Is the grass greener on the other side? : using the Job Demands and Resources model to uncover potential triggers to expatriates’ burnout symptoms in their new workplace

Is the grass greener on the other side?

Using the Job Demands and Resources model to uncover potential

triggers to expatriates’ burnout symptoms in their new workplace

Chadhlia Mazouz 11393769

Master’s Thesis

Graduate School of Communication

Master’s Program Communication Science: Corporate Communication Supervisor: Dr. Claartje ter Hoeven

Abstract

The research looks into the case of expatriation, and aims to discover how certain job demands and resources are linked to burnout symptoms in the workplace. Using the Job Demands and Resources model (JD-R), the research investigates on the potential

associations between work adjustment, interpersonal conflicts and levels of exhaustion for expatriates. The research also posits that organizational communication as well as cultural intelligence might moderate these possible associations. An online cross-sectional survey was sent out to expatriates working at least 20 hours per week. The analyses performed showed that there is an association between work adjustment, interpersonal conflicts in the workplace and exhaustion levels in the case of expatriates. Moreover, it has been

demonstrated that cultural intelligence moderates the association between work adjustment and exhaustion. This implies that awareness about cultural characteristics should be raised among expatriates in order for them to decrease the likelihood of experiencing burnout symptoms in their new workplace, and to more extent to adjust to their new work environment.

Integration in the labor market is an essential factor for expatriates’ personal and family well-being, as well as playing a major role in the host country’s economic growth and productivity (Weiner, 2008). This consists of the development of socio-cultural and

interpersonal workplace skills that are of prime importance for the different communities involved. Nevertheless, skilled expatriates – or immigrants – might experience difficulties to adapt to their new workplace, and to a greater extent to the general framework of labor market. The importance of identifying and understanding factors that can influence expatriation success has been generally recognized (Bartlett, 1950). Indeed, research on expatriate adjustment and its antecedents has lengthily been under investigation (Black, 1988; Black, Mendenhall, & Oddou, 1991; Mendenhall & Oddou, 1985; Hechanova, Beehr, & Christiansen, 2003; Harrison, Shaffer, & Bhaskar-Shrinivas, 2004; Bhaskar-Shrinivas, Harrison, Shaffer, & Luk, 2005). Accordingly, adjustment represents the “degree of comfort (or absence of pressure) associated with being an expatriate” (Silkier, Berger, Barnes, & Renwick, 2017, p.231). One of the most commonly adjustment outcomes considered as expatriation success measures is job satisfaction (Ones & Dissevering, 1997). In addition, besides research on job satisfaction, numerous researchers focused on burnout in the last decades, and how to conceptualize and test burnout frameworks in a plethora of different contexts (Silkier et al., 2017). However, to date, there is no systematic research on the potential association between expatriation adjustment and burnout symptoms per se. Hence, the present research uses burnout symptoms as the outcome variable, and identifies

possible triggers that might be experienced by expatriates in their new workplace. Burnout is commonly defined as “a psychological syndrome of emotional exhaustion,

depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals who work with other people in some capacity” (Maslach, Schafeli, & Leiter, 2001, p. 399). Pertinent literature found out that there are potential antecedents to burnout in the workplace in general, such as job-related tension (Chong & Monroe, 2015), role ambiguity and role conflict (Chong & Monroe, 2015; Low, Cravens, Grand, & Moncrief, 2001), social support from colleagues and coping with the job in itself (Greenglass, Burke, & Konarski, 1998), or

intrinsic motivation to work (Low et al., 2001). In a similar vein, some researchers also focused on the outcomes of burnout, as notably job satisfaction (Chong & Monroe, 2015; Low et al., 2001; Ybema, Smulders, & Bongers, 2010). The job demands and resources model (JD-R), which was firstly introduced in 2001 by Demerouti and her colleagues

(Demerouti, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001) encompasses several of these aspects and can be useful to use as a framework to conduct research. Indeed, the JD-R model aims to explain how specific job conditions – classified as job demands and job resources – can influence employees’ engagement and exhaustion. Moreover, the model can serve as a fruitful conceptual framework that could help researchers, and to more extent employers in the workplace to effectively increase work engagement and prevent burnout symptoms among employees. To date, the JD-R was primarily used within occupational and organizational psychology, as well as in different cultural and national settings (see the review of Schaufeli & Taris, 2014 for a complete overview of the literature). However, despite its rather broad popularity, the model has received little attention within the field of communication science. The current research tackles this gap by addressing job demands and resources that are mostly communication-related in the special case of expatriates. In addition, there is no systematic research on cultural dimensions that may moderate the potential relationships between job demands, resources and outcome variables in the JD-R model. Existing research has been made on country-level variation, and looked at the influence of general cultural dimensions, such as the level of individualism-collectivism of different countries (Yang, 2012).

