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Mindfulness and emotional

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Peerayuth Charoensukmongkol

The Journal of General Psychology

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 The Journal of General Psychology

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vgen20

Mindfulness and emotional exhaustion in call

center agents in the Philippines: moderating roles
of work and personal characteristics

Peerayuth Charoensukmongkol & Jenette Villegas Puyod

To cite this article: Peerayuth Charoensukmongkol & Jenette Villegas Puyod (2020):
Mindfulness and emotional exhaustion in call center agents in the Philippines: moderating
roles of work and personal characteristics, The Journal of General Psychology, DOI:
10.1080/00221309.2020.1800582

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00221309.2020.1800582

Published online: 04 Aug 2020.

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THE JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
https://doi.org/10.1080/00221309.2020.1800582

Mindfulness and emotional exhaustion in call center

agents in the Philippines: moderating roles of work and
personal characteristics
Peerayuth Charoensukmongkola and Jenette Villegas Puyodb
a
National Institute of Development Administration; bAssumption University

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

This research explored the association between the mindful- Received 24 February 2020
ness of call center agents in the Philippines and the level of Accepted 19 July 2020
emotional exhaustion they experienced. The study also con-
KEYWORDS
tributes to the literature by investigating the role of call center
Emotional exhaustion;
agents’ work (job demands and supervisory position) and per- individual differences;
sonal characteristics (age and marital status) as moderating mindfulness; stress
factors that might influence the effect of mindfulness on emo- and coping
tional exhaustion. Survey data were collected from 412 call
center agents from 5 call center companies in the Philippines.
Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used
for data analysis. The results supported a negative association
between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion. Moreover,
the analysis of the moderating effect found that the negative
effect of mindfulness on emotional exhaustion was particularly
strong for call center agents who: (1) experienced high job
demands; (2) held a supervisory position; (3) were single, and
(4) were younger.

Introduction
Call center agents usually experience stress during their working hours
because they need to meet growing customer expectations, unpredictable
demands and workloads, comply with performance metrics as well as prod-
uctivity goals, and give their best to meet the stringent requirements the
management imposes (Kumar, 2019). These agents may be emotionally
troubled because they must cope with challenging customers and at the
same time deliver excellent customer service to uphold their organization’s
standards, as giving the highest respect to the customers is one of the
organization’s values (Mukherjee et al., 2009). Furthermore, the calls are
monitored strictly and constantly and can be another source of pressure
from management, while they also have to face difficulties with the use of

CONTACT Peerayuth Charoensukmongkol peerayuth@outlook.com International College, National

Institute of Development Administration, 118 Moo3, Serithai Road, Klong-Chan, Bangkapi, Bangkok
10240, Thailand.
ß 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
2 P. CHAROENSUKMONGKOL AND J. V. PUYOD

new technology (Annakis, Lobo, & Pillay, 2011). Moreover, call center
agents regularly cope with copious amounts of information and perform
monotonous and repetitive tasks. Often, they must feign positive emotions
to appease and satisfy the most difficult customers (Kumar, 2019). They
are obliged to exhibit professionally appropriate emotions, and this thus
becomes the heavy job demand for many call center companies (Grandey,
Chi, & Diamond, 2013). This emotional requirement is also known as emo-
tional labor, which typically explains why emotional problems exist in the
context of call center contexts and lead to emotional exhaustion among call
center agents (Scheibe, Stamov-Rossnagel, & Zacher, 2015). Oftentimes, call
center agents also feel emotional dissonance—the inconsistency between
expressed and felt emotions. This happens when the organization’s work
entails expressing emotions not felt in certain situations (Zito et al., 2018).
Finally, many agents often do not get sufficient rest, as they may have to
work such schedules as graveyards shifts, perform increased numbers of
tasks, and fill ambitious quotas (Jenkins, Delbridge, & Roberts, 2010). The
combination of these issues overall produces a complex working environ-
ment and conditions that are prone to produce stress and fatigue.
Given the harmful consequences of emotional exhaustion on call center
personnel and organizations, it is crucial to understand certain personal
characteristics of individuals that might prevent emotional exhaustion at
work. One such individual characteristic that has been proposed frequently
in research to help employees manage psychological stress in a workplace
effectively is mindfulness (Charoensukmongkol, 2016; Kabat-Zinn, 2011;
Liu, Xin, Shen, He, & Liu, 2019; Sutcliffe, Vogus, & Dane, 2016; Van Dam
et al., 2018). In the psychological literature, mindfulness is usually regarded
as an intentional quality of attention with an attitude of acceptance
(Brown, Ryan, & Creswell, 2007; Kabat-Zinn, 2011; Quickel, Johnson, &
David, 2014). Although research has provided extensive evidence of the
benefits of mindfulness in alleviating stress (Charoensukmongkol &
Suthatorn, 2018; Gilbert, Foulk, & Bono, 2017; Good et al., 2016; Sutcliffe
et al., 2016), there remain certain gaps that need to be explored. First, prior
research that has supported the benefits of mindfulness largely analyzed the
direct association between mindfulness and outcome variables. It was
unclear whether the benefits of mindfulness that individuals received might
be contingent on specific conditions. Given the limited amount of research
on this issue (Charoensukmongkol & Aumeboonsuke, 2016; de Vibe et al.,
2015), it is imperative that future research explore various other moderat-
ing factors that might influence the benefits of mindfulness obtained by
individuals. Another research gap concerns the occupational context in
which mindfulness research has been conducted. Although the importance
of mindfulness in the area of psychological stress and wellbeing has been
 THE JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 3

confirmed in many occupational contexts (Kudesia, 2019; Liu et al., 2019;

Ni, Zheng, Song, & Liu, 2019; Zahra & Riaz, 2018), its importance to
employees in the call center industry is still an area that has not attracted
research attention.
The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of mindfulness on
the emotional exhaustion of call center agents in the Philippines. This
research contributes to the literature by exploring whether the ability of
mindfulness to alleviate or prevent emotional exhaustion may be moder-
ated by certain work-related characteristics and personal characteristics of
call center agents including job demands, supervisory position, age, and
marital status. Given that prior research has shown that the propensity for
stress tends to depend on individual differences (Ahlvik, Lyddy, Reina,
Good, & Reb, 2018; Kim & Kang, 2017), the results from our research con-
tributes more by showing that not all groups of individuals tend to benefit
from mindfulness in terms of stress reduction to the same extent.

