w i t h j o b p e r f o r m a n c e ( r = - . 2 7 ,p < . 0 5 ) . H y p o t h e s i s 3 p r e d i c t e d a p o s it i v e r e l a t i o n s h i pb e t w e e n e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n a n d s u b s e q u e n t e m p l o y e ev o l u n t a r y t u r n o v e r ( d u m m y c o d e d " 1 " f o r n o t u rn o v er ," 2 " f o r t u r n o v e r ) . A p o o l e d v a r i a n c e t- t es t p r o c e d u r e f o rt e s t i n g t h e e q u a l i t y o f t h e tw o t u r n o v e r g r o u p m e a n s w a sc o n d u c t e d . T h i s t - t e s t p r o c e d u r e c a n b e c o n s i d e r e d a s p e -c i a l c a s e o f a o n e - w a y a n a l y s is o f v a r i a n c e w i t h t w o l e v e lso f c l a ss i f ic a t i on ( n o t u r n o v e r - t u r n o v e r ) f o r th e c a t e g o r i -c a l t u r n o v e r r e s p o n s e v a r i a b l e ( S t e e l & T o r r i e , 1 9 8 0 ) . A sp r e d i c t e d , a p o s i t iv e r e l a t i o n s h i p w a s e s t a b l i s h e d b e t w e e ne m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n a n d s u b s e q u e n t v o l u n t a r y t u r n o v e r( r = . 3 4, p < . 0 1 ) . H y p o t h e s i s 4 p r e d i c t e d d i r e c t i o n a lr e l a ti o n s h ip s a m o n g P A , N A , a n d e m o t i o n a l e x h a us t i on ,A s p r e d i c t e d , a n e g a t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p w a s e s t a b l i s h e d b e -t w e e n P A a n d e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n ( r = . 47 , p < . 01 ) ,w h e r e a s t h e r e w a s a p o s it i ve r e la t i o n sh i p b e t w e e n N A a n de m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n ( r = . 7 2, p < . 0 00 1 ) .R e g r e s s i o n A n a l y se s : H y p o t h e s i s 5

A l t h o u g h t h e s e r e s u l t s p r o v i d e s t r o n g s u p p o r t f o r t h eb i v a r i a t e r e l a t i o n s h i p s p o s i t e d i n H y p o t h e s e s 2 , 3 , a n d 4 ,t h e y d o n o t a d d r e s s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f v a r i o u s t h i r d - v a r i-

a b l e e x p l a n a t i o n s ( B r i e f e t al ., 1 9 8 8 ) . A s p r o p o s e d i nH y p o t h e s i s 5 , t h e p r e s e n t r e s e a r c h p r o v i d e s t h e f i r s t o p -p o r t u n i t y t o s i m u l t a n e o u s l y e x a m i n e t h e r e la t i v e c o n t r i b u -t i o n o f P A , N A , a n d e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n t o t h e p r e d i c -t i o n o f j o b p e r f o r m a n c e a n d v o l u n t a r y t u r n o v e r . J o b s a t is -f a c t i o n w a s e x c l u d e d f r o m t h e s e a n a l y s e s b e c a u s e i t w a sn o t c o r r e l a t e d w i t h e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t i o n .I n t h e f ir s t a na l y s is , jo b p e r f o r m a n c e w a s r e g r e s s e d o ne m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t io n , P A , a n d N A . T h u s , j o b p e r f o r m a n c ei s c o n s i d e r e d t h e d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e , w i t h e m o t i o n a l e x -h a u s t i o n , P A , a n d N A a s i n d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e s . T a b l e 2c o n t a i n s t h e r e s u l t s o f t h i s r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s . T h e r e s u l t sd e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t o n l y e m o t i o n a l e x h a u s t io n w a s a s i g -n i f i c a n t p r e d i c t o r o f p e r f o r m a n c e , t ( 4 3 ) = - 1 . 91 , p

wright thomas a

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