The current research goes further and proposes that more personal resources, such as cultural intelligence can be included in the JD-R model in the case of expatriates. Cultural intelligence (also named CQ) is defined as a person’s ability to adapt to different cultural environments (Brislin, Worthley, & Macnab, 2006; Earley & Ang, 2003). Hence, the following research question is formulated: how are (communication-related) job demands and

resources associated with burnout symptoms and cultural intelligence among expatriates? The outcome – or dependent – variable that will be used is burnout, and the predictors – or

independent – variables that will be investigated are work adjustment, interpersonal conflicts, organizational communication and cultural intelligence. We propose that work adjustment and interpersonal conflicts are job demands in the JD-R model, whereas

organizational communication is a job resource and cultural intelligence a personal resource that will be investigated as potential moderators in the model. The first job demand that will be investigated relates to expatriate adjustment, and more specifically to work adjustment, which is defined as the psychological comfort that expatriates can feel about their job tasks in their new environment (Selmer, 1999). This job demand is not communication-related per se but it would be particularly interesting to see how it interacts in the overall JD-R model in the case of expatriation, as this has to date not been researched. The second job demand relates to interpersonal conflicts, which are commonly defined as the differences between two or more people (or groups) with regards to beliefs, values or interests (De Dreu & Beersma, 2005) and that can lead to potential interpersonal tension between these people (Martinez-Corts, Demerouti, Bakker, & Boz, 2015). We believe that this specific job demand can be very important to analyze when looking at expatriation as expatriates evolve in a different cultural setting that the one they would know most. This in turn could potentially lead to associations between burnout as well as with cultural intelligence, as explained further. Finally, the research will explore organizational communication, which has already been studied in the framework of the JD-R model as a job resource (Schaufeli & Taris, 2014). Accordingly, research in organizational communication aims to discover “how

knowledge is socially constructed from the point of view of participants within organizations, as well as between organizations and the larger society” (Keyton, 2017, p. 503). Other scholars also claim that organizational communication is essential to any organization (Putnam & Nicotera, 2009). Hence, the present research builds on the existing literature and incorporates organizational communication as a potential other moderator in the JD-R model. The next section presents the different concepts to a greater extent, and subsequent analysis will be presented thereof.

Theoretical framework The job demands and resources model

The job demands and resources (JD-R) model was developed by Demerouti et al. (2001) and aims to describe how job characteristics can result in depletion and/or motivation of employees. Furthermore, the model has the ability to be applied in a great variety of occupations and work environments (Brenninkmeijer, Demerouti, le Blanc, & van Emmerik, 2010). There are two main categories in the model, namely job demands and job resources. The former refers to “those physical, psychological, social, or organizational aspects of the job that require sustained physical and/or psychological (cognitive and emotional) effort or skills and are therefore associated with certain physiological and/or psychological costs” (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007, p.310). Job resources are “those physical, psychological, social, or organizational aspects of the job that are either/or: functional in achieving work goals; reduce job demands and the associated physiological and psychological costs; stimulate personal growth, learning, and development” (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007, p.311).

In addition, the JD-R model presumes that job resources can alter the effect of certain job demands on exhaustion/burnout (Bakker, Demerouti, & Euwema, 2005; Van der Doef & Maes, 1999; Johnson & Hall, 1988). Hence, the model can result in important outcomes for organizations. Indeed, according to Schaufeli (2017), there are 4 main justifications for the use of the model by organizations, namely that the model (1)

incorporates a positive focus on work engagement as well as a negative focus on burnout which turns into a balanced and comprehensive approach; (2) it has a general scope, which can therefore include all relevant job characteristics; (3) it is flexible, which means that organizations can tailor the model to their own needs and (4) it acts as a strong and universal communication tool for all stakeholders (p.120).

The present study will therefore make use of the JD-R model to explain how job resources and demands mostly related to communication aspects interact with burnout symptoms among expatriates. Moreover, the study will identify possible moderators in the above-mentioned relationship, and these will be presented in the next sections.

Burnout and exhaustion

Burnout has lengthily been a point of interest for researchers as well as practitioners since its introduction to the scientific community (see for instance the work of Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998; Cooper, Dewe, & O’Driscoll 2001; Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter 2001; Shirom & Melamed, 2006). According to its primary researchers, burnout is the outcome of a depreciation process, in which initially motivated individuals lose their spirit (Freudenberger, 1980; Maslach, 1982; Pines & Aronson, 1988). Despite numerous definitions, the most common cites burnout as a “psychological syndrome in response to chronic interpersonal stressors on the job” (Maslach, Leiter, & Schaufeli, 2008, p.90). Accordingly, there are three key dimensions forming the concept of burnout, namely an overwhelming exhaustion, a general detachment from the job and a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of

accomplishment. The first component – exhaustion – depicts the core dimension of stress that individuals might experience, and is understood as a feeling of being depleted of one’s emotional as well as physical resources. The second component – depersonalization or detachment – refers to the distance an individual feel with regards to his or her job. The third component – lack of accomplishment – refers to a feeling of incompetence and a general lack of productivity at work.

The present research uses the framework provided by the JD-R model and applies it to the special case of expatriates. Although expatriate stress has been the subject of an extensive body of research, burnout on the other hand has rarely been addressed in the context of expatriation; the limited amount of studies that examined burnout among expatriates tested burnout symptoms among professions that are particularly subjected to high burnout levels such as nurses and teachers (Aydogan, Dogan, & Bayram, 2009). Another study was concerned with burnout symptoms among expatriate managers (Bhanugopan & Fish, 2009). Their findings indicated an association between burnout and role conflict, role overload and role ambiguity as well as an association between burnout and a desire to quit the assignment. One reason advocated for this lack of extensive research in the field of burnout among expatriates is concerned with the fact that when burnout was

introduced in the scientific community, it was primarily aimed towards human service professions (e.g. Freudenberger 1980; Maslach 1982; Farber 1983). Nevertheless, according to Silbiger and Malach Pines (2014), the fact that expatriates “work with people over long periods of time in situations that are emotionally demanding makes them likely candidates for burnout” (p.1171). The next section provides an account on expatriate adjustment.