Mindfulness
In the psychological literature, mindfulness is defined as an intentional
quality of attention with an attitude of acceptance (Brown et al., 2007;
Quickel et al., 2014). According to Shapiro and Carlson (2009) mindfulness
is considered “ … awareness that arises through intentionally attending in
an open, caring, and nonjudgmental way” (p. 4). Based on the operational
definition, Bishop et al. (2006) contended that mindfulness comprises two
main characteristics, (1) the self-regulation of attention so that it is focused
on immediate experience, and (2) an orientation toward one’s experiences
in the present moment that is characterized by openness and acceptance.
An abundance of research has shown that individuals who possess mindful-
ness tend to have the ability to cope with stress more effectively (Kudesia,
2019; Van Dam et al., 2018; Veehof, Trompetter, Bohlmeijer, & Schreurs,
2016). Studies have found that mindfulness has a strong correlation with
other aspects of individuals’ personalities that promote psychological func-
tioning (Ahlvik et al., 2018; Charoensukmongkol & Suthatorn, 2018;
Gilbert et al., 2017; Zahra & Riaz, 2018). For example, Zahra and Riaz
(2018) found that mindfulness is related positively to individuals’ resilience,
which plays an important role in stress reduction. Further,
Charoensukmongkol and Suthatorn (2018) found that working individuals
who possess mindfulness tend to exhibit high levels of optimism, resilience,
and self-efficacy, which help them experience less stress. Nevertheless, only
a limited number of studies have clarified the role of mindfulness in the
context of call centers. For example, Narayanan and Moynihan (2006) col-
lected data from call center workers in a large contact center of an
4 P. CHAROENSUKMONGKOL AND J. V. PUYOD

American multinational company in India, and found that mindfulness was

negatively associated with job burnout. In addition, Reb, Narayanan,
Chaturvedi, and Ekkirala (2017) collected data from call center employees
of a multinational organization in India and found that the negative effect
of mindfulness on turnover intention and job performance was mediated
by emotional exhaustion.

Emotional exhaustion
Emotional exhaustion refers to a state of feeling fatigued, frustrated, and
worn out because of the sustained depletion of emotional resources
from overextended work (Hinds & Burroughs, 1997; Nie, Du, Liu, Yuan,
& Ma, 2020; Reynolds, 1960; Wu, Chung, Liao, Hu, & Yeh, 2019). The
occurrence of emotional exhaustion can be traced to a worker’s percep-
tion that his/her resources are insufficient to meet the demands of the
job and the unsatisfying result of the effort invested (Tourigny, Baba,
Han, & Wang, 2012). Research has found that emotional exhaustion is
prominent in the hospitality and service industry, particularly in the call
center industry (Hur, Moon, & Jun, 2016; Puyod &
Charoensukmongkol, 2019; Suthatorn & Charoensukmongkol, 2018). For
example, Suthatorn and Charoensukmongkol (2018) found that flight
attendants tended to suffer from emotional exhaustion when they fre-
quently dealt with demanding foreign passengers. Hur et al. (2016)
showed that customer incivility was among the main reasons causing
service employees to experience emotional exhaustion. Puyod and
Charoensukmongkol (2019) also found that call center agents tended to
be emotionally exhausted due to the communication difficulties that they
had with foreign customers. In particular, given the nature of the call
center job in requiring call center agents to generate positive customer
experiences and impressions, it is inevitable that call center agents will
need to regulate their feelings and expressions as part of their job per-
formance (Molino et al., 2016). Although emotional regulation is
required by the organization, the exhibited emotions often do not repre-
sent the true feelings of the employees. Moreover, call center agents are
under pressure from being monitored by their organization (Holman,
Chissick, & Totterdell, 2002). Suppressing negative emotions and express-
ing positive moods leaves call center agents exposed to states of emo-
tional dissonance (Grandey et al., 2013). Scholars suggest that engaging
in emotional dissonance, which is among the main factors that cause
emotional exhaustion among the call center employees (Zito et al.,
2018), could be stressful and detrimental to health (Scheibe et al., 2015).
 THE JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 5

Conservation of resources (COR) theory

COR theory begins with the central tenet that one may endeavor to attain,
retain, foster, and protect current resources and acquire new resources that
one values most (Halbesleben, Neveu, Paustian-Underdahl, & Westman,
2014; Hobfoll, Halbesleben, Neveu, & Westman, 2018). According to the
theory, employees become more exhausted emotionally when they are run-
ning out of the resources necessary to meet job demands (Hobfoll &
Schumm, 2002), which are common stressors that have the tendency to
consume and threaten key resources. Workplace stressors that call center
agents experience, such as role overload and interpersonal conflict with cli-
ents, are considered job demands that cause employees to experience emo-
tional and physical depletion (Sliter, Jex, Wolford, & McInnerney, 2010).
Furthermore, COR theory states that individuals strive basically to accumu-
late resources to cope with resource loss (Hobfoll et al., 2018). The avail-
ability of personal resources, particularly with respect to personal traits and
skills that can increase resiliency to stress, may help individuals offset the
loss of other resources (Hobfoll & Schumm, 2002; Lee & Ok, 2014).
Employees’ personal characteristics can be treated as resources because they
influence the way employees react to work stress and other resource loss
situations (Lee & Ok, 2014; Wendling, Kellison, & Sagas, 2018). Individuals
with more personal resources may be able to offset the loss of other resour-
ces. In this respect, individuals who possess more personal resources are
less susceptible to resource loss, which results in fewer adverse outcomes
(Grandey & Cropanzano, 1999).

