When Conscientiousness Isn’t Enough: Emotional Exhaustion and Performance Among Call Center Customer Service Representatives

Abstract

The authors examined the relationship of the interaction between emotional exhaustion and conscientiousness with objectively-measured call volume performance and subjectively-measured service quality ratings among 92 call center customer service representatives (CSR’s) of a financial services institution. Results supported the interactive effects on call volume but not service quality. Specifically, the relationship between emotional exhaustion and call volume was stronger among high- than low-conscientiousness CSR’s. Among CSR’s reporting low levels of emotional exhaustion, those high in conscientiousness achieved higher call volumes than those low in conscientiousness. In contrast, among CSR’s reporting high levels of emotional exhaustion, those high in conscientiousness achieved lower call volumes than those low in conscientiousness. Implications for both the personality and stress literatures are discussed. Practical implications for human resources managers also are offered.