Besides this, the scientific community has witnessed an alternative approach to the concept of burnout, which consists in the reduction of the three dimensions to a single dimension, namely exhaustion. The latter seems to be the most widely reported as well as the most analyzed component of burnout. Accordingly, when people “describe themselves or others as experiencing burnout, they are often referring to the experience of exhaustion” (Pick & Leiter, 1991).

Hence, the present study will use the exhaustion component of burnout in its subsequent analysis, and the terminology “exhaustion” will be used instead. The next sections provide an account of the different job demands and resources that will be used in the research.

Work adjustment in the case of expatriation

Adjustment is commonly defined as the degree of psychological comfort one feels regarding a new situation and its environmental demands (Black, 1988). Furthermore, Black and his colleagues advanced that adjustment within a cross-cultural environment is

consisted of three components, namely work adjustment, interaction adjustment and general adjustment (Black, 1988; Black & Gregersen, 1991; Black & Stephens, 1989). Work

adjustment is understood as the psychological comfort that expatriates can feel about their job tasks in their new environment; this consists of comfort with performance standards and expectations, responsibility with regards to supervision, specific job responsibilities and other job demands (Selmer, 1999). Interaction adjustment translates to the expatriates’

of work. Finally, general adjustment relates to expatriates’ psychological comfort experienced with non-work aspects, such as transportation, healthcare or food.

Following the stress and coping framework advanced by Lazarus (1966), Black and his colleagues (1991) conceptualized maladjustment as stress. They built a comprehensive model in which adjustment is influenced by several antecedents that can increase or decrease uncertainty, as for instance organizational or job factors. Since then, numerous studies have been conducted and one of them summarized 25 years of expatriation research that in general seemed to support the above-mentioned model (Harrison et al., 2004). Other studies proved the effect of personality dimensions and skills on expatriate adjustment (Harrison, Chadwick, & Scales, 1996; Harrison et al. 2004; Bhaskar-Shrinivas et al., 2005). Black (1990) also subsequently found out that the willingness to communicate in a new environment and a collaborative approach in conflict resolution positively correlate to all three adjustment components in the case of expatriates. In addition, emotional

intelligence (self-identification) was found to be associated with work and interaction adjustment (Gabel, Dolan, & Cerdin, 2005). Hence, it seems apparent that expatriate adjustment is associated with work outcomes such as stress. The latter can potentially and ultimately lead to burnout symptoms, as burnout is the syndrome resulting from chronic stressors in the workplace.

However, relatively few studies have examined burnout symptoms among

expatriates per se. There is therefore a need to combine literature on expatriate adjustment and burnout symptoms in the new work environment of expatriates. It would be interesting to see if correlations can be found with regards to expatriates’ adjustment and burnout

symptoms, and more importantly if expatriate adjustment can be considered as an

antecedent to burnout in itself. We assume that the relationship might exist, as burnout and stress are concepts that are inherently interlinked. Within the scope of the present research however, only work adjustment will be considered when investigating on burnout symptoms. We posit that work adjustment might be the most important as well as a meaningful

context. In addition, about 33% of expatriates that return to their country of origin are considered ‘brownouts’, which characterizes expatriates that fail to perform well (Stroh, Black, Mendenhall, & Gregersen, 2005). There is therefore a need to see whether the two concepts are associated.

Hence, work adjustment is considered as a job demand for expatriates in the context of the job resources and demands model, and the following hypothesis is thus derived:

H1: Work adjustment is negatively associated with burnout symptoms (exhaustion) among expatriates.

Interpersonal conflicts

Interpersonal conflict (IC) is commonly understood as the differences between two or more people (or groups) with regards to beliefs, values or interests (De Dreu & Beersma, 2005) and that can lead to potential interpersonal tension between these people (Martinez-Corts et al., 2015). IC has largely been researched in organizational studies (Sliter, Pui, Sliter, K. A., & Jex, 2011). The literature identified three main types of interpersonal conflicts, namely relationship, process and task conflicts (Jehn, 1997; Jehn & Mannix, 2001). The first one, that is, relationship conflicts refers to “to the awareness of interpersonal

incompatibilities and include strong affective components such as feeling tension and friction” (Schermuly & Schölmerich, 2018, p.79). The second type, process conflicts, is understood as the awareness of disagreements about task accomplishment and the duties given to accomplish the task (Jehn,1997). Finally, task conflicts refer to the awareness of the different opinions regarding a group’s task (Jehn & Mannix, 2001).

