Creative behavior and emotional exhaustion. The moderating role of affective commitment

The purpose of this paper is to determine how creative behavior influences emotional exhaustion and if affective commitment alters this relationship. The objective of the research is the Colombian electrical sector. The sample includes 448 employees with university studies, and the statistical analysis is done through a simple moderation process. The results indicate that creative behavior and affective commitment are negatively related to emotional exhaustion. Possibly, adaptive capacity to difficult scenarios, through original perspectives, derives into subjective well-being and positive moods that buffer work stress. In other words, these act as personal resources, satisfying the basic needs of the individual. However, when high creative demands coincide with excessive organizational commitment, this may lead to mental rigidity and self-demands so high as to emotionally exhaust employees, which verifies the moderating role commitment.