Reducing emotional exhaustion and increasing organizational support

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to explore stressors that may influence salespersons' emotional exhaustion and their perception of organizational support. Design/methodology/approach - Structural equation modeling is used to assess: the effects of role conflict and work-family conflict on emotional exhaustion; role conflict and role ambiguity's effects on perceived organizational support; and whether perceived organization support is directly or indirectly linked to emotional exhaustion. Findings - Findings from the study suggest that work-family conflict and role conflict both significantly affect emotional exhaustion. Work-family conflict also was found to impact on the relationship between perceived organizational support and emotional exhaustion. Finally, role conflict and role ambiguity were found to have a negative impact on perceived organizational support. Originality/value - This study provides a foundation for reducing salespersons' emotional exhaustion and provides a method of increasing a salesforce's perception of organizational support.