In the present study, interpersonal conflict is regarded as a specific job demand of the JD-R model. Furthermore, as the research is aimed to identify communication-related issues in the workplace, only the relationship conflict aspect of interpersonal conflicts is considered. We posit that relationship conflicts in the workplace can be particularly

made of colleagues that they might not be accustomed to. Previous research demonstrated that expatriates have to interact in new environments, and they often display uncertainty as to what is acceptable or unacceptable behavior (Adler, 1997; Waxin, 2004). In addition, it has been shown that variables reducing this uncertainty can facilitate expatriate adjustment in general, and variables that increase this uncertainty can worsen adjustment (Waxin, 2004). A potential relationship between interpersonal conflicts and burnout symptoms can therefore be expected, as the former could trigger uncertainty among expatriates, which could ultimately lead them to feel exhausted. Hence, considering interpersonal conflicts as a job demand, we derive the following hypothesis:

H2: Interpersonal conflicts are positively associated with burnout symptoms (exhaustion) among expatriates.

Organizational communication

Organizations cannot exist without sufficient communication. Research has shown that communication within organizations is crucial and important, especially considering the amount of time spent by members in their organization. Indeed, in general, individuals in organizations spend from 50 to 80% of their time engaging in communication-related activities (Giri & Kumar, 2010). Accordingly, communication has become the central means by which “individual activity is coordinated to devise, disseminate and pursue organizational goals” (Gradner, Paulsen, Gallois, Callan, & Monaghan, 2001, p.563). In addition, it has been proven that organizations cannot be detached from their members: they are rather created and created again thanks to the different communication acts of their members (Iedema & Wodak, 1999). Organizational communication has largely been used as a variable measuring the degree to which “information about the job and workplace is transmitted by an organization to its members” (Price, 1997, p.315). Research on

organizational communication recognized that communication within organizations has to go beyond the idea that managers need to be trained effectively and have good interpersonal

skills; it is rather the role of the organizations as a whole to display good communication in order to tackle needs and challenges effectively (Giri & Kumar, 2010). Moreover, the existing body of research identified significant associations between organizational communication and important outcomes. For instance, organizational communication was found to be positively correlated to organizational commitment (Varona, 1996), job satisfaction as well as organizational climate satisfaction (Muchinsky, 1977; Mueller & Lee, 2002). Organizational communication was also used within the JD-R model as a job resource (Albrecht, Breidahl, & Marty, 2018; Barrick, Thurgood, Smith, & Courtright, 2015; Biggs, Brough, & Barbour, 2014). In the present study, we decided to make use of organizational communication as a job resource that could perhaps moderate the potential relationship between job demands and exhaustion. We expect organizational communication to influence the potential associations mentioned in the previous sections. Effective organizational communication from the part of the host-country organization has been found to “reduce the anxiety associated with reintegration into the home company work-force, and elevates work

effectiveness and commitment” (Aycan, 1997, p.450). It can therefore be useful to determine to what extent effective organizational communication interacts with symptoms of burnout among expatriates, and in turn how it can potentially influence the relationships previously advanced. Hence, the following hypotheses are derived:

H3a: Organizational communication moderates the relationship between work adjustment and exhaustion among expatriates, in such a way that the better the organizational communication, the lower the relationship between work adjustment and exhaustion.

H3b: Organizational communication moderates the relationship between

interpersonal conflicts and exhaustion among expatriates, in such a way that the better the organizational communication, the lower the relationship between interpersonal conflicts and exhaustion.

Cultural intelligence

Cultural intelligence (or CQ), which can also take the name of behavioral

competency, permits people to be more effective in working across cultures. CQ indeed refers to the “ability to function in another culture or a culturally diverse setting and facilitate understanding, adaptation, communication, and coordination in those settings” (Korzilius, Bücker, & Beerlage, 2017, p.15). In addition, cultural intelligence is composed of different constructs, namely cultural metacognition, cultural knowledge (cognition), the motivation to adapt to cross-cultural settings and behavioral repertoire (Ang, Van Dyne, & Koh, 2006). Metacognitive cultural intelligence is defined as the general process that individuals use in order to generate and understand cultural knowledge (Ang et. al., 2006) and can further generate reflection on this knowledge (Carson, Peterson, & Higgins, 2003; Egan, 2005; Thomas, Elron, Stahl, Ekelund, Ravlin, & Cerdin, 2008). Cognitive cultural intelligence “reflects knowledge of the norms, practices and conventions in different cultures acquired from education and personal experiences” (Ang, Van Dyne, Koh, K. Y., Templer, Tay, & Chandrasekar, 2007, p. 338). As for motivational cultural intelligence, it is the impetus that leads individuals to adapt and adjust to different cultural settings (Earley & Ang, 2003). Finally, behavioral cultural intelligence is the ability “to exhibit appropriate verbal and nonverbal actions when interacting with people from different cultures” (Ang et al., 2006; p. 101).

Matsumoto and Hwang (2013) reviewed several cross-cultural competence

instruments and they subsequently identified the CQ scale as an appropriate measurement instrument to assess the above-mentioned concepts. Moreover, several other studies explored cultural intelligence as an outcome variable that can notably be linked to self-efficacy (MacNab & Worthley, 2012), risk orientation and the need for control (Engle & Nehrt, 2012), cross-border leadership effectiveness (Rockstuhl, Seiler, Ang, Van Dyne, & Annen, 2011), training (Bücker & Korzilius, 2015) and international experience (Engle & Crowne, 2014) amongst others.

