Family incivility, emotional exhaustion at work, and being a good soldier: The buffering roles of waypower and willpower

This study unpacks the relationship between family incivility and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), suggesting a mediating role of emotional exhaustion and moderating roles of waypower and willpower, two critical dimensions of hope. Three-wave data from employees and their peers in Pakistani organizations show that an important reason that family incivility diminishes OCB is that employees become emotionally overextended by their work. Employees' waypower and willpower buffer this harmful effect of family incivility on emotional exhaustion though, such that this effect is mitigated when the two personal resources are high. The study also reveals the presence of moderated mediation, such that the indirect effect of family incivility on OCB through emotional exhaustion is weaker for employees high in waypower and willpower. For organizations, this study accordingly identifies a key mechanism by which family adversity can undermine voluntary behaviors; this mechanism is less forceful among employees who are more hopeful though.