Too drained to help: A resource depletion perspective on daily interpersonal citizenship behaviors

Abstract

This paper explores the effects of resource depletion and recovery on day-to-day fluctuations in organizational citizenship behaviors directed towards others (OCBIs). Although past research on OCBIs has focused on between-person factors affecting these extra-role behaviors, we explore the role of within-person fluctuations in affective experiences in predicting OCBIs and integrate the OCBI, emotion regulation, and work recovery literatures by examining surface acting as an antecedent of OCBIs. Further, drawing on Ego Depletion Theory (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000), we develop a model in which daily surface acting is negatively associated with daily OCBIs. We test this model in two experience sampling methodology studies. In Study 1, we test the basic relation between daily surface acting and OCBIs. In Study 2, we expand our model by examining resource recovery (sleep) and resource depletion (emotional exhaustion) as important moderating factors. In both studies, we found that daily surface acting was negatively related to daily OCBI behaviors. In addition, previous night’s sleep offset the negative effect of surface acting on OCBIs, whereas chronic emotional exhaustion exacerbated this negative effect. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.