Besides, CQ has also been studied as a predictor in a number of contexts, by linking it to expatriate performance (Rose, Ramula, Uli, & Kumar, 2010) or cross-cultural adjustment (Huff, Song, & Gresch, 2014; Imai & Gelfand, 2010) for instance. Furthermore, Elenkov and Manev (2009) argued that it is necessary for expatriates to possess cultural intelligence in order to integrate knowledge from colleagues coming from a different culture into their own innovative behavior.

The present study goes further, and integrates cultural intelligence in the JD-R model as a personal resource. Accordingly, personal resources are defined as “the psychological characteristics or aspects of the self that are generally associated with resiliency and that refer to the ability to control and impact one’s environment successfully” (Schaufeli & Taris, 2014, p.49). Personal resources are essential in accomplishing work goals, similarly to job resources, and they further stimulate personal growth and development. In the present study, we therefore look into resources from different levels, with organizational

communication as an organizational job resource, and cultural intelligence as a personal resource. To date, there is no systematic study on the role of cultural intelligence as any sort of resource in the general JD-R model. Furthermore, as demonstrated in previous research, interactions occurring in intercultural settings can be stressful (Mendenhall and Oddou, 1985). For this reason, cultural intelligence can have “special relevance to cultural

adaptation . . . and is consistent with meta-analytic findings that self-efficacy and relationship skills predict expatriate adjustment” (Ang et al., 2007, p.342). We therefore expect cultural intelligence to be associated with symptoms of burnout among expatriates, and further act as a moderating variable in the relationships between job demands and burnout. We posit that cultural intelligence, when developed and assimilated by expatriates, can limit burnout symptoms triggered by certain job demands.

The present study therefore introduces cultural intelligence as a personal resource that can, similarly to job resources, moderate the relationship between job demands and burnout. The following hypotheses are therefore derived:

H4a: Cultural intelligence moderates the relationship between work adjustment and exhaustion among expatriates, in such a way that the higher the cultural intelligence, the lower the relationship between work adjustment and exhaustion.

H4b: Cultural intelligence moderates the relationship between interpersonal conflicts and exhaustion among expatriates, in such a way that the higher the cultural

intelligence, the lower the relationship between interpersonal conflicts and exhaustion.

The hypotheses derived in the present section are integrated in the conceptual model below. The model encompasses the different job demands used in the research, namely work adjustment and interpersonal conflicts and their potential relationship with exhaustion. It further includes the possible moderators of these relationships, namely cultural intelligence and organizational communication.

Figure 1

Conceptual model derived from the job demands and resources model (JD-R model)

Work adjustment

Interpersonal conflicts

Exhaustion

Cultural intelligence

Organizational communication

Job demands

Methods Design and procedure

The present research was conducted through an online survey using the software Qualtrics during the course of two weeks in June 2018. Participants were asked to follow the link to the survey via social media channels as well as via email. After following the link, participants were provided with a description of the study and were asked to agree to an informed consent form. The researcher guaranteed that the data collected for the course of the study will not be shared to third-parties, and that anonymity will be guaranteed. At the end of the questionnaire, participants were asked if they wanted to participate to a random draw in order to win a 10 euros gift card from Amazon.com. If so, participants were asked to provide their email address. Two winners were subsequently selected amongst the

participants. The dependent variable used in the research is exhaustion. The independent variables used are work adjustment, interpersonal conflicts, cultural intelligence and organizational communication. Finally, socio-demographics and work-related measures were asked at the end of the questionnaire.

Sample

A purposive non-probability sample of 152 participants was obtained. Participation was collected on three requirements: participants had to be employed, they had to live in a different country than their country of origin, and they had to work at least 20 hours per week in order to be eligible for the present study. Following data cleaning, the sample consists of adults between the ages of 20 and 58 years, the mean age being 27 years (M = 27.42, SD = 6.24). Sex distribution is rather uneven (33% male, 67% female). Most participants have an academic degree, either a bachelor’s degree (49%), a master’s degree, (38%), or hold a PhD (1%). The other participants hold a high school degree (11%). Some participants hold a managerial position in their company (20%), however, the majority of participants does not (80%). Working hours per week is on average of 36 hours (M = 35.98, SD = 7.01), and the majority of respondents (56%) work 40 hours per week. Participants’ country of residence

varies, and the majority of them are located in the Netherlands (65%), Germany (5%) and Belgium (5%). Participants’ country of origin is also rather widespread, the majority being France (43%), Germany (6%) as well as Belgium and Italy (5%). Finally, the duration of employment in their host-country is mostly of more than a year (53%), followed by 6 to 9 months (17%) and 3 to 6 months (10%).

Measures

Exhaustion, which is the dependent variable used in the present study, was

operationalized from the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach et al., 2001). The variable was measured on a 7-point scale, and 5 items were asked to the participants. The measurement ranged from 1 which equaled to “never” to 7, which equaled to “always” (M = 3.6, SD = 1.41, α = .88). The variable is used as a ratio variable in subsequent analysis. The question asked to the respondents was the following: “When you think about your work overall, how often do you feel the following?”. An example item included “a full day of work is a heavy burden for me”.

Work adjustment was operationalized according to the scale developed by Black and Stephens (1989). Participants were asked how adjusted or unadjusted they felt they were to their current organization on three different aspects, as for instance on “performance

standards and expectations”. The three items were measured on a 7-point scale, ranging from 1 being “completely unadjusted” to 7 being “completely adjusted” and the variable is used as a ratio variable (M = 5.14, SD = 1.41, α = .86).

