Basic Values Moderate the Effects of Emotional Display Rule Demands on Emotional Exhaustion

We examined if basic individual values qualify the relationship between emotional display rule demands (DRDs) and emotional exhaustion at work. We drew on Schwartz's Value Theory to test this idea. In partial support of our hypotheses, DRDs are unrelated to emotional exhaustion among people with higher standing on Conservation values (security, conformity, and tradition), who find compliance with DRDs less burdensome than people with other values. These findings provide insight into why some people can better persist under the pressure of DRDs than others.