How Daily Job Insecurity Links to Next-Day Ingratiation: The Roles of Emotional Exhaustion and Power Distance Orientation

Purpose: Numerous empirical studies consistently support the detrimental impact of job insecurity (JI) on employees. However, a new perspective suggests that individuals perceiving JI may proactively take measures to protect their positions. Drawing from the conservation of resources theory, this study argues that perceived resource loss due to JI motivates employees to engage in ingratiating behaviors for expanding their social capital. Additionally, this study empirically establishes the mediating role of emotional exhaustion and the moderating effect of power distance. Methods: A daily diary design was used to examine the relationship between daily JI and next-day ingratiation. Our analyses of data collected from 134 full-time employees across 10 consecutive working days using multi-level model. Results: Our results showed that daily JI was found to affect next-day ingratiation (γ = 0.14, p < 0.01), and this relationship was mediated by emotional exhaustion (indirect effect = 0.07, p < 0.05, 95% CI [0.01, 0.13]). Power distance moderated the relationship between emotional exhaustion and ingratiation (γ = 0.25, p < 0.001), and further moderated the indirect effect of JI on ingratiation via emotional exhaustion. Conclusion: Our study has revealed that JI serves as a catalyst for employees to engage in resource creation behavior, thereby contributing to a deeper understanding of the implications of JI as an independent variable for both scholars and businesses.