Interpersonal conflicts were measured following the established scale of Giebels and Janssen (2005). As mentioned in the previous section, only the relationship aspect of

interpersonal conflicts was of interest in the present research. Hence, the variable consists of four items asking the frequency to which there are, for instance “emotional conflicts between respondents and their colleagues”. The four items were asked on a 7-point scale, ranging from 1 being “never” to 7 being “always” and the variable is considered as a ratio variable (M = 2.33, SD = 1.24, α = .89).

Organizational communication was operationalized using the scale provided by Kumar and Giri (2010). Respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with different statements on a scale from 1 being “strongly disagree” to 7 being “strongly agree”. In total, 25 items were asked to measure organizational communication. An example of statement asked includes “when people talk to each other in the group, there is a great deal of

understanding”. Following factor analysis and an orthogonal rotation, the alpha coefficient of the organizational communication scale was found to be acceptable (M = 4.62, SD = .78, α = .83).

Cultural intelligence was measured following the research of Ang et al. (2007). Participants were asked to select the answer that best describes them. In total, 20 items were included in a scale ranging from 1 being “strongly disagree” to 7 being “strongly agree”. (M = 5.16, SD = .66, α = .83). As mentioned in the theoretical section, concepts measured in the scale include cultural metacognition, cultural knowledge (cognition), the motivation to adapt to cross-cultural settings and behavioral repertoire. The variable is used as a ratio variable in the subsequent analysis. An example of statement includes “I know the cultural values and religious beliefs of other cultures”.

Several variables were included in analysis as control variables. These include the sex of the participants (0 = male, 1 = female), their age (in years), the duration of

employment in their host-country (0 = from 1-3 months, 1 = 3-6 months, 2 = 6-9 months, 3 = 9-12 months or 4 = 1 year and more), whether they hold a managerial position (0 = no, 1 = yes) as well as their educational level (0 = high school degree, 1 = bachelor’s degree, 2 = master’s degree and 3 = PHD). Gender and managerial position were considered as dummy variables, hence ratio variables. Age was considered as a ratio variable. As for the duration of employment and the educational level, they were considered as ordinal variables.

Results

Firstly, bivariate correlations were conducted in order to see how the different variables, including control variables, are associated. Table 1 provides an account of these

correlations.

Table 1

Bivariate correlations between the outcome variable and studied independent variables

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1. Gender 2. Age .08 3. Duration of employment -.06 .22** 4. Managerial position -.20* .29** .23* 5. Level of education .06 .07 .01 .13 6. Exhaustion -.01 -.12 .35** .03 -.01 7. Work adjustment .07 .02 .02 .21* -.10 -.12 8. Interpersonal conflicts .16* .04 .14 .15 .27** .45** -.97 9. Organizational communication .03 .05 -.17* .33** .31** -.45** .28** -.23** 10. Cultural intelligence .20* -.02 .03 -.05 .03 -.16* .08 -.22** .16 Note. N = 147 *p<.05, **p<.001.

From the correlations displayed above, we can see that some control variables, such as the duration of employment is associated with the outcome variable, exhaustion. In addition, the different independent variables, and especially organizational communication, display rather important levels of correlations. This in turn can be interesting to denote in the subsequent analysis. Hence, several regression analyses were conducted to investigate on the hypotheses advanced in the theoretical section. The results of the different models tested are presented in Table 2 below.

Table 2

Regression models to predict exhaustion

1 2 3 4 5 6 Constant 4.35 2.60 3.54 3.99 3.14 3.97 Gender .01 -.10 .03 -.05 .06 -.07 Age -.18 -.13 -.19* -.15 -.18* -.13 Duration of employment .42*** .33*** .28** .27** .51*** .34*** Managerial position .01 -.13 .18 -.01 -.02 -.13 Level of education .01 -.11 .12 -.03 .03 -.10 Work adjustment -.15* -.08 -.23* Interpersonal conflicts .53*** .43*** .50*** Organizational communication -.43*** -.25** Cultural intelligence (CQ) -.19* -.09

Org. comm. x Work adjustment -.08

Org. comm. x Interpersonal conflicts -.02

CQ x Work adjustment .25** CQ x Interpersonal conflicts -.06 R2 .20 .38 .32 .41 .24 .38 F 4.22** 12.58*** 6.28*** 10.76*** 5.46*** 9.66*** Note. N = 115 *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001.

In the first model, a linear regression was conducted with exhaustion as the dependent variable, and work adjustment as the independent variable. The model as a whole is significant, F(6, 108) = 4.22, p < .001. Work adjustment has a significant, however weak negative association with exhaustion, b* = -.15, t = -1.67 p < .05 (one-sided). In addition, the duration of employment displays a significant moderate association with exhaustion in the model, b* = .42, t = 4.58 p < .001. Overall, the model explains 20% of the variance in exhaustion (R2 = .20). H1 is therefore supported.

