Quiet Quitting in Toxic Work Environments: The Mediating Role of Emotional Exhaustion Across Gen Z and Non-Gen Z Employees in Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48161/qaj.v6n2a2451Keywords:
Quiet quitting, Toxic work environment, Emotional exhaustion, Generation Z, JD-R and COR theory.Abstract
Quiet quitting has emerged as a major organizational challenge associated with declining employee engagement, reduced discretionary effort, and psychological withdrawal from work. Despite growing attention to this phenomenon, limited research has integrated workplace toxicity, emotional exhaustion, and quiet quitting within a unified theoretical framework while simultaneously examining generational differences. This study investigates the direct and indirect effects of toxic work environment on quiet quitting through emotional exhaustion among Gen Z and non-Gen Z employees in Indonesian private companies. Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) theory and Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, the study explains how adverse workplace conditions deplete employees’ psychological resources and encourage withdrawal behavior. Data were collected from 1,246 employees working in private companies in Indonesia using convenience sampling. The hypotheses were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and multi-group analysis. The findings reveal that toxic work environment significantly increases emotional exhaustion in both generational groups. The direct effect of toxic work environment on quiet quitting is stronger among Gen Z employees, whereas the influence of emotional exhaustion on quiet quitting, including its mediating effect, is stronger among non-Gen Z employees. These results indicate that generational differences are reflected not in the existence of quiet quitting itself, but in the psychological mechanisms through which workplace toxicity influences withdrawal behavior. This study contributes to the literature by integrating toxic work environment, emotional exhaustion, and quiet quitting into a single explanatory model and by extending understanding of generational workplace behavior in the context of emerging economies. The findings also provide practical implications for organizations seeking to reduce disengagement and improve employee well-being across generational cohorts.
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