The Influence of Demands and Resources on Emotional Exhaustion with the Information Systems Profession

Using the Job Demands-Resources Model of Burnout as an organizing framework, this study examines multiple models of the antecedents of emotional exhaustion with the profession among IS workers via a new structural equation modeling software, WarpPLS. Data were analyzed from 293 IS professionals representing various industries across the United States. This study provides empirical evidence regarding the mediating role of the demands of the profession and the considerable influence of affective connections to the profession (i.e., career-family conflict, psychological contract violation and connection to the profession) on emotional exhaustion with the IS profession. These findings highlight the importance of understanding how complex relationships influence emotional exhaustion with the profession. Researchers interested in the causes of burnout in IS professionals may want to focus on further exploring the affective connections to the profession as they were found to be key factors directly and indirectly influencing emotional exhaustion with the profession.