In the second model, interpersonal conflicts were looked as the independent

variable. The model as a whole is significant, with F(6, 108) = 12.58, p < .001. Interpersonal conflicts have a significant and moderate association with exhaustion, b* = .53, t = 6.67, p < .001, and the control variable “duration of employment” also has a relatively significant

moderate association with the dependent variable, b* = .33, t = 4.21 p < .001. Hence, H2 is supported.

The third model was interested in the association between work adjustment and exhaustion, and the potential moderating effect that organizational communication could have on this association. The model as a whole is significant, with F(8, 106) = 6.28, p < .001. When looking at coefficients, only organizational communication has a significant and

moderate negative association with exhaustion, b* = -.43, t = -4.44, p < .001. The duration of employment displays a relatively moderate significant association with exhaustion, b* = .28, t = 3.18, p = .01 as well as age which displays a weak negative significant association with exhaustion, b* = -.19, t = -2.20, p =.03. The interaction between organizational

communication, work adjustment and exhaustion was not found, b* = -.08, t = -.91, p = .36. Therefore, H3a is rejected.

The fourth model was concerned with the relationship between interpersonal conflicts and exhaustion, and again, the moderating effect that organizational

communication could have on the relationship. The model as a whole is significant, with F(8, 106) = 10.76, p < .001. Interpersonal conflicts have a significant moderate positive

association with exhaustion, b* = .43, t = 4.87, p < .001, and organizational communication has a significant negative weak association with exhaustion, b* = -.25, t = -2.67, p < .01. As for the control variables, the duration of employment has a significant weak association with exhaustion, b* = .27, t = 3.39, p = .01. The interaction effect was not found, b* = .08, t = -.300, p =.76. Hence, H3b is rejected, as no moderation effect was found.

The fifth model was interested in another potential moderation, that is, the association of cultural intelligence in the relationship between work adjustment and exhaustion. The model as a whole is significant, with F(8, 106) = 5.46, p < .001. Work

adjustment has a significant negative association with exhaustion, however weak, b* = -.23, t = -2.51, p = .01. Cultural intelligence has a significant negative and also weak association with exhaustion, b* = -.19, t = -2.51, p = .02. Concerning the control variables, age displays a significant negative weak association with exhaustion, b* = -.18, t = -2.10, p = .04 and the

duration of employment a significant moderate association with the dependent variable, b* = .51, t = 5.64, p < .001. As for the interaction effect, evidence was found that cultural

intelligence influences the relationship between work adjustment and exhaustion, the association is relatively weak and positive, b* = .25, t = 2.72, p < .01. H4a is therefore accepted, as the moderation effect was found.

Finally, the last model was concerned with the association of cultural intelligence in the potential relationship between interpersonal conflicts and exhaustion. The model as a whole is significant, F(8, 106) = 9.66, p < .001. Interpersonal conflicts have a significant moderate and positive association with exhaustion, b* = .50, t = 5.89, p < .001. The duration of employment again displays a significant relatively moderate association with exhaustion, b* = .34, t = 4.34, p < .001. However, the interaction effect was not found, b* = -.06, t = -.73, p = .47. Hence, H4b is rejected.

Figure 2 displays the graphical representation of the interaction effect found in the fifth model.

Figure 2

Graphical representation of the interaction effect of cultural intelligence on work adjustment and exhaustion

We can see in the graphical representation that low levels of work adjustment lead to higher levels of exhaustion, and this when individuals possess low levels of cultural intelligence. The moderation effect when high levels of cultural intelligence are present is less evident on the relationship between work adjustment and exhaustion, but tends to slightly be better when high levels of cultural intelligence are present. To conclude, the following figure represents the revised conceptual model after analysis.

Figure 3

Revised conceptual model of the current study

Discussion

The current study was concerned with an extension of the job demands and resources model (known as the JD-R model) elaborated by Demerouti et al. (2001), and applied to the context of communication research with a focus on expatriation. The study investigated the association between two job demands, namely work adjustment and interpersonal conflicts, and exhaustion in the workplace. In addition, the conceptual model looked at the potential moderation effect of cultural intelligence, which was considered as a

Work adjustment

Exhaustion

Cultural intelligence

.25**

-.23*

Interpersonal conflicts

personal resource as well as of organizational communication, which was considered as a job resource.

The first two hypotheses tested the association between each job demand on

exhaustion levels. Evidence was found on both job demands: there is a negative association between work adjustment and exhaustion, and there is a positive association between interpersonal conflicts and exhaustion, thus supporting the first two hypotheses of the conceptual model under study. In other words, when an expatriate feels adjusted to his new work, he/she is less likely to experience feelings of exhaustion. In addition, when an

expatriate experience interpersonal conflicts in his/her workplace, he/she will be more likely to experience feelings of exhaustion. Both findings are interesting to denote in the case of expatriation. The importance of work adjustment is proved to be determinant for the well-being of expatriate, and in this specific case on a more emotional note that is exhaustion. This seems to corroborate past research in the field of expatriate adjustment, notably the research of Silbiger and Malach Pines (2014) which looked at the difference between stress and burnout in the case of expatriation. In their study, the authors found out that burnout and stress had different outcomes with adjustment, that is, “the better the work and interaction adjustment, the less burnout and the more stress” (Silbiger & Malach Pines, 2014, p.1179). In our present study, evidence was found that, indeed, the better the work adjustment, the less expatriates experience burnout (operationalized through its exhaustion component). Our findings therefore further demonstrated the relevance to study burnout symptoms related to the expatriate experience. As for interpersonal conflicts in the workplace, our findings seem particularly interesting in the special case of expatriation. Indeed, expatriates are faced with colleagues that might not share the same culture and customs. Interpersonal conflicts can therefore occur, maybe more often and in an easier fashion in the case of expatriation, and this in turn can be detrimental to the well-being of employees in their workplace. Moreover, these results resonate with Waxin (2014) findings, which posited that expatriates faced with uncertainty might also experience worsen adjustment in their

workplace. Hence, interpersonal conflicts can act as a job demand influencing uncertainty, and is thus particularly important to investigate in the case of expatriation.