Effect of mindfulness on emotional exhaustion

From this perspective of COR, mindfulness can be considered a personal
characteristic of call center agents that buffers them from unfavorable feel-
ings associated with a demanding workload and the stressful work situa-
tions they experience, and reduces emotional exhaustion thereby. Scholars
such as Gilbert et al. (2017) and Charoensukmongkol (2020) have sug-
gested that mindfulness is a crucial “psychological resource” that optimizes
employee functioning. In particular, Liu et al. (2019) referred to COR the-
ory to suggest that employee mindfulness is a special internal resource of
an individual that helps enhance the positive psychological resource of
work engagement. Montani, Dagenais-Desmarais, Giorgi, and Gregoire
(2018) also used COR theory to propose that “mindfulness through reper-
ceiving is expected to conserve the energetic resources absorbed by the
ruminative thoughts associated to low-activated negative feelings” (p. 127).
For example, in moment-to-moment contact with a threatening stimulus,
such as when managing the complaints of angry customers, call center
6 P. CHAROENSUKMONGKOL AND J. V. PUYOD

agents who possess mindfulness observe their internal experiences, such as

fear, anger, or sadness, as simply feelings rather than interpret them habit-
ually as having positive or negative implications for the self (Good et al.,
2016). Being attentive to this internal experience allows them to disengage
from negative self-relevant evaluations that cause emotional exhaustion
(Brown et al., 2007; Good et al., 2016). In addition, from the perspective of
COR theory regarding resource investment and acquisition, possessing
mindfulness can allow individuals to develop or obtain additional import-
ant resources. For example, previous studies have found that mindfulness
promotes such individual characteristics as self-efficacy, resilience, opti-
mism, and emotional intelligence (Ahlvik et al., 2018; Charoensukmongkol,
2014; Charoensukmongkol & Suthatorn, 2018; Charoensukmongkool, 2019;
Parsons, Crane, Parsons, Fjorback, & Kuyken, 2017; Zahra & Riaz, 2018),
all of which are personal resources that help individuals cope effectively
with stress (Lee & Ok, 2014; Wendling et al., 2018). Because COR theory
suggests that employees with more resources are more likely to obtain add-
itional resources (Hobfoll et al., 2018), it can be expected that a highly
mindful call center agent should possess and be able to obtain more resour-
ces than those who possess low mindfulness, thereby leading them to
experience less emotional exhaustion. Therefore, a negative relation
between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion among call center agents
can be predicted.

Moderating effect of work characteristics and personal characteristics

In addition to the benefit of mindfulness that helps reduce the likelihood
that call center agents will experience emotional exhaustion, this research
argues that the effect of mindfulness on emotional exhaustion may be con-
tingent on certain work-related factors and personal characteristics of call
center agents. In particular, two work-related factors are the level of job
demands and the supervisory position of call center agents; two personal
characteristics are agents’ age and marital status. The effects of these mod-
erating variables are described as follows:

Moderating effect of job demands

First, this research proposed that the effect of mindfulness in reducing
emotional exhaustion might be stronger for call center agents who experi-
ence high job demands than those who experience low job demands. As
high job demands reflect a heavy workload encountered by employees in
their job, it is very likely that employees with high job demands will suffer
more greatly from resource depletion (Gilbert et al., 2017), thereby causing
them to experience emotional exhaustion more easily than employees with
 THE JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 7

fewer job demands (Ahlvik et al., 2018). Therefore, employees who have
high job demands need to possess valuable cognitive resources to help
them cope with their excessive workload. In this case, the role of mindful-
ness according to COR theory perspective serves as a personal resource for
coping with a stressful job that is particularly more essential for employees
with high job demands than those with low job demands (Parsons et al.,
2017). For employees with high job demands, the better the quality of
mindfulness they possess, the less emotional exhaustion they might experi-
ence. On the other hand, employees with low job demands tend to be less
susceptible to resource depletion; thus, they may not gain much benefit
from mindfulness in lowering emotional exhaustion to the same extent that
the employees with high job demands do. Therefore, we can expect the
negative association between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion will be
stronger for call center agents with high job demands than those with low
job demands.

Moderating effect of supervisory position

Second, this research proposed that the effect of mindfulness in reducing
emotional exhaustion may be greater for call center agents who hold a
supervisory position than those who do not. Employees who play a super-
visory role are burdened with more responsibilities and role overload than
those who do not hold such a position (Nelson, 2017); as a result, they are
more likely to experience high levels of stress that lead to emotional
exhaustion (Ahlvik et al., 2018; Shirey, McDaniel, Ebright, Fisher, &
Doebbeling, 2010). This is supported by Payne (2001) study, which found
that employees in a management position tend to experience more burnout
than their subordinates. Loveridge (2017) also suggested that employees in
management positions tend to require special intervention to help in the
reduction of stress. According to COR theory, employees who play a super-
visory role suffer more easily from resource depletion because of the large
number of responsibilities that they must undertake. Therefore, mindful-
ness becomes a psychological resource that is highly essential in helping
supervisory employees to buffer negative feelings and cope effectively with
demanding responsibilities (Ahlvik et al., 2018). On the other hand, COR
theory implies that employees who do not take a supervisory role could be
less susceptible to experiencing loss of resources, given that their job
responsibilities seem to be less burdensome than the responsibilities of their
supervisors. For this reason, the nonsupervisory employees may not benefit
much from mindfulness in helping them lower their emotional exhaustion
to the same degree as the supervisors do. From this perspective of COR
theory, it is rational to expect that the negative association between
8 P. CHAROENSUKMONGKOL AND J. V. PUYOD

mindfulness and emotional exhaustion could be stronger for the call center
agents who hold a supervisory position than those who does not.

