The interactive effect of extraversion and extraversion dissimilarity on emotional exhaustion in customer service employees: A test of the asymmetry hypothesis

Abstract

Testing the asymmetry hypothesis with regard to personality and one indicator of employee well-being, we explored the interactive effects of extraversion dissimilarity and individual extraversion on customer-oriented exhaustion. We predicted that high-extraversion individuals would experience increased exhaustion when their coworkers were dissimilar on the trait of extraversion, whereas low-extraversion individuals would be unaffected by dissimilarity, because they generally avoid coworker interaction. In a sample of 313 call center employees, we found that high-extraversion individuals experienced increased exhaustion when their coworkers were lower in extraversion, but this relationship was nonsignificant for low-extraversion individuals. These findings may help managers understand risk factors and prevent customer-oriented exhaustion among their customer-service employees.