The third set of hypotheses tested the potential association of organizational communication on the relationship between the two job demands under study and

exhaustion levels. No moderating effect of organizational communication was found, thus both hypotheses were rejected. However, there was a general significant effect of

organizational communication on exhaustion levels. This might pave the way for further research on the topic. Instead of using organizational communication as a job resource that might act as a moderating variable in relationships between job demands and burnout in the workplace, one might think of investigating on the direct effect that this job resource might have on burnout in the special case of expatriation. This in turn could produce potential results that might consequently improve current research on expatriation.

Finally, the fourth set of hypotheses looked into the possible moderation effect of cultural intelligence in the relationship between the two job demands under study and exhaustion. A significant moderation effect of cultural intelligence was found on the association between work adjustment and exhaustion levels, which means that when an expatriate possesses high levels of cultural intelligence, he/she will be less likely to suffer from exhaustion symptoms due to work maladjustment. These results add to the growing body of literature on cultural intelligence and expatriate adjustment, and to more extent to the framework of the JD-R model, thereby formally introducing cultural intelligence as a personal resource that can act as a moderating variable in relationships between job

demands and the outcome variable of burnout, again operationalized through its exhaustion component. However, no evidence was found on the possible influence that cultural

intelligence might have on the relationship between interpersonal conflicts and exhaustion. This can be explained by the fact that cultural intelligence might be of relevance in the workplace context for expatriates, but not necessarily important to take into consideration when they experience interpersonal conflicts. There are maybe other and more related moderators acting on the relationship between interpersonal conflicts and exhaustion, and

these should still be identified and studied within the current body of research on the JD-R model.

Conclusion

The study makes theoretical contributions to the growing body of research on expatriate adjustment in the one hand, and on the general framework laid out by the job demands and resources model on the other hand. Indeed, the present study contributes to the growing body of literature concerned with the JD-R model advocated by Demerouti et al. (2001) in several ways. Firstly, it brings a new insight in the model, by applying it to the case of expatriation. To date, there was no research conducted on expatriation adjustment that made use of the JD-R model. Rather, past attempt proved that expatriation adjustment and burnout are effectively linked (Silbiger & Malach Pines, 2014). By taking a step further, the present study integrates these two concepts within a more general framework that is the JD-R model. Hence, the effect of interpersonal conflicts and work adjustment in the case of expatriation are proved to be determinant in expatriates well-being, as both impact on their levels of exhaustion. In addition, the study proves that cultural intelligence can be

incorporated as well in the model, and more importantly, it introduces cultural intelligence as a personal resource that moderates the relationship between job demands and exhaustion. Personal resources have already been incorporated within the framework of the JD-R model (Mäkikangas & Kinnunen, 2003; Van Yperen & Snijders, 2000; Xanthopoulou, Bakker, Demerouti, & Schaufeli, 2007; Brenninkmeijer et al., 2010; Van den Broeck, Van

Ruysseveldt, Smulders, & De Witte, 2011). However, most of these personal resources were related to deeper and more intangible parts of human beings (e.g. the regulatory focus of individuals by Brenninkmeijer et al., 2010). The present research advocates that cultural intelligence, which is not necessarily inherent to each and every one and therefore can be acquired through simple learning, can act as a solution to problems of work adjustment in the workplace, and this in the special case of expatriation.

Nevertheless, the study has some limitations that need to be mentioned. Firstly, the study suffered from a relatively low-turnout of respondents. With only 152 participants, as well as because of its cross-sectional nature, the representativeness of the sample and the generalizability of the results can be threatened. Moreover, common method bias might have altered the results of the analysis, and within the scope of the research, these were not controlled. In addition, respondents were expatriates coming from different parts of the world, as well as working in different parts of the world. This in turn can pose a considerable problem in trying to understand accurately how expatriates might experience their new environment. There are also limitations with regards to the measurement. The study only focused on the exhaustion levels that expatriates might experience. Further research should therefore incorporate the whole burnout scale, which includes the components of general detachment from the job and a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment. With these, results might be more complete and accurate.

The research has nonetheless some practical implications that can benefit major stakeholders in the case of expatriation. Expatriates should be made aware of cultural differences upon arrival to their new work environment, in order to improve their cultural intelligence level. This in turn should be coupled with thorough discussion and

communication from the part of co-workers and managers, and this with the aim to prevent and/or reduce interpersonal conflicts in the workplace as well as permit better work

adjustment for expatriates. The importance of internal communication is therefore recognized in the present case, and regardless of their differences, employees and managers should effectively tackles potential problems in order to avoid detrimental situations.

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