Moderating effect of age

Third, this research proposed that the effect of mindfulness on lowering
emotional exhaustion is stronger for younger call agents than their older
counterparts. In COR theory, individuals’ age is considered one resource
component that influences stress perception. For example, Grandey and
Cropanzano (1999) argue that older employees have more valued work
resources, such as seniority and experience, which allows them to handle
work stressors better than younger employees do. Moreover, research has
found that older individuals generally experience fewer negative emotions
in the workplace than younger employees (Kim & Kang, 2017). Although
older employees may experience resource losses, such as a decline in phys-
ical strength, they can adjust their behavior and choose to optimize other
relatively abundant resources, such as calmness and rationality (Winter &
Jackson, 2014). Considering these fundamental characteristics of older indi-
viduals from the perspective of the COR theory facilitate their ability to
cope with stress more effectively than younger people do, the role of mind-
fulness may not provide much benefit for older employees in lessening
emotional exhaustion. On the other hand, the role of mindfulness on stress
coping might be more essential for younger employees. Previous research
has shown that younger employees appear to experience stress more easily
than older employees. From COR theoretical perspective, younger employ-
ees are more likely to experience stress because they seem to lack personal
resources to cope with it. For example, Boyas, Wind, and Kang (2012) con-
tend that young employees are highly susceptible to job stress and burnout
because they may not have developed the coping skills necessary to manage
high levels of stress. Thus, they seem to require more intervention to help
them cope with work stress than older employees do (Winter & Jackson,
2014). Mindfulness thus serves as a vital resource for younger employees to
compensate for their lack of resourceful characteristics needed to cope with
stress (Montani et al., 2018). Therefore, the higher the quality of mindful-
ness that younger employees possess, the more likely they might demon-
strate a reduction in emotional exhaustion at a higher rate than older
employees do.

Moderating effect of marital status

Lastly, this research proposed that the effect of mindfulness on reduced
emotional exhaustion is stronger for call center agents who are single than
for those who are married. From the theoretical perspective of COR, being
 THE JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 9

married can be considered a valued resource. For example, Grandey and

Cropanzano (1999) suggest that people who are married or living together
may have more resources to draw on than those who are not in a commit-
ted relationship. One particular resource that married people possess that
buffers them from psychological strain is the social support they receive
from their partner (Grandey & Cropanzano, 1999). For example, married
couples can turn to each other for support in the emotional ups and downs
of life and during times of stress. Dehle, Larsen, and Landers (2001) argue
that “when crises occur, the spouse is often the first person sought for
support” (p. 308). Brown and Harris (1978) found that supportive relation-
ships with immediate family members did not make up for lack of spousal
support in terms of vulnerability to depression. Research has shown that a
marital support network can help buffer the debilitating effects of occupa-
tional stress (Gillespie & Numerof, 1991; Ifeagwazi, 2006). Given the advan-
tage of married employees in gaining social resources in terms of
emotional support from their spouse, the role of mindfulness could be less
essential for them to alleviate job stress. On the other hand, employees
who are single may lack the opportunity to gain such support. According
to COR theory (Hobfoll & Schumm, 2002), single employees are more
likely to encounter resource depletion, thereby making them being more
susceptible to emotional exhaustion. This rationale is supported by
Ifeagwazi (2006) study, which shows that widowed nurses tend to report
significantly higher burnout symptoms than married nurses. Fuente et al.
(2018) recent meta-analysis also found that emotional exhaustion is signifi-
cantly greater among single individuals. For this reason, the role of mind-
fulness as the personal resource to reduce stress from the perspective of
COR theory seems to be more essential for call center agents who are sin-
gle than for those who are married. The better the quality of mindfulness
they possess, the less emotional exhaustion they experience.

Methods
Sample and data collection method
This research focused on call center agents in the Philippines who worked
in business process outsourcing (BPO) that manages call center services.
The sampling frame of this research was call center agents in five BPO
units in which the researchers received permission from the management
to collect data. Most of the units handled calls from the U.S. Their main
responsibilities are receiving calls from clients, providing customer care,
and undertaking customer research. Generally, the call center agents who
worked at these BPO units were prone to experience high levels of stress
like others who work in this industry. They frequently worked on a
10 P. CHAROENSUKMONGKOL AND J. V. PUYOD

Table 1. Descriptive statistics of respondent’s characteristics.

