Why and when job stressors impact voice behaviour: An ego depletion perspective

Most research assumes that job stressors decrease employees’ voice behavior. However, looking at research about job stressors and OCB (including voice), not all types of stressors have the same effects. The purpose of our research is to develop a new research model relating to the different effects of challenge stressors and hindrance stressors on voice behavior. Drawing on ego depletion theory, we propose that the relationship between stressors and voice behavior is mediated by employees’ ego depletion change. Further, we tested the moderating effect of leader-member exchange (LMX) on the relationship between stressors and subsequent ego depletion. We examined the hypothesized relationships using data collected in China from 346 employees on three consecutive days. As hypothesized, we found that ego depletion mediates the relationship between stressors and voice behavior. Also, LMX strengthens the positive relationship between hindrance stressors and subsequent ego depletion. We discuss implications for research and practice.