You're draining me! When politically inept employees view organization-linked emotional exhaustion and unforgiveness as reasons for diminished job performance

Abstract

Purpose

This study seeks to unpack the negative relationship between employees' political ineptness and their job performance, by proposing a mediating role of organization-induced emotional exhaustion and a moderating role of perceived organizational unforgiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

The research hypotheses were tested with three-round survey data collected among employees and their supervisors across multiple industry sectors.

Findings

Political ineptness diminishes the likelihood that employees undertake performance-enhancing work behaviors because they perceive that their employer is draining their emotional resources. This mediating role of organization-induced emotional exhaustion is particularly salient when they perceive that organizational authorities do not forgive mistakes.

Practical implications

This study reveals a critical risk for employees who find it difficult to exert influence on others: They become complacent in their job duties, which then might further compromise their ability to leave a positive impression on others. This counterproductive process is especially prominent if organizational leaders appear unforgiving.

Originality/value

This study contributes to extant research by explicating an unexplored mechanism (organization-induced emotional exhaustion) and catalyst (organizational unforgiveness) related to the escalation of political ineptness into diminished job performance.

Citation

De Clercq, D., Azeem, M.U. and Haq, I.U. (2022), "You're draining me! When politically inept employees view organization-linked emotional exhaustion and unforgiveness as reasons for diminished job performance", Management Decision, Vol. 60 No. 8, pp. 2272-2293. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-04-2021-0484