Demographic factor Total (%)
Gender
Male 161 (39%)
Female 251 (61%)
Marital status
Single 257 (62%)
Married 155 (38%)
Education Level
High School Level 8 (2%)
College Level 89 (22%)
Bachelor’s Degree 301 (73%)
Master’s Degree 14 (3%)
Salary
10,001–20,000 Philippine Peso (201–400 US dollars) 176 (43%)
20,001–30,000 Philippine Peso (401–600 US dollars) 141 (34%)
30,001–40,000 Philippine Peso (601–800 US dollars) 63 (15%)
40,001 above Philippine Peso (above 800US dollars) 32 (8%)
Supervisory Position
No 311: (75%)
Yes 101: (25%)
Job Tenure
Less than 6 months 41 (10%)
7–12 Months 38 (9%)
1–2 years 129 (31%)
3–4 years 125 (30%)
5 years and above 79 (20%)

continuous shifting schedule with some excessive workloads. They normally

experienced pressure to answer a high number of calls each day. All of
them were also required to develop a good amount of multitasking to tog-
gle between several callers. The combination of these difficulties makes
them to be the suitable respondents for this research.
The study was approved by the institutional review board of the first
author’s institution. An online survey was used for data collection because
it allowed the employees to complete the survey at their convenience and
ensured anonymity. The link to the online survey was sent to 600 employ-
ees who were informed of the objectives of the study and guaranteed confi-
dentiality and anonymity. Informed consent document was presented to
the participants at the beginning of the online survey. All participants indi-
cated that they had read the consent information and agreed to participate
before they started filling in the online survey. All questions in the survey
were in English because the Filipinos who work in the call center industry
generally have high level of English proficiency. Data collection required
approximately one month. Thereafter, a total of 412 usable surveys were
obtained, which constituted a 69 percent response rate. The respondents’
demographic and job characteristics are presented in Table 1. The majority
of the respondents were female and were single. The mean age was 31.21
(SD ¼ 5.04). Most of them held bachelor’s degree and had worked at the
BPO for 1–4 years. In terms of salary, nearly half of the respondents
 THE JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 11

(40 percent) earned between 10,001–20,000 Philippine Peso (equivalent to

200–400 US dollars), which was the average level for this type of job.

Measures
Trait mindfulness is measured by the mindfulness attention and awareness
scale (MAAS) that Brown and Ryan (2003) developed. The scale contains
fifteen questions. Sample items include “I find it difficult to stay focused on
what’s happening in the present,” and “I rush through activities without
being really attentive to them.” All questions in the original scale were
scored on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Almost never) to 5
(Almost always). The responses were reverse-scored, such that a low score
represented a low level of mindfulness and a high score a high level of
mindfulness. Cronbach’s alpha was .94. Composite reliability coefficient
was .95.
Emotional exhaustion is measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory
(MBI), developed by Maslach, Jackson, and Leiter (1996). Sample items
include “I feel emotionally drained from my work” and “I feel used up at the
end of the workday.” All items were scored on a five-point rating scale,
ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree). Cronbach’s alpha
was .91. Composite reliability coefficient was .93.
Job demands is measured by using the scale developed by Karasek et al.
(1998), which contains five items that represent the demanding aspects of
jobs (e.g., work hard, work fast). They were scored on a five-point rating
scale, ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree). Cronbach’s
alpha was .76. Composite reliability coefficient was .85.
Supervisory position is measured as a categorial variable. The respondents
who are supervisors are coded 1 and those who are not supervisor are
coded 0.
Age is measured as a continuous variable. It is scored by using the actual
age of the respondents in years.
Marital status is measured by a categorial variable. The respondents who
are married are coded 0 and those who are single are coded 1.

Control variables
Control variables may affect the main variables that are tested in the
research; therefore, the influence must be controlled (Lee Ray, 2003). The
selection of control variables is based on the previous researchers’ focus on
controlling for demographics and work characteristics including gender,
education, job tenure, job demand, supervisory position, age and marital
status (Bernerth & Aguinis, 2016; Halbesleben & Bowler, 2007; Wright &
12 P. CHAROENSUKMONGKOL AND J. V. PUYOD

Bonett, 1997). For gender, Kim and Cha (2015) found that female call cen-
ter employees are susceptible to emotional exhaustion because they have
weaker characteristics compared to their male counterparts. For education,
research posited that call center agent with higher levels of education could
be less vulnerable to emotional exhaustion because of their superior ability
to master the tasks and manage the work (Deery, Iverson, & Walsh, 2002).
For job tenure, Boyas and Wind (2010) mentioned that more experienced
employees are better in handling job demands than less experienced ones.
For job demands, supervisory position, age and marital status, their influ-
ence on emotional exhaustion was already described in the hypotheses.

Statistical analyses
The hypotheses proposed in this research were statistically tested by partial
least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). PLS-SEM is a vari-
ance-based SEM recommended for analyzing models with less consecrated
theoretical support (Hair, Hult, Ringle, & Sarstedt, 2014). PLS-SEM offers
more flexibility than covariance-based SEM because it produces less bias
estimation when data are not normally distributed (Chin & Todd, 1995).
Because the Jarque-Bera test of normality indicated that the majority of the
variables included in the analysis were not distributed normally, PLS-SEM
was appropriate for this research. Moreover, Hair, Matthews, Matthews,
and Sarstedt (2017) recommended using PLS-SEM when analyzing complex
models, mainly when there are multiple moderations in the analysis. Given
that the main hypotheses in this research involved multiple interacting vari-
ables, PLS-SEM seems to be a suitable method for model estimation. PLS-
SEM estimation was performed using Warps version 6.0.

