When Help Hurts: Workplace Instrumental Support and Employee Emotional Exhaustion Within-Person

The social support paradox describes mixed findings on the effects of social support on well-being. An application of the person-environment fit perspective can address the paradox by reasoning that similar quantities of social support needs and social support supplies should result in optimal well-being outcomes. We integrate a person-environment fit perspective with self-determination theory in an examination of the relationship between workplace instrumental support and emotional exhaustion through a two-week experience sampling method study. Fifty-nine participants responded to questions about desired quantities of work-related help from their colleagues (coworkers and supervisors) and their perceived quantities of work-related help after work and before bed. Participants responded to questions about their emotional exhaustion levels before bed. We utilized polynomial regression and response surface analyses to examine within-person. Within-person results indicate a stressor effect, such that daily unmet support needs are associated with daily higher emotional exhaustion.