Revenge Exacerbates the Effects of Interpersonal Problems on Mentors’ Emotional Exhaustion and Work-Family Conflict: A Self-Defeating Perspective

Drawing on conservation of resources theory, this study examined the link between negative mentoring experiences (i.e., interpersonal problems) perceived by mentors and their work-family conflict (WFC) by focusing on the mediating role of emotional exhaustion and the moderating role of revenge. The results of a field survey of 187 mentors in China supported all of our hypotheses, indicating that interpersonal problems perceived by mentors were positively related to their WFC. This relationship was also found to be mediated by the mentors’ emotional exhaustion. In addition, revenge against protégés was found to moderate the main effect of interpersonal problems on emotional exhaustion and the indirect effect of interpersonal problems on WFC. Specifically, revenge exacerbated the positive relationship between interpersonal problems and emotional exhaustion. Further, emotional exhaustion mediated the indirect effect of interpersonal problems on WFC when the level of revenge was high, but not when it was low. The findings of this study provide insightful theoretical contributions and managerial implications that indicate new directions for research related to mentoring and work-family relationships.