Results
The quality of the validity and reliability of the multi-item measures was
evaluated before the PLS-SEM model was assessed. The quality of the con-
vergence validity was evaluated by confirming whether all variables had fac-
tor loadings above the minimum requirement of .5 (Hair, Ringle, &
Sarstedt, 2011). This test passed the minimum requirement. Discriminant
validity is confirmed by comparing whether the square root of the average
variance extracted of a particular latent variable is greater than other corre-
lations involving that latent variable (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). The results
in Table 2 showed that all latent variables passed the condition of the dis-
criminant validity test. The construct reliability was determined by
Cronbach’s alphas and composite reliability coefficients, which are sup-
posed to be higher than .7 (Nunnally, 1978). The results shown in the
 THE JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 13

Table 2. Correlation among variables and square roots of average variance extracted.
Variables M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1. Trait mindfulness 2.61 1.23 (.75) .21 .39 .27 .02 .05 .02 .14 .07
2. Emotional exhaustion 3.32 1.22 (.81) .16 .06 .01 .06 .03 .05 .05
3. Job demands 2.44 1.19 (.74) .06 .02 .09 .04 .07 .08
4. Age 31.21 5.04 (1) .06 .24 .12 .29 .02
5. Gender .29 .46 (1) .11 .03 .12 .06
6. Job tenure 3.52 1.21 (1) .21 .14 .09
7. Supervisory position .22 .42 (1) .02 .08
8. Marital status .38 .49 (1) .09
9. Education 2.71 .57 (1)
Notes: p-value ˂ .05,  p-value ˂ .01;
The square roots of average variance extracted are displayed in the parentheses.

measures section confirmed that all latent variables passed this minimum
requirement.
In addition to construct validity and reliability, multicollinearity and com-
mon method bias (CMB) were also analyzed. Multicollinearity was determined
by using full variance inflation factor (VIF) statistics. The result showed that
the highest values of the full VIF statistics among all variables in the model was
1.50; given that this was lower than the maximum threshold of 3.3 (Petter,
Straub, & Rai, 2007), multicollinearity was not a serious concern. Moreover,
the problem of CMB was detected using Harman’s one factor test (Podsakoff,
MacKenzie, Lee, & Podsakoff, 2003). Specifically, the result of the confirmatory
factor analysis showed that the one-factor confirmatory factor analysis model
did not fit the data well (v2 ¼ 8831.772; d.f. ¼ 3887; p < .001). The results from
the exploratory factor analysis using all observed measures with Varimax rota-
tion also showed that no single factor had a factor loading greater than 50 per-
cent. These results indicated that CMB was not a problem in our study.
The results from the PLS estimation are reported in Table 3. Model 1
reports only the result of the main effect of mindfulness on emotional
exhaustion. The test of the moderating effect was performed by evaluating
the interaction between emotional exhaustion and the moderating variables
(call center agents’ job demands, supervisory position, age, and marital sta-
tus). The results of the moderating effect of these variables are reported in
Models 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Finally, the interactions of all moderat-
ing variables were analyzed and are reported together in Model 6.
Regarding the hypothesis that proposed that the negative relation
between mindfulness and call center agents’ emotional exhaustion, the
results showed that the beta coefficients of mindfulness in Model 1 (b
¼ .334; p < .001), Model 2 (b ¼ .32; p < .001), Model 3 (b ¼ .319; p
< .001), Model 4 (b ¼ .325; p < .001), Model 5 (b ¼ .323; p < .001),
and Model 6 (b ¼ .189; p < .001) were negative and statistically signifi-
cant. Thus, this hypothesis was supported.
Regarding the hypothesis proposing that the negative relation between
mindfulness and emotional exhaustion is stronger for call center agents
14 P. CHAROENSUKMONGKOL AND J. V. PUYOD

Table 3. Results from partial least squares analysis.

Variables Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5 Model 6
Main effect
Trait mindfulness (H1) .334 .32 .319 .325 .323 .289
Moderating effects
Trait mindfulness  Job demands (H2) .25 .238
Trait mindfulness  Supervisory position (H3) .114 .124
Trait mindfulness  Age (H4) .097 .091
Trait mindfulness  Marital status (H5) .16 .117
Control variables
Job demands .29 .359 .276 .279 .284 .327
Supervisory position .067 .046 .064 .062 .065 .036
Age .03 .19 .025 .001 .01 .039
Marital status .044 .038 .039 .05 .046 .041
Gender .001 .019 .008 .005 .014 .034
Education .057 .039 .055 .061 .064 .047
Job tenure .063 .047 .07 .053 .048 .035
R-square .129 .184 .142 .138 .154 .221
D R-square .055 .013 .009 .025 .092
Notes: p-value ˂ .05, p-value ˂ .01, p value < .001.
Standardized beta coefficients are reported.

Figure 1. The moderating effect of job demands, age, supervisory position, and marital status.

who experienced high job demands, the results showed that the beta coeffi-
cients of the interaction between mindfulness and job demands in Models
2 (b ¼ .25; p < .001) and Model 6 (b ¼ .238; p < .001) were negative
and statistically significant. The result of the interaction effects is illustrated
in upper left corner of Figure 1. The regression lines were plotted using
standardized values suggested by Aiken and West (1991). The regression
line that represents the association between mindfulness and emotional
exhaustion moderated by job demands was created by plotting mindfulness
 THE JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 15

