Alleviating the negative effects of salesperson depression on performance during a crisis: Examining the role of job resources

Abstract

Depression is an important and prevalent issue often overlooked in the sales literature. Although prior research provides evidence that depression negatively impacts a variety of job-related outcomes, little is known about the factors that can mitigate such relationships—particularly that between depression and salesperson performance over time. To remedy this, we draw on Job Demands-Resources theory and propose a unique framework that examines job resources (i.e., work adaptability, family work support, and supervisor support) that may mitigate the negative effects of depression. Using salesperson surveys matched with objective sales performance data during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., January, February, and March 2020), we show that depression is negatively related to salesperson performance over time, work adaptability and family work support both mitigate the negative effects of depression, and contrary to expectations, supervisor support aggravates the relationship between depression and performance for a time but helps boost performance at the end of the observation window. The article's broader contribution is that depression is a crucial issue to consider and that sales managers should pay special attention to job resources that may mitigate the negative relationship between depression and salesperson performance over time.