Exploring the links between workers’ personal resources and emotional exhaustion during challenging times: Anxiety as a mediating factor

Abstract Purpose Using a cross-sectional design, this study aimed to examine the associations between personal resources and emotional exhaustion, with anxiety as a potential variable consistent with a mediating role. Methods Data was collected in Lebanon over a six month period using validated self-report questionnaires. Workers aged 18 to 64 years (N = 295) were recruited using a non-randomized snowball sampling approach. Multiple regression and mediation analyses were conducted. Results The findings indicate that personal resources (sleep quality (b = −0.224, 95% CI [−0.286, −0.165]), emotional intelligence (b = −0.061, 95% CI [−0. 112, −0.007]), and internal locus of control (b = −0.216, 95% CI [−0. 351, −0.075]) were all negatively associated with anxiety, supporting Hypothesis 1. Sleep quality (b = 0.073, 95% CI [−0.125, −0.029]) and internal locus of control (b = −0.071, 95% CI [−0.140, −0.018])) were also associated with lower emotional exhaustion through their associations with lower anxiety levels (i.e., indirect association via anxiety). In contrast, emotional intelligence (b = −0.020, 95% CI [−0.046, 0.002]) showed no significant indirect association with emotional exhaustion (i.e., no indirect association via anxiety). Conclusion The results of this study highlight that not all personal resources have uniformly positive effects.