scores one standard deviation above the mean and one standard deviation
below the mean across high job demands score (þ1.00 SD) and low job
demands score ( 1.00 SD). The figure shows clearly that the negative slope
between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion is steeper in call center
agents who experienced high job demands than those who experienced low
job demands. For those with high job demands, as compared to those with
low job demands, the increase in the mindfulness score is associated with
more reduction in the emotional exhaustion score. Moreover, the compari-
son of the beta coefficients of these two groups showed that the negative
effect of mindfulness on emotional exhaustion was not statistically signifi-
cant for those with low job demands (b ¼ .108; p ¼ .097) but it was stat-
istically significant for those with high job demands (b ¼ .571; p < .001).
Regarding the hypothesis suggesting that the negative relation between
mindfulness and emotional exhaustion is stronger for call center agents
who hold a supervisory position, the results showed that the beta coeffi-
cients of the interaction between mindfulness and the supervisor dummy
variable in Models 3 (b ¼ .114; p ¼ .036) and Model 6 (b ¼ .124; p ¼
.014) were negative and statistically significant. The illustration of the sim-
ple slope analysis located at the lower left corner of Figure 1 shows clearly
that the negative association between mindfulness and emotional exhaus-
tion was more negative in call center agents who hold a supervisory pos-
ition than in those who do not hold a supervisory position. For those who
hold a supervisory position, the increase in the mindfulness score is associ-
ated with more reduction in the emotional exhaustion score. However, for
non-supervisory call center agents, the rate of change between mindfulness
and emotional exhaustion is not as high as call center agents who are
supervisors. The comparison of the beta coefficients of these two groups
also confirmed that the negative effect of mindfulness on emotional
exhaustion was stronger for call center agents who are supervisors (b ¼
.48; p < .001) than non-supervisory call center agents (b ¼ .125; p
¼ .023).
Regarding the hypothesis suggesting that the negative relation between
mindfulness and emotional exhaustion is greater for younger call center
agents, the results showed that the beta coefficients of the interaction
between mindfulness and the call center agents’ age in Models 4 (b ¼ .097;
p ¼ .041) and Models 6 (b ¼ .091; p ¼ .037) were positive and statistically
significant. The illustration of the simple slope analysis is located at the
upper right corner of Figure 1. The regression line was created by plotting
mindfulness scores one standard deviation above the mean and one stand-
ard deviation below the mean across high age score (þ1.00 SD) and low
age score ( 1.00 SD). The illustration shows clearly that the negative effect
between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion was more negative in
16 P. CHAROENSUKMONGKOL AND J. V. PUYOD

younger call center agents than in older call center agents. For younger call
center agents, the increase in the mindfulness score is associated with more
reduction in the emotional exhaustion score. However, for older call center
agents, the rate of change between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion
is not as high as with younger call center agents. The comparison of the
beta coefficients of these two groups also showed that the negative effect of
mindfulness on emotional exhaustion was not statistically significant for
older call center agents (b ¼ .028; p ¼ .702), but it was statistically sig-
nificant for younger call center agents (b ¼ .366; p < .001).
Regarding the hypothesis suggesting that the negative relation between
mindfulness and emotional exhaustion is stronger for single call center
agents. The results showed that the beta coefficients of the interaction
between mindfulness and the agents’ marital status in Models 5 (b ¼ .16;
p ¼ .002) and Models 6 (b ¼ .117; p ¼ .014) were positive and statistically
significant. The illustration of the simple slope analysis located at the lower
right corner of Figure 1 shows clearly that the negative association between
mindfulness and emotional exhaustion was more negative in call center
agents who are single than in call center agents who are married. For call
center agents who are single, the increase in the mindfulness score is asso-
ciated with more reduction in the emotional exhaustion score. However,
for call center agents who are married, the rate of change between mindful-
ness and emotional exhaustion is not as high as call center agents who are
single. Moreover, the comparison of the beta coefficients of these two
groups showed that the negative effect of mindfulness on emotional
exhaustion was not statistically significant for call center agents who are
married (b ¼ .112; p ¼ .911), but it was statistically significant for call
center agents who are single (b ¼ .394; p < .001).

Discussion
With respect to the contribution of mindfulness to emotional exhaustion,
the results from the PLS-SEM analysis supported the significant negative
association between these two variables. This finding implies that call cen-
ter agents who possess a higher level of mindfulness tend to experience a
lower level of emotional exhaustion. In a broad sense, this finding is con-
sistent with prior literature that has suggested that mindfulness is a per-
sonal characteristic of individuals that allows them to cope effectively with
psychological stress (Charoensukmongkool, 2019; Kudesia, 2019; Sutcliffe
et al., 2016; Van Dam et al., 2018; Zahra & Riaz, 2018). It is also consistent
with the findings from prior studies that showed that mindful employees
tend to demonstrate lower degrees of occupational stress and burnout
(Ahlvik et al., 2018; Charoensukmongkol & Suthatorn, 2018). This result
 THE JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 17

also supports previous studies that showed that mindfulness enhanced indi-
viduals’ ability to cope effectively with work stress (Liu et al., 2019; Parsons
et al., 2017). Particularly in the call center industry, this research provides
extra evidence to support the studies of Narayanan and Moynihan (2006)
and Reb et al. (2017) which previously found the benefits of mindfulness
on stress reduction and work-related performance of call center employees
in India.
In addition, the results indicated that the negative effect of mindfulness
on emotional exhaustion is particularly strong for call center agents who
experience high job demands and those who hold a supervisory position.
For these two groups of agents, the higher the quality of mindfulness they
possess, the lower the level of emotional exhaustion they experience.
Furthermore, the results showed that the negative effect of mindfulness on
emotional exhaustion is particularly strong for young call center agents and
for those who are single. For these two groups of call center agents, the
higher the quality of mindfulness they possess, the lower the level of emo-
tional exhaustion they experience. Overall, these results are consistent with
previous research that has suggested that individuals seem to differ in the
degree to which they are susceptible to stress and emotional exhaustion at
work (Fuente et al., 2018; Kim & Kang, 2017; Loveridge, 2017; Nelson,
2017). In this respect, the benefits that individuals receive from possessing
mindfulness may vary depending upon their personal, task, and situational
characteristics. The results are also consistent with the studies of
Charoensukmongkol and Aumeboonsuke (2016) and de Vibe et al. (2015),
which showed that the benefit of mindfulness could be determined by cer-
tain personal characteristics and individuals’ personalities.

