Abstract
PURPOSE: Using a cross-sectional design, this study aimed to examine the associations between personal resources and emotional exhaustion, with anxiety as a potential variable consistent with a mediating role. METHODS: Data was collected in Lebanon over a six month period using validated self-report questionnaires. Workers aged 18 to 64 years (N = 295) were recruited using a non-randomized snowball sampling approach. Multiple regression and mediation analyses were conducted. RESULTS: The findings indicate that personal resources (sleep quality (b = -0.224, 95% CI [-0.286, -0.165]), emotional intelligence (b = -0.061, 95% CI [-0. 112, -0.007]), and internal locus of control (b = -0.216, 95% CI [-0. 351, -0.075]) were all negatively associated with anxiety, supporting Hypothesis 1. Sleep quality (b = 0.073, 95% CI [-0.125, -0.029]) and internal locus of control (b = -0.071, 95% CI [-0.140, -0.018])) were also associated with lower emotional exhaustion through their associations with lower anxiety levels (i.e., indirect association via anxiety). In contrast, emotional intelligence (b = -0.020, 95% CI [-0.046, 0.002]) showed no significant indirect association with emotional exhaustion (i.e., no indirect association via anxiety). CONCLUSION: The results of this study highlight that not all personal resources have uniformly positive effects.