Does workplace inclusion mitigate emotional exhaustion? Evidence from local government organizations

Over the past few years, many local government organizations have become more concerned with employee burnout and identifying strategies to support employees. In this paper we examine inclusion as a resource that can shape emotional exhaustion and buffer against two demands, workplace incivility and COVID-19 job-related changes. With survey data collected from three local governments, we find that inclusion is associated with reduced feelings of emotional exhaustion, while incivility and negative perceptions of COVID-19 changes are associated with heightened feelings of emotional exhaustion. We also find that inclusion mitigates the effect of incivility and employees’ appraisal of COVID-19 job-related changes.