Theoretical contributions
This research adds theoretical contributions to previous mindfulness
research. The results of the role mindfulness plays in reducing call center
agents’ emotional exhaustion offer additional support to the COR theory in
two respects. Firstly, the results provide additional evidence to support the
research of Gilbert et al. (2017) and Charoensukmongkol (2020), which
considered mindfulness a crucial psychological resource that optimizes
employee functioning. This is also consistent with Liu et al. (2019) and
Montani et al. (2018) recent research, which used the COR theory to
explain that mindfulness plays a role as a special internal resource that
helps employees enhance their positive psychological resources in the work-
place. Secondly, this research expands previous research by using COR the-
ory to clarify certain moderating conditions that could make mindfulness
more beneficial so that employees experience less emotional exhaustion.
18 P. CHAROENSUKMONGKOL AND J. V. PUYOD

From the theoretical perspective, the results provide additional evidence to

the portion of COR theory that indicates that the role of cognitive resour-
ces seems to be more crucial for employees who are in a situation or pos-
ition that is highly susceptible to resource depletion (Hobfoll, 2011). This
research found as well that job demands and supervisory position may be
regarded as job characteristics that easily cause call center agents to experi-
ence resource depletion, thereby making them more prone to emotional
exhaustion. Because mindfulness constitutes the psychological resource that
compensates for the resources lost attributable to the heavy workload and
responsibilities that call center agents with high job demands and those
who hold a supervisory position must undertake, it prevents them from
experiencing emotional exhaustion. Moreover, this research makes another
theoretical contribution by showing that certain personal characteristics of
individuals that represent resources according to the COR theory should be
integrated as moderating conditions when analyzing the effect of mindful-
ness on emotional exhaustion. This will provide a complete theoretical
explanation of the job and personal characteristics of individuals that may
strengthen or mitigate the importance of mindfulness in helping employees
cope with workplace stress.
The findings from this research provide a contribution that extends exist-
ing knowledge in mindfulness research in the call center industry, which is
an occupational context that is highly susceptible to emotional fatigue
(Grandey et al., 2013; Jenkins et al., 2010; Zito et al., 2018), but has not
received empirical support to date. The findings add more evidence to a
limited number of studies on mindfulness in call center jobs (Narayanan &
Moynihan, 2006; Reb et al., 2017). Most importantly, this study extends
previous research of Narayanan and Moynihan (2006) and Reb et al.
(2017) by showing that there are certain conditions that cause mindfulness
to be more or less beneficial in reducing emotional exhaustion of call cen-
ter employees.

Directions for future research

Given the limited number of studies that have explored the moderating
conditions that influence the effect of mindfulness on employees’ psycho-
logical wellbeing, there is still room for future research to extend these
findings. Future studies will need to consider other conditions that might
enhance or suppress the effect of mindfulness on employees’ psychological
wellbeing. For example, it is possible that certain organizational factors,
such as the quality of organizational support or characteristics of the work
climate, may make the effect of mindfulness more or less relevant in allevi-
ating employees’ stress. Future research may also explore whether the effect
 THE JOURNAL OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY 19

of mindfulness on stress reduction is contingent on certain personality

traits of individuals.

Practical implications
This research recommends interventions to help employees in companies
in the call center industry reduce the stress in their careers. These recom-
mendations are particularly relevant for the call center industry in the
Philippines. Considering the emotional job demands in terms of emotional
labor and emotional dissonance that inevitably cause emotional exhaustion
among call center agents (Grandey et al., 2013; Holman et al., 2002;
Molino et al., 2016; Zito et al., 2018), it is crucial for companies in this
industry to provide the intervention to reduce the harmful impacts that it
may cause on performance and mental wellbeing of their employees. Given
that the results confirmed the negative association between mindfulness
and emotional exhaustion, companies may need to provide mindfulness
training for employees to help them develop and/or improve their quality
of mindfulness. A mindfulness exercise, such as meditation, could be
offered to employees during breaks or before or after work hours to help
them relax from work strain. Although mindfulness training should help
reduce every employee’s stress, the training should be required particularly
for those who hold a supervisory position and those who work in a job
function that involves a heavy workload. Given the greater degree of work
responsibility that these two groups of employees must shoulder, compa-
nies may need to make mindfulness training mandatory for them to pre-
vent the probability of emotional exhaustion that seems to be higher than
for others in the organization. The importance of having mindfulness train-
ing is supported by Ahlvik et al. (2018) study, which confirmed that mind-
fulness training helped middle managers cope effectively with the role
overload that they experienced. It also supports the argument of Loveridge
(2017), who suggested that employees who are in a management position
should require a special intervention to help them lower stress. Moreover,
companies may make the training mandatory for young employees and for
those who are single. As these two groups tend to be less emotionally
mature, mindfulness training might be a more effective intervention that
helps reduce the probability that they will experience the emotional exhaus-
tion that can occur easily in their jobs.

Limitations
There are several limitations in this study that need to be considered. First,
the findings from this research were based on cross-sectional data. The
20 P. CHAROENSUKMONGKOL AND J. V. PUYOD

analysis of cross-sectional data allows the results to be interpreted only as

associations, such that no causality can be inferred. However, the use of
cross-sectional analysis is justified in this research given that the causal
effect of mindfulness on stress reduction has been extensively confirmed in
experimental studies for almost a decade (Kudesia, 2019; Zahra & Riaz,
2018). In fact, the prime objective of this research is not to reconfirm the
causal effect of mindfulness, but to raise the issue on how individual differ-
ences could affect the linkage between mindfulness and emotional exhaus-
tion. In particular, the goal of this research is to open up a new avenue for
future research to adopt experimental designs to testify about the role of
individual differences. Secondly, the sample was limited to call center
agents in five call-center companies in the Philippines. Thus, the limited
scope of the sample may not represent the entire population of call center
agents in the industry adequately. Moreover, using only a sample of call
center agents in the Philippines may not allow the results to be generalized
to agents in other countries.

Funding
This research is partially funded by National Institute of National Development and
Assumption University.

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