Boundary conditions on the dark side of high-performance work systems: leader-member exchange as a job resource

Abstract

Purpose

Employee emotional exhaustion is widely recognized as a hidden cost associated with high-performance work systems (HPWS). To delve deeper into the pathway from HPWS to emotional exhaustion and explore the boundary conditions capable of mitigating these hidden costs, this study, building upon the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, proposes that psychological strain serves as a mediator and theorizes that leader-member exchange (LMX) operates as a job resource serving to buffer the adverse effect of HPWS-induced psychological strain on emotional exhaustion.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a time-lagged research design with a four-week interval to test the proposed hypotheses. Two waves of survey data were collected from 398 respondents in the Chinese state-owned banking sector.

Findings

The findings largely supported our hypotheses. Specifically, the results indicated that psychological strain mediated the relationship between HPWS and emotional exhaustion. In addition, LMX, as a job resource, moderated the indirect relationship between HPWS and emotional exhaustion. High-quality LMX reduced the likelihood of employees experiencing psychological strain caused by HPWS, thereby buffering the manifestation of emotional exhaustion.

Originality/value

By innovatively introducing the LMX as a job resource, this study demonstrates that the hidden costs of HPWS are not inevitable. This finding relieves organizational researchers and practitioners from the dilemma of choosing between enhancing performance and alleviating employee emotional exhaustion when implementing HPWS.

Citation

Yu, J., Abdul Hamid, R. and Du, L. (2025), "Boundary conditions on the dark side of high-performance work systems: leader-member exchange as a job resource", Personnel Review, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-06-2024-0541